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Careers after the Armed Forces by Jon Mitchell

My name is Jon Mitchell and I am a Career Coach specialising in Career Transition Coaching for Armed Forces leavers. As well as working with Forces leavers directly I also work as the principle Coach for a recruitment company run by Forces leavers for Forces leavers looking to work in the commercial world. This work involves helping ex Forces people settle into new commercial roles and get up to speed as quickly as possible.

One of the things often talked about by Forces leavers is the lack of reading material available to help answer the fundamental questions of ‘What do I want to do when I leave the Forces? When is a good time to leave? How do I make a successful transition?

As a result of this, and the suggestion from various Forces contacts that I should put my advice in writing, I have done just that. The result is a book titled ‘Careers after the Armed Forces’. The book is published by Kogan Page and is now available in the UK, USA and on Amazon.

A large number of people decide to leave the forces, both in the UK and abroad. They often don’t know what they are qualified to do, which transferable skills they have and how long it will take them to get a job. Also, given the current global economic crisis, there are fewer jobs available and it is even more important than ever that you are as clear as you can be with what it is you want to do and have a realistic action plan to follow to make as smooth a transition as possible.

About the book

If you are looking to leave the Armed Forces you need to do some long hard thinking in terms of what’s important to you and what makes you tick, then apply specific career ideas to that. Careers after the Armed Forces will guide you through this process, with:

• tips on how to make a smooth and successful transition out of the forces;
• exercises to help you identify your ideal career;
• real life case studies;
• advice on CV preparation and interview techniques;
• guidance on evaluating job offers.

The book is written with a focus on people within the commissioned ranks as well as the middle to senior non-commissioned ranks, but it is useful for anyone who is considering leaving the Armed Forces, helping you to answer fundamental questions and get the right job.

The book has two broad areas. The first part of the book is about helping you to understand what’s important to you and what makes you tick and the second part is about practical application such as action planning, how to network effectively, CV writing, interview technique, handling interview questions, negotiating salary as well as a list of Forces friendly recruiters.

There are a lot of resources and exercises out there that can help you work out what’s important to you in your life and I’ve aimed to pick up on the key ones in the book. In addition to this and included in the book for the first time is an exercise called the ‘Careers Bank’.

This is one of the most crucial exercises in the book and is there to help you work out what specific career is going to be right for you moving forwards. It can be a huge challenge working out what career is going to be right for you, especially if you have been in the Forces all your working life and have no experience in the commercial world. The book offers a step by step, practical guide of what to do and when to do it.

Careers after the Armed Forces is available now in all major UK bookshops and online at www.amazon.co.uk and www.koganpage.com

For more information on the book, please visit the website www.careersafterthearmedforces.com and for more information on Jon, please see his website www.jonmitchell.co.uk or email him at jon@jonmitchell.co.uk