My advice on career transition
At some point in our lives, we decide that what we are doing as a job or career at the moment, isn’t the best for us in the future.
In 2015, after some 12 years in the military – itself a spur of the moment decision that I made when I saw how much friends were really thriving in it - I decided that I should try something new to support causes that I’m passionate about. I’d reached a waypoint in my career, although not achieved the things I’d wanted to – but realised that I had stalled and momentum in a new direction would help me regain the initiative.
This article came about as I regularly get asked by friends leaving the military, how transition works from someone who’s undergone many of them and how it can be more successful.
This is a simplified version of how I transferred from the Royal Marines into the BBC, an international media charity, going freelance, and then starting my own creative agency (Haus of Hiatus).
Career transition can often feel like climbing a mountain, often encountering ‘false summits’ along the way!
Step 1: Meet people in areas of interest to figure out who you are most like.
Meet people in the areas that interest you! By understanding what people actually do in their working day, it will dispel some of the biases that you’ve unknowingly created.
It will help you to understand if you’ve got anything in common with that person – as they’ll be representative of those you’ll be working with in the future and will give you the realities of what it’s like to work for a specific organisation. Do be mindful that not everyone has great experiences with companies or specific managers so let it help you but not make your mind up.
Step 2: Meet people in areas of least interest to figure out who you are least like.
It sounds counter-intuitive however understanding the kind of people that you don’t identify with will help you be more decisive as to what your next career looks like. We spend most of our waking lives in an office or with people so understanding who helps us grow or show our best side is helpful when aiming for the next step.
Step 3: Understand which organisations your skills and experiences fit in and are well received.
Be aware that dream jobs can largely be based on our personal biases and should be checked against reality. I found that my network can access people in many organisations that I’m interested in within a few connections – you just have to ask and be prepared for challenges to this. As alluded in previous articles, be prepared to bring some kind of value to those friends that do help you out.
Step 5: Assess the organisation’s market position and what it delivers differently to its competitors
The skill of critical thinking (ie having an informed position on something based upon logical reasoning) is something that employers look for in 2019, according to the World Economic Forum.
To understand what an organisation’s market position and drivers, we must think deeply about the organisation that is available to us: that which is online; that which we get from people associated with it and that which comes from within it. Only then can we make informed deductions and impress during an interview.
If all that sounds complex, try substituting the organisation with your favourite sports team or role model and think where you’d go to become better informed about them.
Step 6: Create personal relationships around the industries where you want to work
This shouldn’t sound disingenuous, however the statistics for successfully getting though the recruiting process is low.
We need to get better at understanding how we can stand out from the crowd of other CVs that a manager or HR function has to look at. Anecdotally, I watched a boss at an old job wade through hundreds of CVs for my role and slowly lose the ability to differentiate between a good and bad CV based on names that were unknown to him. Those that made the cut, weren’t necessarily the appropriate however made it through depending on the when their CV was assessed.
This doesn’t mean that you have to start aggressively posting on LinkedIn or other social media platforms – but that we need to increase our chances of moving from the unknown pile into the ‘has potential’ pile that may lead to an interview. And this can be done if someone inside the organisation can highlight your CV to go into the potential category.
If you have no friends or acquaintances in an organisation, then think of other ways you can create them. If you are financially able – then be bold and ask to do an internship with the organisation. As long as you prove that you can bring value and won’t be much of challenge to get onboard; most businesses will relish having someone to do the running round and less-glamourous jobs that will give you the insight.
