Monthly Archives: April 2017

Apr 24

There’s life, and work, after Defence

By ZoWun | Career development

The ANZAC day tradition is entrenched in our national identity, however, as proud as we are of our ANZAC heritage, the transition to civilian life following a career in the military is often a journey fraught with challenges.

My own grandfather was in the British army during WWII. He got out after the war ended and went back to his trade as a carpenter. He found it so hard to work alongside people who couldn’t share in his experience of war and who, subsequently, just didn’t understand who he was, that he re-enlisted in the British Army and became a career soldier among people ‘like him’. However, staying in isn’t an option for everyone.

The culture of the Australian Defence Force is unique in that it doesn’t just offer a job, it offers a way of life, a community, a family…

The culture of the Australian Defence Force is unique in that it doesn’t just offer a job, it offers a way of life, a community, a family that is often characterised by camaraderie, honour and commitment outside of the regular 9-5 hours of a civilian job. Moving into civilian life can be a culture shock for Defence members and can result in a loss of identity, feeling cut off from the community of Defence families, no longer feeling respected as a serving member, and along with that, a loss of personal status.  Additionally, sometimes, military training is not recognised in civilian labour markets which means all that training and development that you undertook during the course of your service can feel useless because it just doesn’t get you anywhere on the outside. All of this can impact your ability to connect with other people, build friendships with civilians and rebuild your professional identity. As a result, depression, anxiety, PTSD and other mental health challenges can rear their heads and it’s really important to ensure that you are well-prepared with appropriate resources and support networks to assist you in the transition from military to civilian life.

Defence Force veterans can come up against bias and prejudice (conscious or subconscious) in the civilian labour market, but these struggles don’t have to define your experience. Common issues include hirers being prejudiced against ex-military members because of preconceived ideas about their inability to think independently, being hard task masters, inflexible and being fierce sticklers for following rules– we’ve all seen those military movies with those frightening drill masters screaming in soldier’s faces, spittle flying! However, modern military members know that this is far from the case. When you are applying for work, you can shake this impression by following the same rule that civilians need to follow when it comes to applying for work: tailor your application to suit the needs of the job.

Your résumé and cover letter needs to be about you, but it also needs to be about the hirer and their needs. Your job in applying for positions is to make it as easy as possible for the hirer to identify your value to them and thus be able to align your skills and experience with the needs of the vacant position. Acronyms and jargon often become such an ingrained element to Defence personnel’s language that it creeps into application documents under the guise of assumed knowledge. In reality, all this does is complicate and confuse civilian hirers who become bamboozled by terms they don’t understand and this clouds the value that you bring to the work place. Focus on communication skills, relationships building, listening skills, genuine leadership characterised by empowerment and staff development. Break your skills down into translatable categories that will create meaning for a prospective employer: consider business acumen, leadership, communication and team work as the cornerstones for your areas of expertise, and remember that you need to help the hirer understand how your military service empowers you to work ethically and honourably with a sense of accountability and drive that is second to none. There are also industries that offer a similar sense of belonging and camaraderie that you can consider such as the police force and even mining.

Military service is something to be proud of. It can also be a great asset in the civilian labour market if it’s pitched appropriately.

Apr 17

I want to get into mining!

By ZoWun | Career development

‘I want to get into mining,’ is a statement I still often here from clients. For many, winning a job in mining is perceived as being similar to winning the lottery – it means a big salary that can open doors for people in their lives.

During the mining boom, opportunities were more widely available despite still being quite difficult to land. This fever doesn’t appear to have been diminished much by the downturn in the mining industry. When mining traineeships are advertised, people tend to go a little crazy and the number of applications that are submitted for a small number of jobs can number up to 1000.

I hear from a really broad spectrum of people who are apparently interested in getting into the mines as mobile plant operators: from labourers and tradespeople to hairdressers and teachers. Across this diverse group, there is a common theme: they are looking for a big pay cheque. They don’t often want the actual job in the mines, they want the salary that goes with it and there is a big problem with this.

Working in the mining industry is not an easy job. Reverse parking a 380t+ dump truck under a 300t+ digger is obviously significantly harder than reverse parking a Holden Astra at Big W. It might be considered ‘unskilled’ work, but operating mining equipment is a huge responsibility and it does take confidence and a particular skill set to be able to master. The people who succeed in this industry are the ones with a genuine passion for the work – who live and breathe the industry and the equipment, with a real buzz for operating such huge and powerful machines. To succeed, the pay cheque has to come second to the love for the job.

Then you have the living situation. For many, moving into the mining industry means FIFO work – this is not for everyone. I speak to a lot of people with families that are wanting to ‘make the sacrifice to provide for their family.’ This is honestly a really noble approach, however in reality, nobility doesn’t protect your mental health or repair broken relationships as you find yourself spending more of your life away from your family than with them. This can breed resentment, loneliness, separation issues from children (for both the parent and the child/ren), and we’ve all seen the reports on mental health issues and suicide rates in FIFO workers by not-for-profit organisations like Lifeline and various government agencies.

Furthermore, the pay cheque can be a bigger burden than saving grace.

Furthermore, the pay cheque can be a bigger burden than saving grace. People tend to get into debt based on the salary that they are earning – it allows them to get the loan for their dream home and to finally purchase that super powered GT. However, the mining industry is far from stable and jobs are not as secure as they used to be. Technological development is driving change in the industry and they are moving away from manned operation and moving towards remote control for cost and safety reasons. This means there is an increasing number of people who have got themselves into debt to a level that they can’t sustain back home in other industries and this is causing greater pressure and stress on their home-life. Mining might seem like the answer to their prayers, but even if they manage to get into a traineeship, it can be a personal, familial and financial disaster.

This story has an important theme – when you are looking at your options when it comes to job choices, consider what you will be doing on a daily basis and whether or not it is something that you would genuinely enjoy. There is nothing worse than dreading getting up in the morning because you have to go to work and even when the pay cheque is substantial, there really is no price that you can put on being there for your children, your spouse and being able to sustain a healthy mental outlook.  You also need to consider the projected developments in the industry that will define growth and continued labour stability as technology is driving change in the marketplace and impacting jobs across the board. There is a lot more to consider than the salary.

 

Apr 04

What is career development?

By ZoWun | Career development

What is career development? Typically speaking, we only really think about our career in terms of job seeking and while this is certainly a large part of it, it’s not the only part of it. That rush of panic when you find a job that you want to apply for and you realise that your résumé hasn’t been updated in 15 years and you have no idea how to respond to selection criteria (we’ve all been there!) is not a pleasant feeling! Effectively managing your career can help you prepare for these unexpected opportunities.

Career development is a lifelong process and it combines managing your education and training, your work experience and career progression, your network and community interaction together with your recreational activities to ensure that your life is balanced between work and home. It takes effort but once you are aware of the importance of consciously managing your career, the fog surrounding your future begins to lift and you are able to identify your opportunities in work, education and networking more clearly.

Statistics indicate that we spend up to 75% of our time in work related activities – travelling to work, attending work, talking about work, complaining about work, worrying about work. When it takes up so much of our time, it’s really important that we get this right, and yet many of us have a reactive approach to managing our careers.

In order to stay on top of our career development, we need to be proactive. Instead of waiting for an opportunity to arise and then panicking, we need to be prepared for it and if possible, seek and create it. Instead of dusting off the résumé and freaking out over having to update it quickly, we should maintain it as we progress through our career: every time we achieve something at work, we should document it so we aren’t left racking our brains when we are trying to demonstrate our skills and experience.

I can feel your eyes roll at the administrative perfection that proactive career development seemingly demands. Perhaps this is a plan for the perfect world as life can get so busy it is difficult to keep up with the immediate demands. However, it is worth it to keep your documents up to date with your current achievements in the long run, as this doesn’t only make our résumé current, it also allows us to build a strong, conscious awareness of our skills and capabilities which actually improves our work productivity and performance as our confidence grows. This in itself can lead to new opportunities!

Moreover, this conscious awareness of your experience and skill development is important because when you are aware of where you are at professionally speaking, it allows you to be more mindful of opportunities for training and development, for achieving experience, and for building networks with people who may be relevant to the direction in which you are heading.

Debriefing is an equally important part of career development and it is often overlooked. Talking to a career practitioner (or trusted third party) about what is going on at work can help you work through any issues or roadblocks, help you transition through promotions and manage success, as well as  identify areas for improvement and seek opportunities for growth and building visibility. All that complaining about work can actually be really beneficial to your career development! Who knew?! Career counselling isn’t just for managing outplacement and for high school kids looking to choose a course (although it’s great for that too): talking to someone else about your career goals, frustrations, successes and failures is really important as soundboarding your ideas and verbalising your experiences – both good and bad – can help you to clarify what you want to achieve and how you can achieve it.

Career development as a lifelong process might be daunting or seemingly eye rolling in tedium, but it isn’t a journey we take on our own and it can lead to achieving the goals that we set out to smash.

 

This article was first published in the Border Mail on April 17, 2017, and is republished here with permission from the Editor in Chief, Xavier Mardling.