As part of a series of blogs aimed at helping military veterans, Barry Harris – Senior Advisor to Proelium Law LLP and UK Army veteran – gives some thoughts on how to land that job.
Be The Best
The Ministry of Defence is constantly informing employers about the strengths of employing former forces personnel so that is a great start.
Marketing Yourself
Marketing is working out what people want, then giving it to them. So find out what your potential employers want, then give it to them via your CV, Linkedin profile, Xing profile, Social Media profiles as these all project you into the world.
Persona Targeting
Reach Job Searchers, Opinion Leaders, Business Owners, and more with your profile.
Generate Activity – Raise Awareness (about you, your skills, your qualifications, your experience, your location and availability), Drive Brand Awareness (you are the brand, it’s all about you), Generate leads.
Job Fairs
Attend job fairs. Tour the bazaar and hand out CV’s to recruiters and employers, dress smart, look sharp, you are on parade for your future!
The Best
MOD recruiting campaigns and its continued industry contact send the message that you are the best. Your CV should certainly highlight your achievements.
They ask the Questions
Effective performance at an interview is not a mystery. Interviews are a core of common questions that tick boxes. If you have got to interview, they already know a lot about you, and their questions will be to establish if you will fit into the company culture. Comprehend the purpose of interview questions and the answers, know your CV by heart. Your effectiveness is a fusion of both your knowledge of your CV and the company profile.
They ask the difficult Questions!
Know what they are – Prepare. There are many sources of interview questions on the internet to study. Of course, you will not know what questions they will ask. A classic is “what is your greatest weakness?” There are some fantastically funny responses out there; I don’t recommend any of them. Your best strategy is openness, honesty, and an answer that is a veiled positive.
Tell me about yourself
Don’t reel off your CV or a detailed life history, they have that already. Give them a three-minute snapshot of why you are the most suited for the position. Be direct, cover why they should hire you, what your objective is, how your education and experience has prepared you for the role, that you are a team player who supports not conflicts with the boss. That you are loyal, and the other qualities that make a good manager, rounding off with a focus on the positive direction of your life, supported with some examples. Such a response should kill off other “difficult” questions. Script the 3 minute snapshot, then rehearse it.
One useful approach is the Elevator Pitch, which should become second nature to you. The elevator pitch contains the following elements: the problem (the job they are trying to fill); the solution (you and why you fit the role); the target market (show you understand the target market); the competition (again show your understanding here); the team (illustrate the research you have done into the potential employer you are talking to); the milestones (of what they have achieved to date and as relates to the specific role); and the future (how you see yourself moving forward with them in this post).
So, what are your skills?
Have them ready:
Transferable skills
Will be important to the employer, think about what exactly they are. You might not realise it, but you will soon learn that Man Management in the armed forces is a science compared to Civvy Street. It might be described as “people skills” avoid this hackneyed cliché.
Knowledge-Based Skills
What did you acquire through education, and how did you successfully apply them, and how can you implement them in this role?
Personal Traits
You are reliable, flexible, friendly, hard-working, with a great sense of humour! (although be careful how you deploy that). You are punctual, you collaborate positively, and are enthusiastic, and trustworthy. You have desire, dedication, discipline, and determination, with great patience. You are respectful and honest. You can be creative and versatile.
Employers love anybody who can bring Mentoring skills and can manage conflicts positively. Anybody who can work productively with their colleagues to find a solution, reach agreement, is ethical, has integrity and can motivate and inspire all around will be highly valued.
The Interview Forum
This is a place and event where you pitch your achievements, qualifications and skills, as Unique Selling Points, at the same time displaying your best character attributes. You might be out of practice for interviews so rehearse with someone else in advance. It’s not Officers’ Week or an interrogation serial, the people intervening you are genuinely looking for someone to fill a gap – why not you?
Good Luck!
At Proelium Law LLP, our commitment is to empower today’s veterans and encourage tomorrow’s professionals. As a progressive company, we support armed forces specialists who recognise the importance of leadership, discipline and perseverance — while seeking new and challenging roles within that will leverage their extensive skills and expertise.
Need advice?
If you’d like further information, or to discuss working with us, please get in touch
