Forces: Ex-RAF
Stephanie J - Flight Sergeant
“A job will not just fall into your lap; you have to put the effort in to finding one. Persevere - I applied for many jobs; don’t get despondent when you don’t hear back from employers, every time I applied for a job, I saw it as a training exercise.”
Background
Stephanie J left the RAF in June 2011, having served for almost 23 years as an Intelligence Analyst (voice). Stephanie worked through the ranks to Flight Sergeant, and gained extensive experience in management and administration, particularly during her role as a Phase II Instructor, delivering training to young airmen and women and guiding them through life in the Service. Stephanie also gained an ILM Level 5 qualification in Management and Leadership during her RAF career.
Resettlement
Nine months prior to leaving the Air Force, Stephanie attended a Career Transition Workshop (CTW) at RRC Cottesmore, which she says “really focussed my mind”. Of the three day workshop, Stephanie says, “The discussion I had with my Career Consultant as probably the most useful; they asked all sorts of questions and advised me on careers I would never have thought about, which would benefit from my transferrable skills.”
Stephanie explored various career options, and decided to seek a civilian role in management administration, a field in which she was already competent and experienced. To enhance her CV, Stephanie completed external training courses in Microsoft Word and Excel and also undertook a Legal Secretarial Course.
Stephanie made use of the CTP’s job-finding site, RightJob, by logging on every day. She says that although she felt a number of the jobs were more tailored to male Service leavers, “I persevered and checked back every day until I found a vacancy that was suitable for me and in my area of choice. I also feel that as the employer was looking for ex-service personnel, it gave me a foot in the door.” Stephanie also emphasises the importance of creating an effective CV, as learnt in her CTW: “Writing my CV was probably the hardest thing and tailoring it for specific job vacancies used to take me hours, but I used all the techniques I had been taught on the CTW.”
Outcome
This perseverance meant that Stephanie was able to secure her current role several weeks before her official discharge date, and is now working as Assistant Manager for Liberty Living for Students, a private student halls provider. The role is extremely varied, and Stephanie uses her military skills and experience on a daily basis. Her responsibilities include managing a small team of staff and ensuring the efficient running of the halls, plus financial, sales and administrative responsibilities.
Stephanie’s proactive approach to the job market no doubt ensured her success, and she says to other Service leavers, “Job hunting is hard work; I scoured the papers and online job websites, I even wrote down the names of companies that I passed whilst driving around and researched them online. A job will not just fall into your lap; you have to put the effort in to finding one. Persevere - I applied for many jobs; don’t get despondent when you don’t hear back from employers, every time I applied for a job, I saw it as a training exercise. Start applying for jobs early as it can take some companies a long time to go through the process of filling a vacancy.”
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