It is never easy to apply for jobs and go through the recruitment process to get yourself the job you deserve. It can often be a lot more difficult for you if you’re leaving behind what may be a career of many years in the armed forces. Although efforts are made to ensure forces leavers can make a clean career transition, it’s necessarily going to be different than it would be for lifelong civilians, because there is a demonstrable change in lifestyle involved.
Therefore, recruitment can and should be tailored differently to different people. The ideal jobs, and best employers, for former forces personnel are out there. Newly-minted civilians can apply for those jobs at any time, but the recruitment process takes time and nuanced steps – and that’s where a marine recruiter comes in.
What can a marine recruiter do for someone leaving the Navy?
A marine recruiter can be essential to your resettlement outside of the forces, because they have worked alongside ex forces with a specific skill set and have cultivated relationships with potential employers that fit that experience. They recognise the efforts that you have been through to get to this point, and they know the qualities you possess as a result. Through their work in recruitment, they also know what employers are looking for, and perhaps more importantly who they are looking for – so they can help pair you with the best employer for your skills and needs.
What does a marine recruiter know that a standard recruiter doesn’t?
To put it simply, a marine recruiter knows the people they are recruiting. They know the way that military life works, and how that experience maps onto the world outside the forces. They’ll recognise, better than any other recruiter, that your military experience makes you an ideal match for certain jobs – and that it may mean there are others where you will get bored easily.
A marine recruiter understands the marine mindset, and they’ll have formed contacts and relationships with civilian employees that make it easier for them to place skilled and determined services leavers. They’ll also know which jobs require security clearance and how to get that ball rolling – as well as which ones may suit your existing clearance.
What will a marine recruiter want to know from a potential recruit?
Above all, they will want to know what you’re looking for: what kind of job will fit you and enable your resettlement into civilian life. They’re not just looking to place you and forget about you. They’re looking to unite veterans with employers who can benefit from that experience.
Not all recruiters will think to ask whether you got engineering or mechanics experience from your time in the Navy, nor whether you worked as part of a ship refit. Information like that can make you perfect for some roles and make those roles perfect for you. A marine recruiter will want to know from you that they can send you to an employer and you won’t have had a wasted journey. So, when you come to them and speak with an open mind, you can be confident of being put forward for roles which will suit you in the long term.
