Making the most of yourself

Many Service people will quite happily run into a hail of bullets to rescue a wounded comrade, continue to defend a ship as the missiles strike the deck or fly at high speed and low altitude at night. They will do these incredibly brave things quite deliberately, knowing just what the dangers are. No civilian can really understand this. However, the same individuals will mumble their way through a conversation about such gallantry, and dismiss it with a quick ‘anyone would’ve done it’ out of the side of their mouths.

Even more curious is the way in which people can be so ready to advance the honour and glory of their unit that they will fight for it everywhere from Falkland Sound to the Afghan mountains and the skies over Iraq. Yet these same people, who would not hesitate to tell an audience of thousands about the excellence of their unit, can be so reluctant to explain their own skills, competencies and experience at interview that they miss the perfect job.

Let us be clear that no one is being asked to lie or exaggerate when they explain what they have been doing. There is no question of not telling the truth, just telling more of it so that the picture that is painted is a complete one.

If an employer asks about management experience, point out the leadership you have displayed over the years and the effect that has had. Then explain about the management – personnel, financial, logistics, whatever – that various sticky situations have required. Talk about the training, both formal on courses and on the job, and quantify how many people, how much money, what weight of equipment was involved. Then explain about the circumstances – the rain, the sand, the operational hazards and the urgency of the need.

First of all describe what you did. Then tell people who may have no experience of the situation you were facing how you did it. Finally, put it into terms they will understand: ‘a company’s worth of ammunition’, ‘the crew of a submarine’ or ‘a forward operating base’ will mean nothing – ‘15 tons’, ‘62 people’ or ‘a landing strip with four aircraft and 100 people’, on the other hand, should get the point across nicely.

Use words that accurately describe what happened. You may be facing a belief that results have come through harsh discipline, orders, shouting and the occasional use of fists. This is the stereotype that has been painted for years and it is still with us. The image of hunchbacked conscripts peeling spuds or blanco’ing webbing round a coal fire in a Nissen hut is hard to shake.

Use alternatives that accurately describe the way you behaved. Try to insert terms like ‘discussed’, ‘learnt’, ‘negotiated’, ‘developed’, ‘managed’ and ‘ran’ into your job-finding vocabulary. Explain the mixed – military/civilian, male/female, ethnic/cultural – workforces you experienced. Tell them that, like anywhere else, emergencies require instant and firm action and that the person in charge has to make decisions that may not be easy or popular. But you should also explain that, when circumstances allow, personal initiative is encouraged, training is intellectually demanding and input to decisions is welcomed.

Many people ask about remuneration. Some advise that Service leavers should expect to start on what they are worth – in other words, their final military salary. Others say that you should settle for less, and that excellence will bring its own reward in terms of early promotion and salary increase. Find out what the going rate is for the job in the area in which you are going to be doing it and expect that your remuneration will be somewhere near that figure. Do not accept your employer taking your military pension into account. That money is yours – you should be paid what you are worth.

This month’s Quest has something for everyone. Transport management, logistics and distribution keep the wheels moving on the UK’s industrial and commercial enterprises, while technical authors explain the nuts and bolts and maintenance of the equipment used in factories and plants as well as every item of household machinery. For the sports and fitness enthusiast, we take another look at this growing sector, while the undersea world offers careers in diving based on tropical reefs or oil rigs. Teaching is still a career that calls for many of the personal qualities generally enjoyed by Service leavers, while computing and IT skills open up a number of well-paid employment opportunities.

Have a read, see if anything makes you think ‘I’d like to have a go at that’, and then see what you need to do to turn the idea into reality. Many Service leavers are now doing things with their lives that they could not have imagined when they were in uniform. Even more are doing similar things to their Service specialisation but at a much higher level. But you never know what you can do until you try.