For all those leaving the forces, it’s important that you don’t undervalue the skills that you’ve developed during your time in the military. If you highlight them properly, employers will recognise what a wonderful asset you’re going to be for their business.
If you undersell yourself though, they may decide that one of your competitors has the edge when really you are the perfect person to shine in the position they have on offer.
When I left the military in back 2001 after 10 years of service, I had no idea how valuable the skills that I had naturally acquired were. I had gained Personnel and Administration experience during my time in the Air Force and it was these skills that I was ready to offer up to the employment market. Luckily, I was connected directly to someone who helped me to realise my full capability, but my career path could have been far less fulfilling if I’d initially had pigeon holed my potential within my military trade group.
If you are about to leave the military, here are just three very simple qualities that you may not realise you have….
Reliability
So, for all of your military career you turned up for work on time and never had a day off sick, even after breaking your leg during your favourite sporting activity. Isn’t this normal?
NO IT ISN’T!! Employers in Civvy Street regularly have to put up with all sorts of excuses from their staff about why they can’t get into work on time or even make it in at all. Employees often suffer from mysterious 24 hour bugs that leave them unable to form their words properly in the morning when they call in sick, only to make a complete recovery by the next morning. Some even have distant relatives that sadly pass away, before somehow miraculously making a full recovery so that they can sadly pass away again 6 months later.
Strong Work Ethic
When you go to work, you work non stop all day unless you’re on some sort of a break. Isn’t this normal.
NO IT ISN’T!!! Many people feel that their working day should be spent chatting to their colleagues about anything other than the task in hand. Or there are those that spend more time telling people around them about what they’ve just done than it took them to do whatever it was in the first place!
Initiative
When you have a problem to solve, you just keep going until you come up with a solution. Surely that’s just a natural thing to do?
NO IT ISN’T!!! When Civvy’s come up against a brick wall, they tend to stop and have a cup of tea before wondering off in a different direction altogether. A problem shared is a problem offloaded in their minds, and it’s never worth them going the extra mile if they can spend 10 minutes daydreaming instead.
Of course, not all civilians are as bad as I’ve suggested above, but employers are often let down by their staff. Remember to highlight all of your attributes during future job interviews and make sure that your basic high standards are recognised.
Happy Hunting!