As many ex-service personnel will agree, the move from military to civilian life is often difficult and can be complicated. For a few, it can even be traumatic. After the armed forces, with its routines and traditions, civilian life may appear straightforward and informal. It is not. It has its own way of doing things which can be difficult to understand. Finding work to suit individuals may require re-thinking a person’s outlook, attitude and priorities, both in life and in work. As a former armed forces person with wide and recent experience of recruitment, the author offers a comprehensive guide to dealing with the changes from military to civilian work. There is practical and useful advice on where to look for a job, how to write effective CVs/resumes to catch the eye of recruiters, how to prepare for interviews, and how to deal with job offers. The book also describes different company structures and departments as well as what to consider when starting up your own business. Leaving the Armed Forces and Finding a Job will prove an eminently practical tool for service personnel of all forces and all ranks. .
After attending grammar school in Sheffield, MICHAEL SYKES joined the Royal Navy as a junior radio operator. Following sea-service in HMS Ark Royal, he joined the Submarine Service. He was commissioned and left the Royal Navy in his mid-thirties. His last RN appointment, as a Lt Cdr in the 2nd Submarine Squadron, included work on the privatisation arrangements for the Royal Dockyard, Plymouth. His first civilian job was Personnel Director of Bupa Health Services and he was closely involved in the company’s rapid expansion and recruitment of personnel. He was made an Executive Director in the same company, with direct responsibility for the management of medical centres and was then asked to join the National Health Service as a Regional Executive Director, with particular responsibilities for implementing NHS reforms. He returned to the private sector to join Unilabs UK as the Managing Director and then Chairman before deciding to travel and work abroad with his wife, teaching English and business. He started and owned a language school and translation agency in Slovenia and was asked by Cambridge University to become an English language examiner. In recent years, he was also the Chairman of an anti-piracy maritime security company and became a published author. He has spoken at many conferences on management subjects, been interviewed by the BBC and had several articles printed in various papers and journals. He has three children, one of whom was in the armed forces. Members of his extended family are still in the armed forces. His home is in South Hampshire.