The synergy between you, your CV and how you sell yourself at interview is vital.  Arguably it all starts with how well you know yourself and what you want out of life/a career after the military. There are a huge number of ways to approach this; if you can find one that is fun then the chances are that you will get more out of it.

I want you to conduct an exercise for me. It’s great fun and aptly named the 3,2,1 exercise - 3 pieces of paper, 2 bottles of wine and 1 fridge door.  Based on the headings of What, Where, How Much – the user friendly version of the 4 classic recruitment consultants questions Function, Sector, Geography, Salary.  You and your partner or you and a good friend write down what you seek under each heading (or in the case of a good friend what they think you seek).  It’s then time for a mutual show and tell – the end result is to be pinned to the fridge.

Other questions to answer that might help:

• ‘Tell me about yourself’ – leads to ‘10 second elevator opening’ leading to the ‘90 second sales pitch’ – focus on who am I, what I enjoy, what is important to me and what are my aspirations rather than what have I done and (‘Figuring Out People’ by Boden, Honer & Hall)
• Why are you leaving – what issues does this raise?
• How do you view your service?
• What is your view to the transition that you are about to undertake?
• Salary - What do you need, what do you want, are you prepared to take an initial pay cut.
• What do you want from your work/life balance.
• What are your freedoms and constraints (e.g. geography, pets, children).
• What environment are you used to?  What environments are you comfortable in?

Self-Awareness Appraisal

• What type of person are you, there are a number of approaches and you can spend a lot of money (e.g. Briggs Meyers test).  Some thoughts:
  • Glasser’s Basic hardwiring – Power and Status, Need and belonging, Fun, Freedom, Survival.
  • What is your role in a team – Shaper, Chairperson, Worker/Implementer, Finisher, Monitor, Team Worker, Resource Investigator, Plant.
• What motivates you? What challenges do you seek? (‘What Colour is my Parachute’ by Richard N. Bolles) What are your motivation factors and what are your hygiene factors (Herzberg)?
• IQ or EI?
• What does success look like in 5 & 10 years time? Contextual goals?