Forces: Ex-Army
Julian P - Colour Sergeant
“Attend any job fairs or other CTP events going and speak to other Service leavers who are in the process of leaving. Also do not be afraid to send out lots of CVs and to cold call organisations and companies, even if it is to secure unpaid work experience.”
Background
Ex-Colour Sergeant Julian P left the Army in late 2011, having served for 22 years in the Infantry (Unit Signal Platoon). Julian gained a wealth of experience during his time in the Army, including “personal presentation, communications, management and administration; also due to career progression, the ability to communicate effectively in a written format”. Julian also gained civilian qualifications including CompTIA Network + and NVQ Level 3 in Telecommunications, all of which he says are now useful in civilian life.
Resettlement
As part of his resettlement, Julian attended a Career Transition Workshop (CTW) at his local Regional Resettlement Centre (RRC) in Catterick. Of the three day workshop, he says, “It helped me understand the construction of a basic CV and gave me an insight into the importance of networking.” Julian also used his Graduated Resettlement Time (GRT) to complete a five week telecommunications package with a CTP Preferred Supplier of training. Julian says, “The success of landing a job and transitioning to Civilian Street is very much in the individual’s hands. Do not leave the planning and booking of training to the last six months.”
Julian also advises, “Research your chosen career path in the area you are going to settle. I personally changed my resettlement choices after researching employment opportunities in the area I intended to settle in.” Having explored various career options, including IT support and environmental protection, Julian decided to utilise his existing skills in telecommunications, and upon hearing about a recruitment initiative with BT Openreach through the CTP, applied for the position of Managed Install Engineer. Julian completed the online application through RightJob and was then invited to attend a skills and interview day.
Speaking from his experience at interview, he advises others applying for roles with telecoms companies such as Openreach, “you need to research not only what your role would be in the job you are applying for but you also need to have a good understanding of what the company provide. Also what their relationship is in regards to Communications providers who are their customers and not the end users that see the engineers day to day.” He adds, “Also it is good to know what the company is planning and implementing for the future – in terms of Openreach, especially into the investment and infrastructure they have put into the fibre optic super fast broadband, which is their main objective. I was asked simple questions on all of those topics, to demonstrate a bigger picture understanding, I believe”.
Julian also emphasises the importance of understanding the STAR (Situation, Task, Action and Result) model during interviews, and says, “they asked me to explain an event from my previous employment... they expect you to know the STAR acronym, which is a common interview question technique.” He also says the interview focussed on verbally setting a scenario and asking the candidate to explain their actions: “I was asked what safety actions I would take before climbing a telegraph pole for example.” Julian was successful at interview, and was offered the job two weeks after attending; he has now been in the role for seven months.
Outcome
Julian’s role involves repairing line circuits on the national access network, and he says that the telecommunications course he took as part of his resettlement was “very accurate and relevant” to the role. He also says that he did not face any obstacles when settling into the role: “For me it was a very easy transition. Openreach is run on a very similar basis in a lot of aspects to the forces.”
When asked what advice he would offer to other Service leavers, Julian says, “Attend any job fairs or other CTP events going and speak to other Service leavers who are in the process of leaving. Also do not be afraid to send out lots of CVs and to cold call organisations and companies, even if it is to secure unpaid work experience.”
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