Make the most of your contacts

Even today, people can confuse the time-honoured practice of networking with the relatively newly developed business called network marketing and, because the latter can in its turn be confused with ‘pyramid selling’, believe that networking is something that’s decidedly dodgy. On the contrary, however, networking is simply communicating with other people to develop a range of contacts for mutual benefit. It is something all of us do daily, except for a hermit living in a cave who has written off the entire human race. It has a special relevance for job hunting.

The vast majority of jobs in the UK are never advertised, and can therefore never be accessed by everybody. They may be new positions; they may be old positions filled by promoting or reassigning current members of staff; they may even be jobs created to suit the talents of a particular individual; or they may be filled by someone known to the boss or through a speculative letter and CV arriving on an employer’s desk at the precise moment a vacancy arises.

By far the most likely way for this unadvertised vacancy to be filled is through networking. Somebody known to the employer or recommended by someone they trust happens to be available who fills most of the requirements of the job description and the personnel specification.

A network is everyone you know; and everyone they know – parents, family, friends, teachers, MoD suppliers and contractors, and many more. But do not forget other people in uniform, and those you know who left before you. They may well have priceless knowledge and experience – and other contacts.

The concept is one with which everyone should be comfortable. Every time you phone someone in another unit to ask for a favour in the knowledge that you will return it in the future, you are networking. Every time a mutual friend introduces you to someone who might be useful, you are building a network – and this applies just as much while you are in uniform as it does when you have left the Services.

An important aspect to networking is that it is for mutual benefit. This means that it should be in both parties’ interests to have a dialogue. While the Service leaver talking with an employer may be using the meeting as a means for gathering job intelligence and selling themselves as a prospective employee, the employer may be learning about the Armed Forces, or even satisfying curiosity about people who put themselves in harm’s way voluntarily.

It is not difficult to build a network by contacting people you know and asking them to put you in contact with people they know who can then put you in contact with people they know … The ways in which this is achieved are covered in numerous books and on courses available to Service leavers. However, there is a ready-made network that has only recently started to become apparent to people serving in the Armed Forces and that is reservists.

Whereas reservists used to be quite separate from and rarely seen by the regulars, members of the reserves are now much in evidence. Some serve in units performing tasks similar to their civilian jobs – like oil extraction experts in Iraq. Others like a change from the day job, and you may well find a company director or city whizz-kid chilling out in a relatively lowly rank. Please, never confuse military position with civilian expertise. All are employers or are themselves employed, with their own well-developed networks. Maybe they will allow you to access them?

What the civilian employer wants is someone with the personal qualities, skills, education, qualifications, competencies and experience to give them a competitive advantage. A reservist serving with your unit may not be able to help directly, but they may well have the contacts that will enable you to build this all-important network that will be so necessary for the rest of your working life.

In this month’s edition, we have a selection of old favourites among our feature articles as well as some other offerings. Many Service leavers choose second careers in sports and fitness, diving, telecommunications and charities. The similarities and the ease of transferring Service skills in these areas are obvious, so it is not surprising that many people enter these sectors.

Aviation has always been popular with skilled pilots and engineers, but some may not realise that, for example, up to one-third of all jobs in the sector are security-related. That is a great deal of employment. Mechanical engineering attracts people with a professional or amateur enthusiasm for the subject, while Britain is crying out for engineers of all disciplines with many employers saying that they are unable to expand due to a skills shortage. And, for the budding entrepreneur in any sector, we take a brief look at what is involved in running your own business, offering readers some signposts to help with their own research.