Forces: Ex-Royal Navy
Jon H - Commander
“Believe in yourself – you may not recognise it but time in the Armed Services makes you very self-confident, independent and self-starting; qualities that are valued by most - if not all - employers.”
Ex Commander Jon H left the Royal Navy in September 2011, having served for 35 years as a Marine Engineer Officer on Nuclear Submarines. Jon most enjoyed being at sea on operations and the camaraderie that came with the role, but said he felt the time was right to leave. As well as skills in electro-mechanical engineering – in which Jon gained civilian qualifications including an MSc in Nuclear Reactor Technology from the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and a BEng (Hons) from the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon - Jon’s military career provided him with strong HR and skills management experience, and he also achieved an MBA from Cranfield University during his time in the Navy.
His first step on the resettlement path was to attend a Career Transition Workshop (CTW) at RRC Northolt; Jon says that the workshop was “extremely helpful in focussing attention on what, for most of us, is a really big step.” He says the aspects of the workshop he found of most use were: “CV writing, interview techniques, advice on taking advantage of your networks, and speaking to others in a similar position.” He goes on to advise others embarking on their resettlement, “use the CTW to generate a good CV and practice your interview techniques.”
Jon was keen to use his existing nuclear experience in a civilian career and wrote to a contact he had made at EDF Energy, seeking advice on the current nuclear energy situation – he encourages, “use your networks wherever possible”. He enclosed his CV with the letter, to outline his skills and experience, and his contact then circulated the CV within the company. This resulted in Jon being invited for an interview, in which he successfully secured his current role. Jon advises other Service leavers, “during the interview, try and relate the questions to your Service experience and answer them from that angle – I would guess that most questions could be answered in this way. People are genuinely interested in listening to your Service experience and you will be much more fluent if you don’t have to think too hard about what you are saying.”
Jon now works as a Nuclear Inspection and Oversight Evaluator at Sizewell B Power Station, for EDF Energy, and has been in the position for ten months. The role involves internal regulation and challenge to provide assurance to the company that the power station is being run in a safe manner. He says the only obstacles he faced when settling into the role were “getting up to speed with the technical, operational and managerial differences between a nuclear submarine plant and a nuclear power station plant”, but says that all of his military experience is useful in civilian life.
When asked what advice he would give to other Service leavers, Jon says, “Believe in yourself – you may not recognise it but time in the Armed Services makes you very self-confident, independent and self-starting; qualities that are valued by most - if not all - employers.”
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