Careers after the armed forces by Jon Mitchell

Transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce is a question that some librarians will have to assist their clients with. Careers After the Armed Forces is written specifically for Forces personnel that are considering leaving the Forces or who are in the process of leaving and who need to find work to support themselves and their families. In brisk, short chapters, the book covers making the decision to leave the Forces, selecting a career, writing a resume, interviewing and salary negotiation.

This book does cover some of the unique problems faced by military personnel, such as why leave the Forces during a recession and translating military experience into the civilian workforce, but most of the topics covered will need to be supplemented with a book or additional resources about a specific part of the work search. For example, the section on resumes should probably be read in conjunction with Best Canadian Resumes and the assistance of a counselor or resume review at the very least.

Both the publisher and the author are from the UK, so some of the terminology—“CV”, as opposed to “resume”, and “pay rise” instead of “raise”— and resources do favour Forces leavers from the UK, but the author does make an effort to write for soldiers in developed, English-speaking nations in general. Canadian Forces members will need to look for resources specific to the Canadian civilian labour force, and the one Canadian website reference in the book generated a 404 Page Not Found error.

On the whole, this book would not be enough for any current military member planning a transition from the military, but supplemented with additional resources specific to the person’s current situation, it would be a good book to get the person thinking about career planning and the steps involved in the process.

Careers After the Armed Forces: How to Decide on the Right Career and Make a Successful Transition