Getting real about civilian careers

Generally speaking, Service people are dedicated to the job, to the unit and to their comrades-in-arms. Although pay and reward levels are generally better than they used to be it is difficult to compensate adequately for the possibility of receiving a bullet in the head. Indeed many civilians find it hard to understand why anyone should volunteer for the sort of life in which this is a possibility.

While there are plenty of dedicated people out of uniform, the Service leaver needs to understand that most have different motivations for work, and few civilians have anything like the same loyalty to their company as Service people have to their cap badge. Self-sacrifice for the greater good can be an alien concept.

Some of this is very easy to understand. In contrast to the Services, and despite a raft of employment directives and regulations, someone who is not up to their job, or even someone who does not merit further promotion, may be sacked. Being shunted sideways into a back alley in which they can do no harm is usually not an option, while even government employees now live with a less certain future.

Without this safety net, people have to be cold-blooded about planning their working lives – for their own sake and for that of their families. This is not selfish; it is both sensible and necessary. Indeed, the current pensions crisis makes it all the more necessary for people to safeguard their own futures. So do not expect to find anything like the same level of selfless service.

Civilians go where the opportunities are; they are not sent to where the government wants them to be. There are of course occasions where an organisation sends an employee to Kilmarnock or Kentucky, but this will usually be by consent rather than coercion. Individuals, however, take their labour to the best employer by salary, job interest, location, self-development, career future, or even to stay in a comfort zone. Long-term loyalty exists only in so far as organisations give individuals as much of what they want as is necessary to retain their services. So, ambitious individuals develop a strategy to move onwards and upwards.

Job volatility is a fact of life. Acquisition, merger, legislation, closure, opening, new boss, downsizing, upsizing, delayering, war, terrorism … you name it. The life expectancy of a job is two to three years or so; and in some industries, like IT, 18 months can be a long time in one appointment. So be ready to look for a social life outside your job because the work scene changes so rapidly. And be prepared to enter a world in which you should be ready to move fast at the right moment.

Not surprisingly, employers are reluctant to spend much money on training employees who may be gone tomorrow. Once you leave the Services, your personal development will largely depend on your own efforts to find programmes, pay for them and make the time available for the necessary studying.

Some Service leavers may also be surprised at how hard many civilians work. Sport and personal fitness take place outside working hours, holiday entitlements are generally less generous and the Working Time Directive may not always be strictly observed. Commuting may be a new and unpleasant experience and expense, while company pension contributions may need to be supported by personal ones.

It is not all bad but it is different, and Service leavers should understand what they are doing when they exchange one life for another.

Some of the above is illustrated in this month’s feature entitled ‘Cautionary tales’. However, the main thrust of this piece is to illustrate the importance of understanding some basic differences in working culture between military and civilian employers. By ‘culture’ is meant ‘the way we do things around here’ (with acknowledgements to Charles Handy). One message is to make sure that you understand and accept the values of your workmates and the organisation before you open your mouth too wide and get it disastrously wrong. The other is about taking full responsibility for your own future.

We include an article about franchising, and encourage readers who have ideas about going it alone to consider this business format. It certainly has definite advantages but, like everything else, it also has its drawbacks. For those looking to work for another employer we cover the utilities industries – in which there is a great deal of subcontracting, even in core functions – and the field of telecommunications, which has strong links with utilities. The latter has had an iffy press recently, but still provides employment for technical specialists and more generally trained Service leavers.

Railways continue to offer a wide range of employment and their operations look set to continue to expand, while the world of sales encompasses a huge number of functions – in retail as well as in other forms of selling. Although bottom of the list of some people’s options due often to preconceived prejudice, it at least deserves an examination before it is discarded. And then there is the field of management and supervision in which many Service people are highly trained, although their experiences may require translation for a civilian employer.