Career Pursuit - 2021

Everything you need for a successful career or business on the move

Welcome

Living in our Shoes: Understanding the needs of UK Armed Forces families, June 2020

When I launched Career Pursuit last year, it was precisely to solve the problem above. Although a wealth of employment and business support was out there for military spouses/partners, there was nothing to centrally signpost it. Career Pursuit solved that problem. It provided a consolidated hub of information for anyone embarking on a career change or business start-up.

I am, therefore, excited to announce that Career Pursuit returns this year and is bigger and better than ever!

The 2021 edition of the magazine has grown considerably. It has gone from being a fledgling initiative produced at my kitchen table to boasting an entire professional production team. It contains additional resources, courses, and advice for job seekers and entrepreneurs to help navigate the unique challenges facing the military community.

Excitingly, sponsorship from Barclays and RAF Astra means Career Pursuit will reach even more people. As leading supporters of the military, these organisations recognise the enormous value the magazine brings to serving members and their partners across the UK Armed Forces writ large. With their fantastic support, we have been able to release the latest version of Career Pursuit both digitally and in print. For this, I cannot thank them enough.

The true value of Career Pursuit, however, comes from the contributors and production team who bring it to life. Every article in the magazine is written, produced, and published by a military spouse/partner or veteran, even down to the printing! This just goes to show what an amazing variety of expertise we have in our fantastic community. I always advise people to reach out within the military community with any career or business-related questions they may have. Their support to launch the 2021 edition of Career Pursuit is testament to this eclectic mix of talent. With their input, we have been able to create a very high-quality and professional product.

Happy reading, best of luck wherever your journey takes you, and I hope that Career Pursuit assists along the way.

“The limited awareness of support opportunities points to an urgent need for better information for spouses and partners and a more joined-up approach to coordinating it.”

Founder and Editor-in-Chief

Meet the Team

Helen Massy - Founder and Editor-in-Chief

Helen produces Career Pursuit following her own experience of career transition due to overseas military postings. Aside from the magazine, she is a medical and health content writer specialising in medical articles, health-focused blogs, and well-being based website content. Helen has an extensive background as a healthcare professional and senior leader in the NHS, alongside being a mother to three young children and a welltravelled military spouse of 18 years. This eclectic mix of attributes brings a unique blend of clinical insight, professional credibility, and life experience to her work. www.medicalandhealthwriter.com

Jessica Brown - Copyeditor

Jessica served for over 13 years in the Royal Air Force, in various flight operations and instructional roles, before training with the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading. She is now a professional copyeditor and proofreader specialising in non-fiction editing. As well as working with independent writers and publishers, she has extensive experience editing copy and content for business clients in a range of industries from military technology to health and wellness. As a veteran, and now military spouse, she is delighted to be a part of the Career Pursuit team for the second year and have the opportunity to utilise her editorial skills to help support the military community. www.jessicakatebrown.com

Jess Sands - Graphic Designer

Jess is the owner and designer at Design • Jessica, a design and branding agency launched in 2012, and is currently based in Central London. As a qualified graphic designer and commercially minded brand designer, Jess works with inspiring entrepreneurs, bringing clarity and vision to their projects. With a passion for branding, Jess specialises in styling companies from start to finish, whether they are a new business looking for their first designs or more established companies hoping for a fresh take on their brand and literature. As host of The InDependent Spouse podcast, founder of The Milspo Network CIC, and RAF wife, Jess takes pride in her knowledge of ‘the military way’ as showcased in her recent commissions, including Career Pursuit. www.designjessica.co.uk

Forces Print & Promotion - Printers of Career Pursuit

Established in 2019 by an ex-Sapper, Lee Gray, Forces Print & Promotion is for the Forces by the Forces.

Lee completed basic training at Pirbright before joining the Royal Engineers and beginning training as a geographic technician at the Royal School of Military Survey, Hermitage. Once trained, Lee was posted to 13 Geographic Squadron, 42 Engineer Regiment at RAF Wyton, Huntingdon.

Lee is a graphic designer by trade and after being medically discharged in 2018, has worked for many design companies, including working for NATO in the Hague, Netherlands, as part of its creative media team. www.forcesprintandpromotion.co.uk

EXPERT ADVICE FOR JOBSEEKERS & EMPLOYEES

EXPERT ADVICE FOR ENTREPRENEURS & SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

RESOURCES

CHECKLISTS

pg4 Financial Resilience

pg6 To Profile or Not to Profile? That Is the Question

pg8 Avoiding Burnout: Managing Stress & Building Resilience

pg11 Optimising LinkedIn

pg14 What You Need to Know about Salary Negotiation

pg16 Preparing for a Job Interview: Top Tips for Success

pg19 Writing a CV: What You Need to Know

pg21 How to Develop a Growth Mindset

pg28 How to Take a Great LinkedIn Headshot without Being a Pro

pg33 How to Simplify Social Media for Your Business

pg36 Pensions for Business Owners

pg38 Building a Strong Brand for Your Business

pg40 The Importance of Collaboration in Business

pg42 Starting Your Own Podcast

pg44 Small Things That Make Your Business a Big Success

pg47 Where to Start with Building a Website

pg49 Behind the Scenes: What Programs/ Systems to Use within Your Business

pg51 Digital Marketing Training

pg56 The Military Coworking Network

pg59 Tri-service Families Federations

pg60 Recruit for Spouses

pg62 Heropreneurs

pg64 X-Forces

pg66 The MILSPO Business Network

pg68 Supporting the Unsung Hero

pg70 Forces Families Jobs

pg72 RFEA Families Programme

pg74 LifeWorks Families

pg76 Positive Transition

pg78 Veterans’ Employment Transition Support (VETS) Programme

pg80 e50K

pg83 Questions You Can Ask at the End of an Interview

pg84 Career on the Move

FINANCIAL RESILIENCE

By Nadine Monks Director of Forces Family

As an adviser of many years and a seasoned Army wife, I can empathise with muddling through life, one assignment order at a time, trying your best just to make sure the kids get into a good nearby school and ensuring the housing is of an adequate standard. Anything else can feel like a bonus. So, when it comes to carving out a plan for financial stability, it often feels like a distant pipedream.

Finance Nadine Monks has extensive experience with mortgage broking and insurance and has been in financial services for over 15 years. Are you going through a career change and worried about where you stand financially?

In this article, Nadine explores financial resilience and the aspects you may want to consider.

When you throw in a change of career or employment, be it out of choice or, as it is quite often in military life, ‘imposed’, it raises many questions. Will anyone want me? Will I like it? Do we need to relocate (again!)? How will we cope with childcare? However, rarely do I find people realistically weighing up financial resilience as part of this transition. Whether you are green and keen, a partner of, or simply had enough of service life, there are two things that you can always be certain of:

1. At any point in your life, you will always need somewhere to live.

2. You will always need money to survive.

This is why sound financial planning is key, starting as early as possible in your military career and re-revaluating regularly, particularly if you are expecting any change in circumstances. This applies to partners and spouses too.

It sounds so obvious but consider this − just by looking at the current pandemic, it is easy to see why being financially resilient is important. Millions of people have lost an income overnight and are relying on the state, charities, and/or loans for financial assistance.

Whilst for many this is a necessity; wouldn’t it be nice to not have to worry and/or to have the choice? A recent industry report suggests that the average household believes it can last 90 days if it were to lose its income and rely solely on savings. However, in reality, it is just 24 days (source: ‘Deadline to Breadline 2020’ report, Legal & General). Moving forward, how can you make sure you are not one of these statistics?

If you are leaving the Armed Forces, consider:

• Your current benefits package and how you can/will replace this. It is rare to get an employer with such a generous pension scheme, death benefits, sick pay, and welfare package.

• Don’t forget that you will need to make or potentially update a private will.

If you are currently a homemaker or housewife/ househusband:

• Do not undervalue your worth and contribution to the household. The impact of you being unable to fulfil these duties can still be quantified, for example, the cost of a cook, cleaner, childcare, etc.

If you are in the process of securing new employment:

• Ensure you ask about the details of the benefits package you will receive.

• Obtain a copy of your employment contract early on. More essentially, read it and understand it.

• Consider how much you would receive if you could not work due to sickness or disability and for how long.

• Would your family receive any benefits if you were to die?

If you are in the process of becoming selfemployed or setting up a business:

• Do your research on what you would be entitled to for various circumstances.

• Add creating your own benefits package to your list of things to action. Just because you are not an employee does not mean that you cannot insure yourself.

In all cases:

• Enlist the expertise of a ‘whole of market’ financial adviser who can discuss your current situation and aspirations, assess your needs and any gaps in your planning, and provide tailored solutions.

Of course, financial resilience is not just about insurance or a pension pot (although it helps!). There are so many other ways you can ensure that you can bounce back from what life throws at you. And the more diverse your plan, the greater the likelihood of success.

Maybe you are only at the beginning of your journey, or perhaps you are ready to start looking towards your golden years.

Regardless, if you are interested in exploring this concept, Forces Family Finance offers a free downloadable workbook available at www.forcesfamilyfinance.co.uk, along with a range of other blogs, downloads, and information.

If you prefer one-to-one advice, you are welcome to give us a call on 0330 332 2614

Forces Family Finance is an Appointed Representative of New Leaf Distribution Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Number 460421.

“This is why sound financial planning is key, starting as early as possible in your military career and re-revaluating regularly, particularly if you are expecting any change in circumstances.”

TO PROFILE OR NOT TO PROFILE? THAT IS THE QUESTION

By Graham Brown

Many of you will have done behavioural profiling before. They are common in positions with higher yielding salaries and have found their place in many recruiters’ and employers’ hiring processes.

We have used several behavioural profiling tools over the years, and I am a Master Coach for the Contribution Compass platform.

Have you experienced or considered behavioural profiling?

Graham Brown, Managing Director of the Forces Recruitment Solutions Group, discusses the benefits of behavioural profiling and the Contribution Compass platform.

I have put this platform at the centre of our new training programme to help veterans find the right position post-service.

SO, WHAT IS CONTRIBUTION COMPASS ALL ABOUT?

Understanding your natural behaviour, your default position, and how you contribute towards a team is paramount for living a balanced life. The more you understand about yourself and the others around you, the more effective you can be. Understanding all this and learning to spot the clues around the behaviour of your interviewer can get you ahead of the game and put you in pole position to land the job you are after.

FINDING YOUR FLOW

When you understand your natural energy, you can find your personal flow. Flow is when things are easy, when time disappears, when there is no friction or struggle; it is your path of least resistance.

• Do you naturally have creative flair?

• Or, are you a people person?

• Are you a natural completer?

• Or, are you a detailed refiner?

There are four types of flow:

• Peak flow – as outlined above, being in the ‘zone’.

• Mid flow – things are going well.

• Low flow – things are going ok, but you are struggling a lot of the time.

• No flow – you are disengaged. Things don’t come easily. Time drags. You are wiped out, mentally and physically.

It’s impossible to stay in peak flow constantly, but if you aim to be in flow for most of the time, you can build strategies around when you’re not in flow and try to lift yourself up one level.

You should pay attention because discovering your natural flow opens a box of gems that levels up your productivity.

TALENT FREQUENCIES

This visual shows a sample profile. The four numbers are called your talent frequencies and will outline what your natural behavioural talents are. They are like energy tanks and, like all tanks, will drain when that energy is sapped. The number that has an impact on your day-to-day behaviour is around 24%. We can do any of the above in any moment, but the lower scores will burn out much faster, and you will be left with zero energy in that tank. When you understand that, you can plan around it and develop a strategy to better support yourself. So, you can plan work in limited blocks of time and reward yourself with something you enjoy.

Activating energy

This energy tackles obstacles head-on, solves problems, and sees new opportunities missed by others. It sparks activity, drives others forward, and maximises the view of the bigger picture and the visionary future ahead. High activators have bags of dynamic and creative energy.

Inspiring energy

Inspiring energy ignites the spark in others, rallying the team to support the shared vision while striving to excel, individually and collectively. It hears the voice and sentiment of the people in the team and builds engagement, rapport, and team spirit, as well as connecting with others around them and their network to rally behind the same cause. This energy maximises the talent of a group and fires them up to get moving.

Sustaining energy

Sustaining energy is grounded in reality and understands the elements, resources, and pace required to achieve sustainable growth. This energy maximises value through the consistent application of the right effort along with persistent commitment to completion. People with this energy are very good project managers, completers, and they get things done.

Refining energy

Refining energy brings a sharp eye for detail, cutting through the noise and identifying risk with a factual and data-based perspective. It has the ability to assess and solve complex problems while optimising efficiency and return. This energy maximises value through analysis and the testing of solutions with a considered approach that focuses on continuous improvement.

Employers using a behavioural platform such as Contribution Compass are trying to make sure you have the right attitude and balance for the role as well as the skills. I fully support doing profiling as part of our own recruitment process, as we want to make sure the role is a good fit for the job seeker as well as the employer; it’s important to have a good symbiotic fit. Otherwise you will end up job hopping until you find something that’s right for you. It’s very hard to leave a job that’s fulfilling you.

We will debrief you when you’ve done a report with us so you get the most out of the experience yourself, and this will help you to settle into your new role and develop. It will help you understand the team around you better, so any friction can be dealt with much earlier.

We will show you how different profile types interview and challenge you, and we can even outline what they will be like to work with.

Learn it, leverage it, and put it to good use.

If you want to do a profile or enrol onto the Military Dynamics training programme, contact me for more information.

Email: gbrown@forcesrecruitment.co.uk

Tel: 01353 645004

Clubhouse/Instagram: @ukveteran

So, whatever energy and profile you are, you have a superpower.

AVOIDING BURNOUT: MANAGING STRESS & BUILDING RESILIENCE

Wellbeing trainer, coach, and founder of mental health training company

The past year has been a challenge. There’s no doubt about it. Many people are struggling with declining mental health due to changes in routine, working from home, being away from friends and family, unemployment, uncertainty of job security, and a lack of face-to-face support. It’s no surprise there has been an increase in people admitting they are finding these times tough; it’s been a perfect storm to brew ill mental health. In my opinion, one of the positives to come out of the pandemic is the authentic way people are now talking about how they are really feeling and asking for help when they need it.

YourNorth, Kelly Farr advises on how to avoid burnout and build resilience through your career change.

By Kelly Farr

SELF-CARE

There have been themes running through conversations I’ve been having, and words like ‘overwhelm’, ‘burnout’, and ‘stress’ are most commonplace. Stress is a part of everyday life. Since we cannot eliminate it, learning how to recognise the signs of stress overload before hitting burnout and boosting our ability to handle stressful situations is more important than ever.

In an ideal world, prevention is better than correction, so if you incorporate techniques into your daily life to build resilience, you will be better equipped to deal with the inevitable ups and downs of life. I’m sure you’ve heard someone offer stress management advice in the form of “take a deep breath” or “get more sleep”, which are both fantastic pieces of advice and ones we should definitely take notice of and implement into our lives. There are many other practical tips and techniques we can choose to adopt to improve our mental wellbeing and boost our resilience.

If you are heading for a career change, currently seeking employment, or about to step into the world of selfemployment, give some consideration to the following ways you can improve your mental wellbeing and avoid burnout:

This comes in many forms and is unique to each person. You may envisage a spa break, a pedicure, or something else indulgent – this isn’t always the case or what you may need; self-care is anything you do to look after yourself, both physically and mentally. Emotional self-care can be expressed by showing yourself compassion, attending therapy if required, or keeping a regular journal to keep track of your emotional state. An area often overlooked is from a social perspective; this is where you set personal boundaries, limit negative social media consumption, and remove toxic relationships from your life. With self-care, make sure you differentiate between ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’, e.g. excessive exercise or overindulging with food or alcohol may provide you with short-term satisfaction, but it can be detrimental to your health in the long run.

PHYSICAL HEALTH

Keeping your mind and body ticking over is imperative for good mental wellbeing, and it’s essential to drink plenty of water and eat a balanced diet. Keep active and, if possible, move every day, even if it’s just for a short walk. Keep your mind busy and do some challenging activities like puzzles or crosswords.

NATURE

Spending time in nature does wonders to lift your mood, so go outside, get some fresh air, and top up your Vitamin D. If you cannot go outside, then spend some time by the window and/or around indoor plants. Human−animal interactions are known to activate oxytocin production in our body, which counteracts the effects of stress.

MINDFULNESS

This is a technique that allows you to remain in the present, observing your thoughts and feelings without judgement. Anxiety is future based. Therefore, one of the benefits of practising mindfulness is that by being in the present, you cannot

One of the positives to come out of the pandemic is the authentic way people are now talking about how they are really feeling and asking for help when they need it.

be worrying about the ‘what next?’ and the ‘what ifs’. This makes it a very effective preventative measure or coping strategy.

BE CREATIVE

You know that thing you wanted to try for ages and kept putting off? Well, now is the perfect time to do it! Being creative and trying new things is great for our mental health, especially activities that involve connecting with others. There are plenty of in-person and online groups you can join, offering a diverse range of activities. Crafting is fantastic and an excellent way to introduce mindfulness into an activity. Think about a hobby you used to enjoy and, for some reason, stopped doing… and maybe give it another go!

CONNECT WITH OTHERS

Nurturing positive relationships is so important for our wellbeing, especially during times like this past year when there have been so many restrictions. Reach out to friends and family via phone or video message, or write a letter to someone you haven’t been in touch with in a while. If you are lonely, reach out to a support group or volunteer to befriend others who feel isolated. If you have recently moved to a new area, join the local Facebook page and see what’s happening in your neighbourhood.

DEEP BREATHING

One of the most effective tools for managing stress and anxiety is breathwork – there are so many techniques to choose from, including box breathing, finger breathing, etc. A very effective breathing technique is to place your hand on your heart and think of a loved one while you breathe deeply, as this also activates oxytocin production and reduces stress.

SLEEP HYGIENE

Good quality sleep is vital for your wellbeing. If sleep is an issue, consider implementing a routine to wind down before bedtime. This could involve avoiding any device that emits blue light for about an hour before bed and ensuring your bedroom is comfortable and a cool temperature. Do something relaxing, like taking a bath − sprinkle in some Epsom bath salts, as this increases your magnesium levels, which in turn reduces your stress hormones. Listening to binaural beats assists sleep, as the frequency is engineered to slow down your brain waves, and lavender essential oil on your pillow works really well to help you relax. Be mindful of using drugs and/or alcohol to aid sleep.

WORKPLACE SUPPORT NETWORKS

Regardless of whether you are employed, self-employed, or seeking employment, it’s important to have a supportive network around you to offer advice and guidance if needed.

Create a support committee, comprising colleagues or likeminded professionals, a mentor or career coach, and also make sure you have access to a mental health professional or at least know where to go for help.

WORKING FROM HOME

With so many of us now working from home, it can sometimes be tricky to strike that work−life balance and have the discipline to ‘switch off when we clock off’. It’s crucial to establish a productive work area and have a workday routine. Factor in appropriate breaks throughout the day and find the balance between how much work you feel you should do and how much you actually have to do. Stay in touch with colleagues and/or your support network, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

GRATITUDE

Gratitude is the secret weapon in the quest for improved wellbeing. As we come out of living through a really challenging period, it’s important we focus on what we do have, rather than what we don’t have. Gratitude releases dopamine, which is the brain’s ‘reward centre’, and the more we are grateful for, the more we find to be grateful for. In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently linked to greater happiness. You can express and practise gratitude through journalling, telling people, writing letters, popping notes in a gratitude jar, or keeping a ‘pleasant events’ diary, which is an ‘in-the-moment’ journal.

SELF-TALK

Last, but definitely not least, let’s chat about self-talk – or more specifically, negative self-talk. Unless you’ve got this under control, it can sometimes be tricky to get any of the above done. Negative self-talk is also the fuel for the dreaded imposter syndrome, which has a knack of raising its head when we are feeling particularly low or going through a challenging period in our lives. A powerful exercise to combat negative self-talk is to write down what you say to yourself and then form an affirmation which is the complete opposite. Repeat this to yourself often to reinforce the positive. Regardless of what your negative internal voice says, you ARE enough… you are so ridiculously enough!

If you are concerned about your mental health, please speak with a healthcare professional or relevant professional agency.

Kelly Farr − YourNorth

Website: www.yournorth.co.uk

Email: info@yournorth.co.uk

Facebook: @YourNorthUK

Twitter: @YourNorth

OPTIMISING LINKEDIN

First off, what is LinkedIn?

Well, in their own words, “LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network online. Here, you can find the ideal job or internship, connect with others, strengthen professional relationships, and learn the skills you need to succeed in your career. You can access LinkedIn from a desktop, LinkedIn mobile app, mobile web experience, or the LinkedIn Lite Android mobile app. A complete LinkedIn profile can help you connect with opportunities by showcasing your unique professional story through experience, skills, and education. You can also use LinkedIn to organize offline events, join groups, write articles, post photos and videos, and more.”

In a competitive job market, getting yourself in front of your desired employers, standing out from the rest, and securing an interview may all seem a bit daunting, but in today’s digital age, it’s easier than ever. In this short article, I’m going to break down my top tips, what to do and what to avoid, and how to create effective engagement on LinkedIn, to get you in front of the right people and into your dream career.

In a nutshell, it’s a social media platform for you to network professionally.

Now, that might all sound a little hectic and alien, but by the end of this article, you’ll be able to set up your profile with an authoritative and professional layout and be ready to start engaging with your ideal clients or employers.

WHY LINKEDIN?

LinkedIn is a very broad and diverse social media platform. It is easy to get in contact with people (even if you don't know

By Marc Clifford

them yet) and find information on a topic you are interested in. Even if you don't want to post information yourself, you can find inspiration in the posts of others. If you are looking for a new job role, you can follow companies you are interested in and get in contact with them by finding out who already works there.

SETTING UP YOUR PROFILE

It’s critical to get LinkedIn right. First impressions count when meeting a prospective employer, and you should treat this as your first impression.

Here are my top tips for getting your profile to the top of the pile on the first go!

1. Your profile picture should be a high-quality headshot. Many smartphones now have an excellent camera, so there’s no need to rush to your local photographer for a shoot! Unless you already have a photo hanging around, I’d suggest using an area with great natural lighting, a neutral background, and avoid being too casual. The last thing your prospective new boss wants to see is you in the local beer garden. It’s important to note, this doesn’t have to be like your standard passport photo − make sure to smile!

2. Much like Facebook, LinkedIn allows you to have a banner picture on your profile. This should be a clear image but

doesn’t necessarily have to be related to the job you’re seeking. For example, you could use it to showcase somewhere you’ve travelled, a great piece of work you’ve captured on camera, or to display any awards and accolades you’ve achieved (not your swimming proficiency!).

3. Your bio is a brief introduction to anyone who visits your profile. When introducing yourself to someone in-person, you wouldn’t tell them your life story, so keep your bio short, snappy, and straight to the point. Tell them what you do, who it could benefit, and how. Mine, for example, is ‘I help e-commerce businesses dramatically improve their sales and revenue, utilising powerful digital marketing strategies on search engines and social media.’ This tells anyone who visits my profile who I serve, with what, and how.

4. Create a custom URL. Creating a custom URL is an efficient way of building your personal brand and letting recruiters and companies find you quickly. To set this up:

• Go to the top right of your profile page and click ‘Edit public profile & URL’.

• In the top right again, click ‘Edit your custom URL’.

• Change the numbers to your name and maybe what you do. For example, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ joebloggs-cyberengineer. It’s much better than all those random numbers and just takes two minutes to make your profile look more professional. Plus, it’s a double whammy, as it helps you to be found on Google too!

5. Send meaningful connections. Now your profile is set up, you can start connecting with your audience. It’s good to connect with people you already know on LinkedIn, as they’ll be able to endorse you for your skills (more on this shortly!). However, outside of your existing network, your connections need to be meaningful. Engage with people in your desired industry, prospective employers, and people of authority in your area. Make sure to attach a welcome note to your connection request!

TOP TIPS FOR JOBSEEKERS ON LINKEDIN

Now your profile is set up, looking great, and you’re ready to start searching for your new career. These top tips will ensure you get the most out of the platform:

Get endorsements where available. Endorsements are a way of showcasing your skills and showing how proficient you are at them. The quickest and easiest way to do this is by leveraging your existing network. Many of your past supervisors and peers, who are best placed to know your talents, are probably already on LinkedIn; ask them if they’ll endorse you, and make sure you do the same in return!

#ONO and the green sticker. Many people don’t know about this, but #ONO means ‘open to new opportunities’. Put this at the bottom of your ‘About’ section and not in your headline. Avoid the green sticker. It won’t help your job search but may hinder you when recruiters come to offer you a job. LinkedIn experts advise that it doesn’t allow you to differentiate yourself and can cause recruiters to lower the salary offer.

Headlines. Recruiters will often search for a role name, such as ‘project manager’, so the best LinkedIn headlines need to be searchable. Be specific and get straight to the point. Your profile will be glossed over if it isn’t clear what you do. If you have more than one role which suits you, then write it like this: ‘Project Manager | Learning Manager’.

Experience. Write two or three lines for each role, summarising what you did and achieved. Use buzzwords and industry keywords to showcase what you do. Recruiters will match these to a job specification, much like they would with a CV, so make sure they’re in your profile.

Contact details. Make sure you’re able to be contacted by a recruiter as soon as they find you. Make sure you use a professional email address (probably not the one you created when you were 16!).

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network online. Here, you can find the ideal job or internship, connect with others, strengthen professional relationships, and learn the skills you need to succeed in your career.

DO’S

A brief summary of what to do on LinkedIn to engage, stand out, and get noticed for the right reasons.

• Search on LinkedIn. Search companies and people within your industry that you can learn and be inspired by.

• Engage with these people. Leave a comment on their posts, so they know who you are.

• Share relevant points, articles, and pictures. This will also help to boost your engagement.

• When updating your profile, ensure you have turned off ‘Share profile edits’. When editing your profile, LinkedIn will automatically share what updates you’re making to your profile.

To turn this off:

1) Click on your picture at the top of the page (on a mobile, click the wheel at the top of the page).

2) Select ‘Settings and Privacy’.

3) Click on the ‘Visibility’ tab and select ‘Share profile edits with your network’. Ensure this is set to ‘No’.

week. Most are looking to sell their products or services to my business, and if they don’t include a brief introduction or a brief explanation of why they want to connect with me, it gets deleted right away. People don’t want blind engagement; they want meaningful connections. Even if you’re using the mobile app, you can include a message.

CREATING ENGAGEMENT AND ENGAGING

Engaging and creating engagement with people on LinkedIn is a great way to build authority, get your name noticed by the right people, and build trust. If you’re hiding in the shadows, you won’t be found by recruiters.

• Groups. Joining LinkedIn groups and engagement groups is a sure-fire way to get your engagement going through the roof. Plus, you never know who you’ll meet.

• Ask questions. When sharing a post to your news feed, why not ask a question with a call to action at the bottom? Getting a conversation going in the comments section will boost your post up the news feed. It will show it to your connections who have engaged and even to 2nd- or 3rd-degree connections.

• Engage with your followers. If someone leaves a comment on a post you’ve shared, make sure you reply to it. Conversation is king.

• Engage with your ‘Not Yet Followers’. If you’re connected with the right people, you’ll find all sorts of engaging posts and topics being shown in your feed. Engage with people in the comments and they may well follow you too!

WHAT TO AVOID

These are the top things to avoid doing on LinkedIn if you want to remain attractive to recruiters and prospective employers.

• Don’t treat it like Facebook. This isn’t somewhere to be sharing cat videos or buy/sell/swap posts. By all means, share content with your connections but make sure it’s relevant, engaging, and clean.

• Upload your CV to your ‘About’ section. Your ‘About’ section isn’t your CV. It’s short, snappy, and straight to the point to draw engagement. If you feel compelled to upload a CV or portfolio, then upload it as a separate document.

• Don’t send connection requests without adding a message. I get hundreds of connection requests every

In summary, with 675 million professionals engaging with LinkedIn every year, it’s undoubtedly the best way to boost your personal brand and professional profile, all through your fingertips. If you follow these steps, I’m confident you’ll be on the right track to career success.

Marc Clifford − On The Line Digital

Email: marc@onthelinedigital.com

Facebook: @onthelinedigital

Instagram: @marcpjclifford

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marcclifford1

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SALARY NEGOTIATION

Money, money, money.

Director of the specialist ex-military recruitment company, Joint Force Alba, delves into the logistics of negotiating a salary. Joint Force Alba focuses on supporting organisations in Scotland to access the uniquely experienced and highly-skilled talents from the Armed Forced veteran community.

Salary negotiation can be one of the trickiest parts of your career transition. Salaries are often not published in job listings, and some experts recommend that you don’t ask too much about the salary too early on in case you come across as being driven purely by money. However, the discussion does come up, and the best thing you can do to be well placed in the negotiation is to know your numbers. You need to be familiar with market conditions and competition for the role you’re aiming for. You should understand the value of the qualifications you have, and you’ll need to recognise that local economic factors can impact typical salary offers. You will then have the facts to support your position in your salary negotiation.

RESEARCH

Salary negotiation begins with research. There are many sources you can access online, including Glassdoor, Monster, and Indeed, which may provide some information on typical salaries for the role you are looking for. You can review positions advertised to see what differences certain qualifications justify in salaries. As a caveat, advertised salaries tend to be lower than what the real averages are. This is because it’s mostly third- and public-sector organisations that advertise salaries, and they often pay less than privatesector equivalents.

By Emma Davies MCIPD CertRP

Recruitment agencies are generally a good source of information. Some publish salary benchmarking data, which you can download in exchange for your email address. Michael Page, Hays, and Robert Walters are some of the international companies that offer this. However, some smaller organisations do this too, so make sure you find out about local recruitment agencies that specialise in areas relevant to you. You can also ask people within your own professional network, particularly those who have already transitioned/already work in the sector you’re applying to. Whilst talking about money can be an uncomfortable topic, you may find some are willing to share their salary with you.

ADVERTISED SALARIES

Salaries are more commonly included in adverts for publicsector and third-sector roles than in private-sector job listings. If the salary is stated in the advert, chances are there is less room for manoeuvre. Typically, an employer would expect someone to start at the lower end of any salary range, working up to the higher end in subsequent years. Organisations do this to try and ensure transparency, equality, and fairness in pay levels.

If a salary hasn’t been advertised, then you may have more scope to negotiate. Remember though, even if a salary isn’t on the advert, the organisation will still have a rough figure

they’re looking to pay in mind. Just like you have a figure you’re looking to be paid. This will be based on factors such as market rates, internal reward strategy, and internal comparator employees and/or roles. So, you need to be armed with facts. You need to understand what those market rates are in addition to the variables that can affect salary offers. For example, it’s unlikely you’ll get the same salary for a role in Hull or Falkirk that you would in London or Edinburgh.

STRATEGY

Typical salary negotiation strategy suggests that you shouldn’t be the first to put a price/value/number on the table. Instead, you should try to get the other party to reveal their position first. To do this, you could ask for the salary banding before applying, ideally via a telephone call to the organisation. Then you have a start point and can assess whether it’s worth you continuing with the application.

If that’s not possible and you get asked during an interview what your current salary is, don’t give it. You should only provide the salary that you’re looking for. In most cases, your current salary is irrelevant, as it’s for a different role in another organisation and was based on your experience when you started then, not what you can offer now.

What the interviewer wants to know is how much you’re going to cost and how that is offset by the value you can bring to the organisation. Arm yourself with the facts, so you can pitch for a figure and demonstrate how you will add value. For example, you could say, “I note that the typical salary in this industry/area for this sort of role is around xx. I’ve got yy qualification/certification, and I have demonstrable experience in [insert experience/skills here − even better if you can back it up with examples of how you have added value in previous roles].”

Salary negotiation can be daunting, but it should be a central focus when applying for new roles. It is a perfectly normal part of the employment process. The key is to be well prepared and have an evidence-based case ready to justify your desired salary.

Are you still unsure about how to approach salary negotiation? If you’re looking for roles in Scotland, we’d be happy to share our experience with subject matter expert employers regarding salary negotiation ideas. Joint Force Alba is a veteran-owned business, Armed Forces Covenant signatory, and the only Scottish ex-military recruitment consultancy.

Good luck with your negotiation.

FIVE SALARY NEGOTIATION TIPS TO TAKE AWAY

Number One

If a salary is set out – ask if it is negotiable.

Number Two

Make sure you are familiar with the industry and market trends. Do your research and arm yourself with facts and figures to back up why you deserve your desired salary.

Number Three

Don't sell yourself short.

Number Four

Practise your pitch before you enter a negotiation and be confident in your delivery.

Number Five

Once you negotiate a salary, make sure you get written confirmation.

Emma Davies − Joint Force Alba

Website: www.jointforcealba.co.uk

Facebook: @jointforcealba

Twitter: @JointForceAlba

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/joint-force-alba

PREPARING FOR A JOB INTERVIEW: TOP TIPS FOR SUCCESS

By Alex Aldhous

When it comes to job interviews, small things can make a big difference. The interview process begins before you even apply for a job. You need to make sure your online presence is appropriate, and your CV is up to date and engaging. However, sometimes we spend so much time on the details that we forget the basics. Yet, it’s the basics that often make a lasting impression. First, let’s take a step back to the application process.

Alex Aldhous spent many years working as a recruiter and in HR, so she has seen it all when it comes to interviews. She is now running her own management consultancy business focusing on business growth and advising on employee management. In this article, Alex shares her top tips for interview success.

When you are applying, do not to be afraid of jobs that stretch you. Sometimes you want a job that is well within your capabilities, and sometimes you want a job that will teach you new skills and help you progress within your chosen career.

If the second is right for you, you should be applying to jobs where you only have experience of around 80% of the job description. It is rare for anyone to stay with the same company for their entire career these days, so moving on is realistically the only way to move up. You might not have the right experience, but you will never know if you don’t apply.

Once it comes to interviews, GET EXCITED! You have passed the first barrier and the hiring manager has seen something in your application or work experience that means that, on paper, you look suitable for this role.

Interview preparation is simply there to help you feel more confident, by refreshing your memory and presenting your best self to the interviewers. It is important that you are authentically you, as they are not only looking to see if you are capable of the job but also to see if you will fit in with the rest of the team. Here are some key things to remember when preparing for your interview.

REVIEW THE JOB DESCRIPTION

My top tip for interview preparation is to review the job description in detail alongside your CV. For every responsibility on the job description, think of an example where you have done that in a previous role (either paid or voluntary).

This helps for two reasons:

1. It is the best way to familiarise yourself with the job you have applied for and decide whether it really is a job you want to do moving forward.

2. When you are put on the spot and asked for an example, the first one that comes to mind is not always the best one. By spending time beforehand thinking of the best possible example, you will have refreshed your memory, rehearsed the answer, and will be able to confidently recall it.

If you have never done a particular responsibility before,

think about a similar role or example and use this to explain how you would go about doing it.

WHAT TO WEAR

There’s no one perfect dress code for interviews, but the key for me is to feel comfortable! I’m not suggesting you wear sweatpants, but, equally, don’t wear clothes that make you feel insecure or that are physically uncomfortable. It shows in your body language that you are not 100% confident.

If in doubt, over-dress rather than under-dress. Not only is it better to be slightly more formal than less formal, but ‘power dressing’ also helps you feel super confident, which will come across in how you talk and move.

I highly recommend getting your outfit out a couple of days before to make sure it still fits well, it’s clean/ironed, and you have all the elements you will need on the day. Don’t forget shoes too! Not only making sure they are clean and in good condition but that you can confidently walk in them.

CHECK YOUR COMMUTE

Make sure you do this ahead of time. When you are checking a tool like Google Maps, do it at a similar time of day to when you will be making the journey, so you can account for traffic, etc.

If you are driving yourself to the interview, have you thought about where you will park? Make sure you have change for a ticket and have a back-up plan in case there are no spots available.

If you are taking public transport, leave early and find a local café that you can wait in. It is better to be early than to miss the only train/bus you could take and need to postpone or cancel.

BODY LANGUAGE

Only 7% of your communication is made up of the words you speak; the rest is all how you say it and your body language. This is why preparation is key to helping you feel as confident as you can on the day.

Amy Cuddy has a fantastic TED talk on power poses for confidence, which I always recommend you do before an interview (though only if you can find somewhere quiet to do them!).

Focus on keeping your body language open and relaxed:

- Don’t cross you arms in front of your body.

- Sit up straight, shoulders back, and, crucially, down (not hunched up around your ears).

- Make eye contact with everyone in the room.

- SMILE whilst you are talking and listening.

- Subtly mirroring the body language of the person interviewing you is a great way to make them subconsciously warm to you.

- Don’t be afraid of using hand gestures to emphasise points.

- Try not to fidget, particularly when you are listening.

ASK QUESTIONS

Make sure you ask questions at the end of an interview; this not only shows that you are interested in the role and company, but it also gives you an opportunity to find out if the company is a good fit for you too!

I would always write questions down on a notepad and take it in to an interview with me. Firstly, it helps when you are asked and suddenly go blank, but it also shows you are taking this seriously. If you are struggling to think of questions to ask, then check out the checklist section at the back of this magazine. I’ve put together a list of questions that you can tailor for your interview.

Questions should be about the culture of the company and anything you are unsure of about the role itself and your potential career. Interviewers love an opportunity to talk about what they love the most about their company, so give them that chance!

DON’T FORGET

You got through the hard stage of getting an interview, so you have all the right experience for the job. The employer already sees that you can potentially fill this role.

Feeling nervous is completely normal. By being prepared and giving yourself plenty of time, it will help you stay calm. Don’t rush through the interview questions. If you haven’t heard or understood something the interviewer said, ask for clarification. Take your time to give the best answer you can.

If you get the interview basics right, you will feel comfortable and confident in answering questions and dramatically increase your chances of success.

Most importantly, good luck!

Alex Aldhous − Arc Virtual Solutions

Website: www.arcvirtualsolutions.co.uk

Email: alex@arcvirtualsolutions.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/ thebusinessfreedommethod

Instagram: @alexaldous_arc

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-aldhous

You need to make sure that you tailor your CV to each position you are applying for. I have many different versions of my CV, each one tailored to a specific job and/or company.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

By Naomi Spratt

The format of CVs has changed over the years, with various sections coming and going. Gone are the days of sending out a generic ‘vanilla’ CV with a scattergun approach and seeing what happens. You need to make sure that you tailor your CV to each position you are applying for. I cannot stress this enough. I have many different versions of my CV, each one tailored to a specific job and/or company. The best way to do this is to start with a ‘Master CV’. You won’t ever send this one out, but it acts as a guide for you to crib from for each job you apply for. Go through the job advert, noting the essential and desirable attributes that are required. Make sure that you have these in your CV – if they’re true, of course! Then, work through these top tips to make sure your CV is in good shape.

PERSONAL PROFILE – MAKE SURE IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU!

“My husband is an officer in the Army…” I have seen this a lot in the Personal Profile section of CVs − often being the first sentence. I understand that many military spouses can sense a loss of identity, BUT… your time has come! This is all about YOU now! What your spouse does is entirely irrelevant. This section is where you need to show potential employers why they should be looking at YOU!

MIND THE GAP

If you have a gap in your CV, do not worry! If it’s unavoidable, you can refer to it in your Personal Profile. For example, “After a career break to raise a family, I am now keen to return to the workplace.” It is possible to gloss over smaller gaps by grouping similar job roles together. For example, “Between March 2017 and September 2020, I worked in various HR Administration roles.” Then, as these roles are similar, you can refer to your roles and responsibilities in a paragraph. I have done this myself where I have had small gaps between temporary, short-term roles, and it has worked well. It saves on valuable space by not repeating yourself too.

BE CLEAR ON DATES

I’ve seen CVs with just years written for the date range of each job. That’s not very indicative of your actual time spent in the position. For example, if you worked for Company X from 2018 to 2019. That could be from December 2018 until January 2019 – up to two months. Or, it could be from January 2018 to December 2019 – almost two years. That’s quite a difference!

TASK-BASED VS ACHIEVEMENT-BASED

When detailing previous experience, try to include examples of results-based achievements rather than just task-based responsibilities. For example, “management of a budget of £x” sounds better than “budget management”. Also, “slashed payroll/benefits administration costs by 30% by negotiating pricing while ensuring the continuation of services” sounds better than “negotiated contracts with vendors”. Don’t worry if you're not able to do that – it’s not always easy to quantify.

CHECK YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

According to a survey carried out by CareerBuilder in 2018, 70% of employers check out candidates’ social media profiles before interviewing and hiring. The same survey also identified that 43% of employers monitor their employees through social media. This is backed up by YouGov who stated in 2017 that 36% of UK employers reject candidates based on their social media profiles. Needless to say, writing your CV isn’t just about what you include in the physical résumé. It should also prompt you to check your social profiles and online presence. Especially if you refer to your social profiles on your CV.

When did you last Google yourself? I’ve just done it. On the first page, I get my LinkedIn profile and then my social media and various fundraising that I’ve done. There’s also a review that I left for a sports massage I had a couple of years ago and a book that I have added to my ‘To Read List’ on Good Reads. It’s surprising what comes up. You need to make sure that the persona you describe in your CV doesn’t

There’s no getting away from the fact that you need an awesome CV in order to get yourself noticed by potential employers. Naomi Spratt from Rise VA Services draws on her extensive experience working in human resources to advise how to craft a compelling CV.

unravel if the recruiters use open source research to check up on you. This happens more often than you’d think.

Some mitigation tips here would be to ensure that your privacy settings are locked down to just your friends. Even with strict privacy settings, a potential employer will still be able to see your profile picture, so make sure that it’s a good one! By “good”, I mean not an unmistakable snap of you on a boozy night out! Also, you have the power to un-tag yourself from any unflattering pictures. Check your online presence before you send your CV – including any claims you make that can easily be verified online. There is no point writing an exceptional CV if it is proved to be false during a Google search.

OTHER USEFUL IDEAS

In the military community, many of us find that we are applying for roles on a regular basis. Not always due to changing postings but also because we've been working in temporary roles to keep the money coming in. I have been in this position myself on many occasions and have built up an arsenal of tools to make life a bit easier. One of which is to create a timeline document. This is a document that contains the details of all the job positions and responsibilities that I have held, together with dates, postal addresses, and contact details for reference purposes.

This is particularly useful if you are applying for positions where you need to go through security vetting. They want the actual dates you started and left your last employer, not just the month and year. You need to be able to account for ALL of your time, usually for the past ten years. Therefore, you will need to include any periods of unemployment, travel, etc. By “travel” I’m not referring to your two-week annual holiday but more prolonged periods. If you are unsure and enter incorrect dates, this will just hold things up. There is no room for guesswork here!

Also, make a note of the addresses of Job Centres you have claimed unemployment benefits from. I’ve come across that on some security vetting forms that I’ve completed before. Do this detective work once and keep it safe. It’ll save you having to find it all again next time.

SPELLING

Ensure that you spell check AND read it through. Spell checker will only find incorrectly spelled words. “Form” and “from” are both spelled correctly but clearly have different meanings, which is why it’s important to thoroughly proofread it yourself too.

It’s also handy to keep a note of your previous addresses in here − useful if you’ve moved house a lot. Hands up, who can remember their postcode from three houses ago?!

A FINAL NOTE

Your CV is paramount for getting an interview. Although they will all have a similar structure, every CV you write must be different. You want to show why your particular set of skills makes you suitable for each specific position. This is your chance to make a good first impression – and first impressions count.

Naomi Spratt − Rise VA Services

Email: risevaservices1@gmail.com

Facebook: @RiseVAServices

Instagram: @risevaservices

You need to make sure that the persona you describe in your CV doesn’t unravel if the recruiters use open source research to check up on you. This happens more often than you’d think.

HOW TO DEVELOP A GROWTH MINDSET

By Dr Lizzy Bernthal

So, you’re looking for a job? Daunting, eh? Well, it can be. The great news is that with the right growth mindset, it can be a breeze, so that success is assured – magic!

Mindset is the way we think about things. Do you believe your talents are fixed and static or changeable traits that can be developed and grown? This is the difference between a ‘fixed’ and a ‘growth’ mindset.

A growth mindset does not see “failure” as an end, but as feedback and a springboard for continuous self-development. We are always learning. Think about Thomas Edison who invented the lightbulb. He and his associates developed at least 3,000 theories to create an efficient incandescent lamp using a filament housed in a glass bulb. History suggests that he never saw any of his previous, unsuccessful attempts as failure, merely feedback – the power of resilience. Clearly, he viewed his setbacks as his setups for success, just like we can!

Do you ever find yourself lacking confidence, not feeling being good enough or catastrophising? Have you thought how reframing your thinking could achieve success? Resilience leadership coach and international speaker Dr Lizzy Bernthal explores the importance of mindset and resilience when going through a career transition.

SO, HOW CAN YOU DEVELOP A GROWTH MINDSET TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE SUCCESS?

1. Be aware of your thoughts. We are in control of our thoughts − great news that we can choose how we think. Make sure those thoughts are empowering us to achieve success. Our thoughts create our feelings, which create our actions and results.

2. Focus on success. Energy flows where focus goes, so make sure you focus on success.

3. Notice the questions you are asking yourself. Are they empowering you? − “What can I learn from this?” Or disempowering? − “Why am I so rubbish?” Our brain is a filing cabinet and searches for evidence – let it help you find evidence of how successful you are going to be.

4. Notice your language. Banish the words ‘should’, ‘must’, and ‘need’ and change them to ‘I choose’. Add ‘yet’, as it permits us to succeed if we have not done so already – “I haven’t got my dream job yet!” How much more liberating to ‘choose’ to work late to brush up your CV than I ‘must’.

5. Notice what your body is doing. When we feel fear, we scrunch up like a ball for protection. To feel

Change your words Change your mindset

FIXED

I'm not that good at this

GROWTH

I'll practise the strategies I've learnt

I give up

I'll never be as smart

I'll never get this

I'm never going to get this

I can't make this any better

I made a mistake

It's not good enough

I'm determined to succeed

This may take some time and effort

With a little help I can get this!

I'm on the right track

What am I missing?

What am I learning from this?

Is this really my best work?

How is your day going?

empowered, stand tall like Superman or Wonder Woman, with your feet grounded on the floor − this tells your brain that all is good. Research has even demonstrated that power positions reduce our stress hormones (Carney et al. 2010).1

6. Identify how you are feeling. Be aware of your emotions, and do not let them stop you from taking action. We can all fear rejection, failure, or have a need to be liked and to fit in. These fears are not based on reality, so do not let them stop you.

7. Notice if you are comparing, criticising, or judging yourself or others. This is so easy to do. The key is to be curious as to what is going on and what you need to do about it. Acknowledge and appreciate your emotions and be grateful for the messages.

8. Reflect and get confident. Think of a time when you felt on top of your game. What did you do to deal with your emotions? Duplicate that success, get excited, and take action!

9. Manage your emotions. How you view events can have a massively beneficial effect on your mindset. Feelings of excitement and anxiety have the same impact on our bodies. It’s much better to breathe and tell yourself you are excited! Think about small children getting ready for their school performance, with butterflies in their tummies − so excited, never nervous!

10. Surround yourself with positive people that empower you, build you up, and make you feel great. After all, it’s said we become the five people we spend most time with. I am not advocating ditching the negative people in your life, particularly if they include your partner! But remember to fill your day with some positivity through what you are reading, watching, and listening to, to limit the impact of negativity on you. Your positivity becomes a ripple in the pond, so those around us become positive too.

11. Become a 5%er. This is the 5% of the population who are extremely successful. They know the power of tiny gains – the little things that contribute towards success each day that are so easy not to do. Think how quickly you could read an empowering book by reading only five pages a day − so easy not to do! Imagine if you used this approach in every aspect of your life – how we do anything is how we do everything!

12. Focus on breathing. Overwhelm happens when we think we have to figure it all out at once. By breathing in for four seconds, holding for four, and breathing out for four can create a great sense of calm. Set it as a reminder on your phone.

13. Focus on what you can control and let go of what you can’t. We can’t control others, events, or what’s happening. However, we can control how we respond − there’s the magic! We can’t control the news; we can take the news app off our phone and stop those alerts and notifications.

14. Create a daily routine for success. Spend a few minutes in silence meditating. Write a gratitude journal in the morning and evening. Write one thing you are grateful for, even if you have to look a little bit harder to find something. Take some exercise and visualise success.

15. Believe in yourself. You have everything within you so that success is assured − you can do this! No baby has ever been born without confidence.

All these tips can have a profound effect on your mindset. So, GO as your empowered, best self, and show you are only just getting started on your road to assured success. You’ve got this!

Dr Lizzy Bernthal − Release

Your Potential

Website: www.rypotential.co.uk

Email: lizzy@rypotential.co.uk

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/

lizzybernthal-resilience-specialist

1 Carney, D.R., Cuddy, A.J. and Yap, A.J. (2010). Power Posing: Brief Nonverbal Displays Affect Neuroendocrine Levels and Risk Tolerance. Psychological Science, 21(10), pp.1363−1368

‘The power of vulnerability comes from owning ALL of you – your true awesomeness.’

‘When you know where you are going, you’ll be amazed what doors open.’

Astra is about cultural change and is, therefore, a long-term effort that requires authentic, consistent, and relentless communication at every level. Empowering ideas from across the Whole Force: regulars, reserves, civil servants, contractors, and the Air Cadets who represent the future generation.

RAF ASTRA

WHAT IS ASTRA?

Astra is the campaign to build the Next-Generation Royal Air Force, nominally the ‘RAF of 2040’. It’s taken from the Service’s Latin motto: per ardua ad astra meaning ‘ through adversity to the stars’. This motto defines the character of the RAF’s first 100 years and anticipates a future where the sky is no longer the limit of ambitions.

Astra is about cultural change and is, therefore, a long-term effort that requires authentic, consistent, and relentless communication at every level. Empowering ideas from across the Whole Force: regulars, reserves, civil servants, contractors, and the Air Cadets who represent the future generation.

Astra is one of the innovative sponsors behind Career Pursuit. Based on the vision from the Chief of the Air Staff, Astra strives for ‘A world-class integrated, capable and inclusive Air Force delivering decisive effect across all domains.’ The Astra journey commenced in January 2020 and aims to change how the RAF delivers air and space power in the highly contested environments of the future. Read on to learn more about this original initiative and the impact it is already making.

BRINGING CULTURAL CHANGE TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE

Astra endeavours to embrace networks and data, mobilise space and cyber, modernise military bases, transform approaches to warfare, and enhance joint operating capability with other Services and allies. That’s a bold statement to make. So, how does Astra intend on doing this?

Astra’s approach is to encourage ‘bottom-up’, grassroots initiatives, where people from across the Whole Force are empowered and supported to identify improvements and deliver changes. It has developed tools and applications to allow any member of the Whole Force to take an idea forward, resource it, drive its implementation, and, where applicable, share it across the RAF and Defence.

Astra is split into four core themes: people, training, infrastructure and support, and equipment. The network has

By Helen Massy

over 1,400 ambassadors across 30 units who are empowered to drive change.

ASTRA SPRINTS

A series of ‘sprint initiatives’ that deliver tangible progress towards the Next-Generation Royal Air Force have already built momentum. To date, over 105 sprints have been initiated, and the most successful have been shared across the RAF as ‘Astra Flatpacks’ for everyone to implement. Astra funding is available to recognise proof-ofconcept ideas, making people’s ideas a reality. The Astra team encourage all applications, no matter how small, to help concepts come to life!

It’s impossible to talk about every Astra sprint in one article, but some of the notable Astra sprints include:

Project ADDIVITIVE – A phased approach to introduce 3D printing - now in phase two with 12 stations involved, including RAF Mount Pleasant, RAF Akrotiri, and HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Project BIOSCAN − The RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine sprint. The development of a body scanner that will measure 150 points on a human body. It will produce a 3D model which prints out in eight seconds.

Project STARCHASER – Offers secondments for junior personnel across all three Services to work on the Astra X rocket, which will be launched in September 2021. It will be the largest rocket launched from mainland Britain. Alongside this, a STEM competition has run within the Air Cadets with more than 30 prizes; the first-prize winner is getting their name on the Astra X rocket!

Project APPIVATE − The RAF’s first mobile app team and coding capability. The team have already deployed apps to help with frontline issues. For example, the ‘Ballistic App’ has delivered an enormous step forward in the RAF’s ability to deliver high-altitude parachuting.

Astra Innovation Fellowship – Twenty-three personnel are taking part in the Astra Fellowship programme with GovTech pioneers PUBLIC and are being placed on secondments with start-up tech companies.

Virtual-Reality Training: Project VR HAWK − The aim is to support and complement Hawk T Mk 2 flying training through fast-jet virtual-reality simulation, so the trainees keep their feet on the ground.

Each of Astra’s sprints is ground-breaking in its own right, so I was keen to hear more about what it is like being involved with one of these initiatives. Cpl Jake Dove shared his experience with me in a recent interview.

Innovate. Code. Succeed.

Why does the RAF need its own bespoke mobile development team to be classed as an innovative organisation? Isn’t the RAF already doing this? These are just some of the initial thoughts that may spring to mind when you hear about Astra’s new mobile development team.

Historically, the RAF has followed the commercial route when sourcing new software solutions − often preferring to buy ‘off the shelf’ or commercially commission bespoke software...until now.

Virtual-Reality Training: VR Desk Top − A simulation of air combat flying, giving aircrew the ability to practise sorties ahead of a live flying exam. This virtual-reality technology reduces failures, flying hours on the aircraft, fuel, and is environmentally friendly.

Executive Committee Shadow Board – Empowers junior personnel from across the RAF to offer their perspectives and influence the decisions made by the senior leadership team.

Happy Service Homes: A number of reviews are currently ongoing within Defence to review the current ‘improvements’ policy to promote greater pride in SFA, allowing families more flexibility to make home improvements.

Whilst working in networking support for the F35 at RAF Marham, Cpl Jake Dove heard about Astra and applied to be part of the Astra Appivate team. “The RAF identified that they did not have the capability to produce their own mobile applications,” Cpl Dove explains. “Astra enabled the creation of a small team of developers to harness modern technology and develop applications to allow the RAF to meet the demands of the present-day environment. I immediately applied for the role of developer. I assumed I wouldn’t get the job and it would go to a person with more experience. I am pleased that my assumption was wrong. I’m now in training to become a mobile app developer, something the RAF has never produced before. It certainly has its challenges. On a technical level, it’s a step above anything else I have done. I have to remind myself routinely that if making apps were easy, everybody would be doing it!”

The ability to code in high-level programming language cannot solve the complex problems the RAF requires it to solve on its own. Without the right skills and processes, it can actually be quite time consuming and costly. However, when it is done right, it offers many unique benefits such as:

- Fully bespoke, unrestricted solutions designed around user needs

- More control over the product vision, implementation, distribution, and direction

- Code assurance, reuse, and platform flexibility

A more specific benefit of creating an in-house RAF Mobile Application Development Team is that the team comprises serving personnel who have genuine empathy and understanding of the problems to be solved in both operational environments and at home. This experience will undoubtedly serve the Appivate team well as it begins to explore and exploit the value that mobile technology offers.

Cpl Dove goes on to discuss that, “Projects like Appivate are only possible with Astra resources and the mindset of change they bring. In many ways, the Appivate team perfectly embodies many of the Astra concepts. In investing in personnel and new ways of working, the Appivate team intend to prove these concepts in the near future by delivering new capabilities while remaining agile and flexible to change.”

Interestingly, the opportunity to work with Astra extends beyond the RAF into civilian roles. Cassandra St. Louis talked to me about her experience of working with Astra.

“I currently work within a start-up team directly under the 2* command of ACAS Strategy and my direct chain of command, Director Astra. The team is made up of six Service personnel and three civil servants, and we are set up to work remotely, spanning from Scotland to Andover.

Our new Astra Intranet page, the first platform that gives two-way engagement, will allow us to share media. It will also be used to deliver the novel ‘Marketplace’ where you will be able to select any ‘Astra Flatpack’ and implement it on your unit. Additionally, the Astra MS teams’ channels allow for collaborative networking with the RAF’s largest interconnected network, which spans across the Whole Force.

I also sit on the Astra funding panel. The panel is made up of a range of ranks working in a rank-neutral basis, allowing our thoughts to be listened to and reasoned equally – so

far, we have granted £2.5 million to accelerate prototypes/ concepts. Astra is bringing ideas to reality. We also conduct Astra virtual roadshows with all stations.

This role has given me endless opportunities to work across Defence, helping me to develop a Defence-wide strategic overview. It has enabled me to work closely with our sister Services, sharing our success stories. I have also been afforded the opportunity to develop multi-national collaborations, for example, working with the Royal Australian Air Force.

Innovation lies at the heart of the RAF, so working with the Astra team has really helped me to develop my own innovative abilities – seeing things from a fresh perspective, networking and collaborating with people from across the Whole Force, and challenging traditional barriers that I possibly wouldn’t even have noticed before.

Currently, all of the civilian roles within the team are filled, but who knows what the future will bring, so keep your eyes peeled on Civil Service Jobs for opportunities.”

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Astra applies equally to everyone who works in or alongside the RAF, delivering air and space power to protect our nation. Everyone has a part to play, from bottom-up innovation to the strategic direction from the senior leadership team. MOD personnel can follow Astra on http://bit.ly/AstraIntranet or externally via Defence Connect http://bit.ly/AstraConnect. You can also find news about Astra online at www.raf.mod.uk/news/ articles/astra-campaign-to-build-the-next-generation-royalair-force/

All units have an Astra ambassador who is available to offer you guidance and direction.

Warrant Officer Caroline Cooper MSc from the core Astra Team offers a few final words: “We would be astounded if there wasn’t a process you wanted to challenge, or if you didn’t have exciting ideas about the Royal Air Force of 2040 that we are building today. We are here to listen to you and help shape your ideas. Together we will innovate relentlessly in everything we do.”

This role has given me endless opportunities to work across Defence, helping me to develop a Defence-wide strategic overview. It has enabled me to work closely with our sister Services, sharing our success stories.

HOW TO TAKE A GREAT LINKEDIN HEADSHOT WITHOUT BEING A PRO

By Al Topping

Between 60 and 70% of all communication is nonverbal, so in an online world, your photo may convey more to your potential audience than whatever you say. When you look at the images you’re posting of yourself on networking websites or that you send with your CV, do they really show you off in the best way? If not, why? Isn’t it time you did something about it? Can you afford not to?

SCOPE

Are you a business professional who is active on social media? Are you thinking about or have recently been applying for a new job? Do you want to stand out from the crowd but don’t know how? Well, perhaps it’s not what you’re saying that you need to change; maybe it’s how you look.

Let’s get a couple of things straight before we start. I am not going to be telling you that you can produce this or this...

have been created with ten years of photography experience.

I am going to tell you how you can make minor changes to what you’re probably already doing, to help you achieve an image that says “I care about how I present myself” to a prospective client or employer.

We’ll be taking LinkedIn as the intended destination for our image, as this will dictate some of the factors we’ll have to consider. We’ll also be using a smartphone to take the picture. Sure, if you’ve got a DSLR camera and external lighting, feel free to use them. But to get the results we’re looking for here, you should be able to do it all with just your phone.

This may require some low-cost purchases. I’m talking about a bit of white and other coloured cards, possibly some thin, white fabric… £20 max! At the end of the day, if that’s all you’re spending, then it’s not a lot to produce a pretty decent image. Consider this cost against what you might otherwise spend on a professional photographer.

...within this article. They’re taken with professional lighting and cameras and

WHAT MAKES A GOOD PHOTO?

First, let’s look at some bad examples. The following are all images of me* that I’m using to demonstrate why you wouldn’t want to use something similar for your own picture. How many things can you spot that are wrong with these? I’ve highlighted one issue for each to start you off.

Clearly, these images aren’t employer ready, but the important take-away is that you should now be able to critique some of your own imagery more successfully.

WHAT ARE WE AIMING FOR?

The image that you should be aiming for throughout this article is something like this.

The subject is:

• well lit

• clearly identifiable

• the only subject in the image

• not wearing a hat or dark glasses

• displaying a professional expression on their face

Once you’ve perfected this part, I’ll offer you some ideas to explore so you can get more creative. These will help you stand out from the crowd.

*To demonstrate this point I have scoured my image library for relevant shots. By day, I’m an adventure photographer and so most of the images you’ll see are in an outdoor setting.

At this point, why not try to take a selfie and see if you can improve it just by using what you’ve learnt so far?

STEP 1: ALL ABOUT YOU

The first step is to understand what it is you want your image to say. This may seem rather daft, but it’s a fundamental decision you need to take. The message your image will send is based on what you’re wearing, your facial expression, your posture, and even the colours of your clothing and the background.

Clothing

For clothing, I recommend wearing whatever it is you’d be wearing for the job you do. Whatever it is, think about the people you want to attract and what their opinions of your chosen outfit might be.

When you’re ready, check yourself over in a mirror, or if you are working with a friend, get them to do it for you.

Facial expressions

Depending on the look you’re going for, you may not need to smile. However, for most of us who want to appear likeable, smiling is usually the best plan. Try to keep it more ‘Saturday night TV smiles’ rather than ‘comedy club belly laughter’ –otherwise, you could be overdoing it.

Try a serious face. It may be that for your industry, a confident, dour look may demonstrate authority. But ask yourself, “Is this what my potential employers or clients will be looking for? Does it make me seem approachable?”

Posture

The example image overleaf is very neutral. No crossed arms, it’s not straight on, and it’s not gender stereotyped. It’s neutral and safe. Try other examples. See what works for you, but ‘read’ the image and see if it’s right for you and your industry.

Colour

There’s a lot to the science of colours. By that I mean, different colours often stimulate different emotional responses to seeing them. In nature, red is usually a sign of danger, and a pairing of black and yellow is aggressive. Also, be aware that sometimes colours can mean different things in different cultures. For instance, in the UK you’d be safe to assume yellow is a happy, positive, creative colour. In China, yellow is associated with adult movies. In Russia, yellow is colloquially related to asylums.

In business, this is equally so. White is for cleanliness and hygiene; black is authoritative and powerful. A pin-stripe suit is associated with those working in finance; a chequered shirt could be associated with agriculture; a brown jacket with elbow pads could be associated with academia. I’m not saying you should play up to the stereotypes but be aware of them and what picking the wrong colours could do to the messages you’re sending your audience.

STEP 2: SETTING UP YOUR SCENE

It may be that lockdown restrictions still constrain us, but you now need to find somewhere where you can take the photo with the right lighting and a decent background.

What’s a ‘decent background’? As we saw in our first exercise, an image is made up of many parts, but one of the most important is ensuring the background is right.

For our desired image, we’re looking for a plain background. This helps to keep the viewer’s attention on the subject rather than diverting their attention towards whatever else is in the scene.

Look for a plain surface near to a large window − if possible, one away from direct sunlight. If you’ve not got one, try making a simple background by using a piece of white or coloured card at 90 degrees to the window. If you want to use coloured card, try to use a neutral colour. Avoid bright pinks, yellows, and anything else too prominent, as they will be distracting. Also, consider how they’ll look next to the clothing you intend to wear.

Whatever your background choice, it will need to be around a metre square/at least A2-sized, so that it is as tall as your head and shoulders, with some space around the sides.

Lastly, you’re going to need to support your camera. Ask a relative or friend to take the photo. If no one is available, you may need to support the camera in some other way. It’ll need to be at least eye level, if not slightly above, to get the best viewpoint. Don’t do a selfie; they were never cool… ever.

STEP 3: LIGHTING

This is, by far, the most important stage for getting a good image.

Our lighting sets the tone for our image and allows us to highlight or hide parts as we want. With that, we’re going to be using window light. I won’t bore you with the science behind it but do take note of the following:

If it’s a clear blue-sky day, you’ll need to cover your window with a very thin, white material to soften the light . If it’s an overcast day or you’ve got a non-south-facing window, you won’t need to.

Camera settings

If you’re using a smartphone for this, try to set the following settings:

• Use a single-shot image (not burst or live).

• Shoot a square image (1:1 aspect ratio).

• Turn the flash off.

• If you can set the ‘f’ value, feel free to experiment.

Get shooting!

Try with different poses. You’ll soon work out those you like and those you don’t. At the end of the day, it’s your photo, and you’ll know what you like. Some tips would be to:

• Look towards the window rather than away from it.

• Shoot at eye level or slightly above.

• Shoot the picture so the eyes are approximately 1/3 of the way from the top of the frame.

• Focus your camera on the eyes.

Get creative

Other creative ideas you might like to try include:

• Use a different colour card for your background.

• Shine a coloured light on your background. Take care not to shine it on yourself at the same time.

• Use a table lamp and shine it at your back to create a ‘rim light’ – good for darker backgrounds when you’re wearing a darker top.

• Introduce a fan to your scene to give a bit of motion to longer hair.

• Try an aperture of f/2.8 or smaller to create a blurred background.

The optimal position for the sunlight is where it shines through the window but doesn’t cast shadows on your background or your face. You may find that you have to time your shot for a particular point of the day to get it right. If so, do it!

The last step is a piece of white card. This is going to be used to ‘fill in’ some shadows. Position this opposite and parallel to the window, perhaps by resting it on a shelf or by getting a second volunteer to hold it for you. Through experimentation, you’ll find a sweet spot where the light from the window bounces off the card and fills in some of the shadow on your face. You’ll need to check between photos to see the difference. Move it closer and further away to vary the strength of the bounced lighting.

STEP 4: TAKING YOUR SHOTS

Position yourself in your scene. Don’t stand right next to the background – you’ll create a shadow. Stand about a metre away if you can.

• If you struggle with having lots of chins (I know I do!), try holding another piece of card below you and out of shot to reflect more light from underneath.

STEP 5: EDITING

So, you’ve now, hopefully, got a pile of images to choose from. The next step is to edit your image to make it profile ready. Some things to note:

• Unless you have been very clever with your setup or have made the rest of your face too bright, you won’t get a perfectly white background… this is ok.

• If you’re going to add a colour filter, do your basic adjustments to make the image the correct brightness before applying the filter.

• Try not to add too much of any one setting in your phone’s editing options.

• If you want a black and white image, don’t use the filter. Reduce the saturation – it’ll give you a lot more control.

“Don’t do a selfie; they were never cool… ever.”

SUMMARY

So, there you have it.

If all’s gone well, then you should be revelling in the success of creating your awesome LinkedIn headshot. Make sure you go and upload it. Or, if you want to have another go, you’ve now got the tools to be able to repeat, change, and edit a new image. Fancy a change, try some of my other suggestions. You can get a long way with some minor adjustments to what we’ve done above.

If you’ve had a go at this, tag your pictures on Instagram and Facebook with #altoppingphotography and show us what you’ve been able to create; I’d love to see them.

WHO AM I?

My name’s Al Topping, owner of Xtreme Exposures Ltd and Al Topping Photos & Film. I’m a commissioned exArmy veteran, reservist, and military spouse. I started my photographic career over ten years ago and have been taking

images and videos of people, their businesses, and products since leaving the Army in 2019.

Xtreme Exposures offers commercial product and branding photography as well as videography for the outdoor industry. Visit us at www.xtremeexposures.com or @XtremeExposures on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

For everything else, I have Al Topping Photos & Film. This is where you’ll find my wedding, corporate headshot, and product photography, as well as promotional videos I’ve created for schools around the UK.

Website: www.altopping.com

Facebook: @altoppingphotography

Instagram: @altoppingphotography

The optimal position for the sunlight is where it shines through the window but doesn’t cast shadows on your background or your face. You may find that you have to time your shot for a particular point of the day to get it right. If so, do it!

HOW TO SIMPLIFY SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS

ACK TO BASICS

The first thing you need to think about is, WHY are you posting on social media? Is it to make sales, engage new customers, create a community around your business, or to make people aware that you exist? Once you know your ‘why’, you can then begin to target all your efforts towards this why instead of not really being sure.

The second thing you need to know is, WHO are you talking to on social media? I know every business thing you read talks about the power of niching down and having an ideal customer, but they’re not wrong. You need to know exactly who you’re talking to, so you can figure out where they’re hanging out online. If your target market is corporate businesses, they’re probably not going to be on Instagram or TikTok. Likewise, if your market is stay-at-home parents, they’re unlikely to be on LinkedIn. Once you know where they’re hanging out, pick between one and three platforms to focus on. Doing any more than three will really stretch you, and you need to be working on your actual business as well as just posting to social media!

Everything you read always talks about the ‘power of social media’ and how it’s a must-have for every business these days, but there are so many platforms that are ever changing, with rules and algorithms and all sorts of things, that it can often feel like a wasted effort. So, what do you do? One solution to the social media problem is to outsource it completely – employ a virtual assistant or social media manager to run it all for you. But, if your budget doesn’t stretch to that, or you do actually enjoy doing your socials when you know what you’re doing, then this article is for you.

By Rachel Luke

THE POWER OF SCHEDULING (AND THE BIG ‘ALGORITHM SECRET’)

Now you know why you’re posting and who you’re talking to. Brilliant. Let’s now talk about WHEN you’re posting.

The best thing you can do for your business social media is to schedule your posts. Posting on the fly is great, but you’re more prone to forgetting to post, not knowing what to post about, or getting too busy and not bothering at all. I highly recommend setting aside an amount of time, either each week or each month, to plan and schedule your posts. “How many posts should I do?” I hear you ask. Consistency is key, so go for the number of posts you think you can keep up with for the rest of your existence.

Next, have a look at your profile insights to see when your audience is the most active online, and aim to schedule your posts at around those times; this can help you to pick which days of the week you post and what time of day. When it comes to Facebook and Instagram, the algorithms show posts in newsfeeds based on three rankings: is the post timely? (i.e. was it posted recently?), do you like posts like this? (either by that person or on that topic), and do other people like this post?

You need to know exactly who you’re talking to, so you can figure out where they’re hanging out online. If your target market is corporate businesses, they’re probably not going to be on Instagram or TikTok.

Likewise, if your market is stay-at-home parents, they’re unlikely to be on LinkedIn.

(hence why you always see congratulations-type posts at the top of your feed). Whilst you can’t control the latter two, you can control when you’re posting, which is why trying to post at the time most of your followers are online is a good idea.

When it comes to HOW to schedule your social media, there are what seems like hundreds of options out there, some free, some paid, all offering different features to try and lure you in. Personally, I always prefer the free, native options where available; they usually have the most features for free and whilst they don’t look the prettiest (hello Facebook Business Suite), they work. You also need to make sure that using a feature of a third-party scheduler doesn’t violate any of the networks’ terms – for example, using a third-party scheduler for Stories on Instagram violates the terms of use and can get your account banned.

This can be as simple as “How are you?” but should be varied and always lead your follower to do something (this is linked in with the WHY you thought about earlier). People are lazy − we need to be told to do something before we go and do it.

STILL A BIT STUCK?

I love to help people out with their social media, as well as supporting small, female-led solo businesses with their admin as a virtual assistant.

WHAT TO POST ABOUT

We’ve been through the why, who, when, and how, so there’s just the WHAT to post about left to fully cover the basics of social media for business.

This is a really difficult thing to advise on when I’m not sat talking with you personally, but think of between one to three topics that you can come up with plenty of ideas for that are relevant to your business. These are your content pillars.

You want these pillars to inform, entertain, or inspire your followers. So, unless you are incredible at creating flat-lays or have something amazing to say, a picture of your half-drunk cup of tea just isn’t going to cut it. Then, write your posts talking directly to your ideal customer, and you should be absolutely nailing your social media as a business. Don’t get too salesy, and always include a call to action in every post.

Rachel Luke − Virtual Assistant

Website: www.rachelluke.co.uk

Email: contact@rachelluke.co.uk

Facebook: @rachellukeva

Instagram: @rachellukeva

PENSIONS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS

By Adam Rendall − Financial Adviser at Prosperity Wealth

However, pensions can form an important part of the recruitment and retention of staff and be a tax-efficient means of extracting profits for the business owner.

As a sole trader or a limited company, you are not under any obligation to set up a workplace pension, but the moment you employ your first member of staff, you must operate an Automatic-Enrolment (AE) or ‘workplace’ pension scheme. While many pension providers offer AE schemes, many limited companies are first registered with NEST (National Employment Savings Trust). There are several reasons for this:

For any new business owner, their first thought is rarely about pension contributions. Many will want to invest their funds into growing their business, so that they can first afford to pay themselves and then scale the business and pay their employees.

a business, offering an improved pension can support recruitment and retention of staff.

Many providers offer their terms based on a combination of the following factors: number of staff, contribution level and value of potential transfers from any existing pension scheme(s).

The suitability of AE pension schemes is too vast a subject to cover in sufficient detail here. So, I would encourage you to seek advice from a ‘whole of market’ (independent) financial adviser. Initial meetings are often at no cost to you, and any charges for recommendations and implementation will be agreed upon before further work is completed.

- it is well known to accountants

- it is easy to set up and administer

- there is no minimum monthly contribution

- there is no minimum number of workers required.

Whatever pension scheme you use for AE, I would encourage you to regularly monitor whether it is still suitable for your business. The AE market has evolved significantly since 2012 and there is an appetite for schemes amongst providers and so more competitive terms can be obtained. As your workforce grows, more pension companies will be willing to provide administration support to your company’s scheme; this will open up wider investment opportunities, may reduce costs, and can broaden the range of retirement options. As

As an employer operating an AE scheme, there are statutory minimum contributions that you must make (currently 3% of salary based on Qualified Earnings (QE), with the employee contributing 5%). There are alternative definitions of salary which are also worth exploring particularly if you have employees with fluctuating earnings. Both employer and employee, must use the same contribution basis.

The way in which employee contributions are made should also be considered. Paying contributions from PAYE (Pay As You Earn) attracts 20% tax relief for the employee, but using ‘Salary Sacrifice’ may prove more advantageous to both the business and the individual.

So far, this article has looked at pensions for employees. However, I want to use the final few paragraphs to look at the options a business owner/director may have with pension contributions for themselves. I will refer to this as an ‘executive pension scheme’. This can take one of several different guises, depending on the needs of the individual and, in some cases, the business.

On retirement it is possible to withdraw a Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS), more commonly referred to as ‘Tax Free Cash’ of 25% and then subject to your requirements, further withdrawals could be made at the basic rate of tax. This may further improve the tax advantages of the pension contributions. As, had they been withdrawn from the business as salary or dividends previously, they may have attracted the higher or additional rate of tax.

As a Limited Company Director, your pension contributions made from your business are tax free and will reduce your corporation tax bill. The diagram above shows the difference between the benefits of making pension contributions and paying out the same amount as dividends.

Whilst there is an advantage to making pension contributions, you must consider your current and potential future access requirements, as pension withdrawals are not permitted until you reach 55, rising to 57 on 6 April 2028.

If you have any questions relating to this article, I would encourage you to speak with a financial adviser who will analyse both your personal and your company’s situation to recommend a suitable course of action.

Adam served for 16 years as an Infantry officer, qualifying as a financial adviser during his resettlement. Since leaving regular service in 2019, he has worked at Prosperity Wealth, a leading West Midlands independent financial advice firm.

In June 2019, Prosperity Wealth signed the Armed Forces Covenant and were awarded the Bronze Award of the Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS). Prosperity Wealth provide specialist financial advice to the military community using the www.military-prosperitywealth.com website.

They are able to support individuals and businesses throughout the UK, so regardless of your current or future location, Prosperity Wealth/Military are able to support you and your business, now and in the future.

Should you have any questions, please email military@prosperitywealth.com .

BUILDING A STRONG BRAND FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Branding is an essential part of building your new business. Hannah Hubbleday, brand designer, discusses how to build a strong brand that stands out and speaks to your target audience.

Well done on taking your first steps to building a great new business! You have your product or service idea ready, and now you’re wondering how to get customers and clients. Firstly, you need to build a brand. And that is what I specialise in! Being super creative is my passion and my absolute happy place. Creativity wasn’t something I was willing to let go of when it came to my career − despite being informed by my careers advisers that it’s not seen as a good way to make a living.

I have had a very varied design career so far, starting in advertising, designing events, and finally going freelance to fit in with my military family’s nomadic lifestyle. This variety means I have designed for global household brands such as Unilever, Bentley, and Costa Coffee, as well as very new start-up companies. Working on such varied brands has given me a breadth of commercial knowledge and honed my design skills to deliver the best branding I can.

However, that’s enough about me; let’s get back to starting your business and launching your brand! A brand is far more than just a logo. I like to think of the logo as your face… whereas the brand is your personality, body, and soul.

Here are my top four tips for building a strong brand that will resonate with your customers and ultimately grow your business:

By Hannah Hubbleday

1. GET TO KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET

Who is your ideal customer? Develop a customer profile; this can be as crazy as you like − a celebrity, imaginary person, or someone you know. Be ambitious. You want your brand to work as well in five years as it does today. Now, list five to ten words that you’d associate with your target client. Think about the images and feelings that go with all of these words. Think about where your customer currently lives, shops, eats out, the entertainment they enjoy, and so on. This really gives you a solid basis to think about

your brand positioning. For example, there would be no point designing a brand that would sit well in Waitrose if your ideal customer mainly shops at Asda.

2. UNDERSTAND YOUR COMPETITION

Take a look at all of the people doing what you do. The likelihood is there will be lots. This shouldn’t dampen your spirits. Pepsi didn’t look at Coca-Cola and think, “I can’t do this.” There’s room in the market for all of you. You just need to find your unique selling point (USP) and stick to it. Make it the reason that people buy from you. Perhaps you offer an entirely personal service; maybe your product design is totally unique, or your packaging is different. Look at your competition and analyse what they’re doing well and what they’re not doing so well. This will help you find gaps in the market as well as refine your positioning.

3. INVEST IN YOUR BRAND

Go to a professional for branding. I know what you’re thinking: of course she’d say that! But I passionately believe that hiring the right person for the job will save you money in the long run. And in the case of branding, the right brand image will see your business get ahead of the competition and make sure you stand out from the crowd. Branding packages can vary − anything from £500 to £500,000 depending on the designer and the company they’re designing for. However, this is investing in your business. It’s the first thing customers will see and the thing they will remember. Of course, if you’re totally new and just trialling a business idea, professional branding might be out of reach. However, as soon as you know that your business has legs, consider a professional branding package. After all, your logo is your face, and how much would you pay for that part alone? Like me, many companies offer payment plans. I’d hate to think that a business didn’t grow because its lack of funding

for brand investment was holding it back. If you have an excellent idea, product, or service, chat to a pro and see how they can help bring your brand to life.

4. BE CONSISTENT AND STAY POSITIVE

You’ve developed your brand image − now the most important thing is consistency. Look at all of the touchpoints where a client can see you, hear you, or hear of you. And make sure that your brand personality and image is shining through in the way it was first developed. If you’re struggling to be consistent on a platform, then maybe it’s not right for you, and you need to focus your energy elsewhere. Remember to link this focus back to your target market. For example, if your clients aren’t on TikTok, then don’t focus your efforts there. If they are, then up your game and work out how you can apply your brand consistently to that platform. Staying positive is also key to creating a consistent brand image. One thing you won’t see with successful brand strategies? Negativity. Consumers don’t like to see negativity when they’re shopping, so unless there’s a real reason for being negative, a positive outlook is great for brand growth.

Remember, a brand isn’t built overnight. It will take time for your audience to recognise your brand image. The foundations of a successful brand will be built upon your deep understanding of your target market and a USP, setting you apart from the inevitable competition.

Passion is at the heart of most successful brands, so if you’re passionate about the service or product you’re offering, why not take the next step: build your brand and see where it can take you.

Hannah Hubbleday

Website: www.hannahhubbleday.com

Email: hannah@hannahhubbleday.com

Instagram: @hannahhubbleday

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hannahhubbleday

THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION IN BUSINESS

Perhaps it’s not surprising to learn that isolation and working alone is said to be one of the top three challenges of being self-employed. Twofifths of the self-employed in the UK have experienced loneliness. We, as humans, were not built to do it alone. We are social creatures. Collaboration, when done correctly, can give you the feeling of being in a team. It offers benefits such as peer-to-peer support, improved mental health, growing and nurturing together, and building stronger relationships − all without straying away from your business vision. Collaboration and sharing knowledge enables a better customer experience and works well in the same or across industries.

All collaborations look different and should serve your individual needs and circumstances. Who knows, you may even work with a competitor and enjoy it. The famous saying “It takes a village to raise a child” rings true in business too. Look at McDonald’s and Burger King who worked together in 2019 when Burger King in Argentina stopped selling Whoppers for a day to support McDonald's charity fundraiser for Children With Cancer.

As with anything, everyone has their own experiences, goals, and expectations when it comes to business. Loneliness and entrepreneurship sometimes go hand in hand. Throw being a military spouse, or even a pesky pandemic, into the mix and it is not shocking that the feeling of isolation is heightened. Therefore, making connections not only supports collaboration and growth in business but also in our personal life. Let's explore what collaboration is, why it’s deemed essential, and what it might look like to you.

By Carrie Moss

Other big brands have also worked cooperatively, such as Sharpie and Nike, and Stranger Things and Lego. So, you see, even if you have (or don't have) shared interests and target audiences, working together can teach you something and bring to life an idea you didn't see before. This leads to increasing your business’s visibility and/or financial growth.

If you decide to collaborate, I would strongly recommend making sure you have a solid understanding of what all parties aim to achieve. Some people may encourage you to work without prior written agreement and opt for an informal verbal agreement, and this is fine if you feel that it works for you and you are comfortable. However, it is worth noting that a contract is to protect all parties involved, and is, in my opinion, a good foundation for a great working relationship, especially if you aim to work alongside each other for the foreseeable future. Therefore, first and foremost, decide the terms and conditions of the collaboration. Secondly, make sure to include the expected responsibilities of all parties. A collaboration agreement is legally binding between different people or businesses that wish to work alongside each other to reach a mutually beneficial end goal.

It should also specifically state that all the involved parties give their consent to work together with a clear outcome to accomplish. You may wish to consider other things, such as how you will work together, how to divide the tasks and perceived benefits, and any obligations and primary responsibilities of each person or business. You may be able to find support or a template for the agreement in places like the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Rocket Lawyer, or PeoplePerHour, to name a few.

Top tip − keep the lines of communication open when setting boundaries.

Now you have some knowledge of what collaboration is and how to execute it, here’s a brief overview of the tools you can utilise to find people you may want to work with.

Networking is the best tool.

• Facebook groups that suit you and your business. Some groups have membership requirements and range from free to a paid monthly subscription.

• Instagram. This can be a little harder than Facebook groups, as you will need to follow accounts and contact them directly. You can work with influencers here.

as someone else, it may present opportunities to form relationships that result in collaborations.

• Clubhouse. An audio-only social media app that connects people globally, facilitating open conversations that may lead to collaboration.

An ambassadorship is another form of collaboration. Similar to working with an influencer, it is often born from using a service or product and promoting it as a volunteer or in exchange for products or services.

Word of mouth is free and comes from a ‘like, know, and trust’ relationship.

from the Oxford English Dictionary

• Find local groups for in-person networking. Again, this ranges from free to monthly or annual memberships. You could look at the FSB, X-Forces, or BNI.

• Virtual networking. Some that I can recommend are Veteran Owned UK, The Milspo Business Network, X-Forces, and the Military Coworking Network.

Please be sure to carry out due diligence and are happy with the credibility of anyone you chose to work with. Remember, what has worked for one person does not mean that it will work for someone else. Just because someone is part of a network does not mean that they are deemed safe to collaborate with. Finally, be curious, not judgemental. Collaboration is an important skill to learn in business and one that can positively impact all parties involved. Happy collaborating − however that may look for you.

• Coworking. A different form of collaborative working. This is thought of as a space to work away from home. A good place to start is to look for a military coworking hub near you. There are also civilian hot desks and open offices; although this is working in the same space

Carrie Moss − Military Matchmaker

Website: www.militarymatchmaker.co.uk

Facebook: @Militarymatchmaker

Instagram: @militarymatchmaker

Twitter: @militarymatchuk

“Collaboration: The action of working with someone to produce something.”

Definition

STARTING YOUR OWN PODCAST

So, what is podcasting, anyway? The dictionary definition is “a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device… instalments of which can be received by subscribers automatically.”* Unlike radio, podcasts are downloaded when they are released, if you are a subscriber. They’re also always available for downloading or streaming via the various podcast platforms, such as Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

What makes podcasting especially powerful is that you can reach your listeners in places other media can’t. You can’t safely drive a car whilst watching a YouTube video, and you’re unlikely to read a blog post whilst painting a fence. With a podcast, you can not only reach listeners in these places, but they will often literally be inserting your voice inside their head as they put in their earphones. Would you like to get in bed with your customers? With a podcast, you can: 50% of Americans listen to podcasts in bed, according to Nielsen.

Podcasting is experiencing a growth period, with over 2 million shows on Apple Podcasts as of March 2021. With big media networks such as Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon getting on the audio content bandwagon, you might have wondered about starting a podcast yourself. The great news is that, although the big players have begun to move into the space in a more concerted way, podcasting is still very much a channel with space for the independent podcaster. If you’re podcurious or pod-clueless, fear not − we’ll cover the main points in this article.

This means that podcasting can give you an opportunity to supercharge the know, like, and trust factor with your

* Source: Oxford English Dictionary

By Jo Milmine

audience. People love to buy from people they know, like, and trust, so it can be a great way to grow your customer base for your business if you have one already, or indeed start to build an audience and then create a business that meets their needs.

If you’ve listened to a podcast before, you’ll know there’s a dizzying array of formats, release frequencies, and show lengths. There aren’t really any rules when it comes to the optimal mix of these, as it will all depend on what your ideal listener prefers. Naturally, this will change depending upon the topic of your show and the target demographic; a new mum wanting sleep tips for her baby will appreciate a totally different format to a hotshot city banker who wants a daily ten-minute brief on the markets. The important thing is to consider what problem you’re trying to solve for that ideal listener and then figure out the optimal way of delivering that help to them.

You also don’t need to be a sound engineer to start a podcast. I started mine on an overseas tour in Wild at Heart country in Limpopo, South Africa. I was looking for a way to connect with other people and to record the interesting things that happened (trying to avoid a baby rhino rampaging loose on the main motorway

to Zimbabwe definitely counts as interesting!). I was entirely self-taught and back in 2012, when I started, there weren’t nearly as many helpful websites, software, and equipment as there is now. My phone was a Blackberry! Nowadays, there are so many options out there to make podcasting easy, so all you’ll need to do is decide on the content and press record. My podcast led to me starting two different businesses. Having lived in nine different places since it started, it’s also been a great way to build a posting-proof audience that I can reach no matter where I am in the world.

Assuming you’re keen to start a podcast too, here are some top tips and things to think about to get you off on the right foot.

1) KEEP IT SUPER SIMPLE

Podcasting can be time consuming. Ensure that you are getting the best return on the time invested by keeping your production and promotion process super simple. Make use of checklists to ensure you don’t miss any steps, and create standard operating procedures, so you do the tasks the same way each time.

2) THE LISTENER IS YOUR GURU

Avoid asking people who are not a direct match for your ideal listener what you should do with your podcast, content, and promotion. What might work best is variable; trust your own knowledge about your ideal listener. Make a sensible plan for what to talk about, what format, frequency, and length would work best and try that out. Let your listeners guide you as to what is working and what isn’t. You can always change your show to make it a better match once you have feedback from actual listeners.

3) IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE MIC

The best microphone is the one you have right now. Yes, really. You can get started with the headphones that come with your phone. The on-board mic is reasonable quality and better than the microphone built into your computer. If you don’t have a computer, record into your phone. Procrastination is the enemy of progress; use your podcasting time getting better at writing and recording great content rather than reading mic reviews, and upgrade your technical setup as you go along. If you’d like recommendations, I have a free guide to help with choosing your tech at www.podcastingunpacked.com/podtech.

4) SOUNDPROOFING IS OPTIONAL

You can record from anywhere, and whilst a completely silent and soundproofed environment is great, there’s a definite charm and ambiance to a background hubbub at

times. Work with what you have available; a couple of scatter cushions behind a mic can be a surprisingly effective sound dampener.

5) LOVE YOUR AUDIENCE

Downloads are the ever-present metric of podcasting, but remember they’re just numbers. Behind those numbers are real people who turn up to listen to your show. Give them your attention, look for ways to interact with them, and encourage them to talk to you and each other. Treat them like the rockstars they are, and they will be your best marketing asset, hands down. Your aim should always be to delight your listeners, and if you make every decision with that in mind, you’ll do brilliantly.

6) JUST PUSH PLAY

At some point, you’re just going to have to hold your nose and jump in. If you’re doing it right, you will get feedback − and it’s not always going to be positive. Always listen to the negative feedback, as it can be an area where you have an opportunity to grow most as a podcaster. If it’s something you can fix and is reasonable, go ahead and fix it, and thank the person publicly for taking the time to help you improve (this can sometimes turn that person into your biggest fan!). If it’s something you can’t or don’t want to fix, such as a regional accent, thank the person and move on with your awesome voice.

Hopefully you can see how starting a podcast, either as a hobby or for your business, is achievable and could work for you. It’s a powerful tool for building highly engaged audiences and can help you to help them solve their problems, educate, and entertain them. The world needs your unique message delivered in your unique way. Get started and improve as you go.

Jo Milmine is a multi-awardwinning podcaster, podcast consultant, and training expert who makes podcasting easy for everyone. An RAF veteran and proud Northerner, she has been the host of the ‘Shinybees Knitting and Yarn’ podcast for eight years, through multiple national and international moves. When she is not sharing the finest, fun knitting patterns with her listeners worldwide, she can be found adventuring with her Shetland Sheepdogs or driving her Mini with reckless abandon. Passionate about elevating women’s voices, she helps people find their voice and share their unique message with the world via her training company, Podcasting Unpacked. www.podcastingunpacked.com

SMALL THINGS THAT MAKE YOUR BUSINESS A BIG SUCCESS

Stop waiting for the right time to begin a business. There isn’t one. Stop waiting for the best time to start a business in general. There isn’t one. Stop waiting for the best time to start investing. There isn’t one.

I know this because I have been through the exact same thought process. Buying property, starting a business, and leaving security is a leap of faith.

Business coach Gareth Hughes helps frustrated business owners put systems in place to ensure they can grow their business effectively. In this article, he shares some actionable advice to help you build a business that works.

Every business has the same chassis. The game changes but the rules stay the same. In my experience, the business only ever grows to the level of the business owner. If you want to play at a higher level, you need to start with you. Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future. There are only a handful of traits successful people have.

One is that they are utterly ruthless with their time. One successful millionaire told me he over-books his day consistently by 20%. Whenever someone tells me they have no time, my next question is always, how well do you plan your time? Never start a day until that’s done. What this means is plan every half an hour of tomorrow before you finish today. Billionaires go one step further and plan every five minutes of their day. Every single minute is planned and

By Gareth Hughes

accounted for. It’s ok to have lunch but plan it.

The next is they keep on learning, all the time. The great man Jim Rohn advocated reading a book a week. Bill Gates took this advice and became the richest man in the world. If you do that as an adult, how many thousands of books would you have read by the time you retire? What advantage would that give you over others? Warren Buffet reportedly spends five to six hours a day reading five different newspapers and combs through 500 pages of financial documents. Unsurprisingly, he recommends investors do the same. A young Elon Musk read for ten hours a day before becoming the CEO of Tesla. Where you will be in five years depends on the people you associate with, the books you read, and the action you take. If you want somewhere to start, a book that changed my life is Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

With any business, lead flow is fundamental. You cannot have a successful business when the leads aren’t coming in at a high rate. Most business owners I speak to have two or three lead generation strategies. However, for a growing business, you need at least ten. Breaking this down, you have ‘above-the-line marketing’ and ‘below-the-line marketing’. Above-the-line is everything direct, for example, sending out

a mailing to prospects, networking, or maybe telemarketing. Whereas below-the-line marketing is indirect. For example, social media is very passive − this would be classed as below-the-line. The reason why it’s so important to have different marketing streams is because when one falls down, you need to be able to ‘turn on the taps’ with another. The other reason is because people mistake leads with actual sales. The two are very different, but it’s worth having goals for both. Out of ten leads, five will be good. Of those five, two won’t buy from you and one will fall through. This leaves you with two good deals left. That is why only having two in your funnel is a bad idea for a growing business.

“But Gareth, my conversion rate is 90%!” Well, it shouldn’t be. A high conversion rate tells me there aren’t enough leads coming into your business. A low conversion rate suggests you are leaking business through a poor sales/acquisition process or strategy. This is why measuring the numbers in your business is so important. Not just the financials (they are important) but every number in your business. Behind every number is a decision, and the more information you have, the better the decision will be. The more numbers you know, the quicker you’ll spot problems.

this time. It turned out his sales reps weren’t selling as many insurance packages as normal. This had a small effect on the financials. It turns out the script the sales reps were using needed tweaking. We were able to put in place a new script, and guess what? Sales went back up to their usual level. One more tweak, and they actually went up. Knowing every number in your business helps you to react quickly when you see problems. It allows you to track the performance of every part of your business, so you are never caught out.

In short, the basics of building a business do not change. If you want your business to succeed, you need to pay attention to the fundamentals. It requires your time and effort to understand every aspect of your business.

This article gives you a starting point. Five simple, actionable points to take away and implement in your business:

1. Stop waiting for the ‘right time’

2. Plan your time effectively

3. Keep learning

4 . Introduce more lead generation strategies

5. Know every number in your business

Starting a business is daunting and, often, a learn-as-you-go process. However, the more systems you put in place early on, and the more understanding you develop about your business, the better chance your company has of success.

I’ll give you a real-life example. I have a client who sells holidays. One week, I noticed their average value sale was down. This is the average value of every order that gets placed. Some people spend a little, some a lot, but knowing the average is really, really important! It was only down by a little; the business owner hadn’t really noticed. When I asked why, they said they weren’t worried. It was only a small dip, and they carried on. The next week, it was down again. This set off alarm bells. I questioned and dug a bit deeper

I help frustrated business owners put in place systems like this to ensure they can grow their businesses effectively, holding them to account and building businesses that work, so they don’t have to. If this sounds like something you would like to discuss further, email me at garethhughes@actioncoach.com for a 20-minute, no-obligation chat.

With any business, lead flow is fundamental. Most business owners I speak to have two or three lead generation strategies. However, for a growing business, you need at least ten.

Having a website built by a professional developer will cost more than a DIY website. However, you will have complete control over how it looks, how it works, etc. More importantly, you should have ownership of the finished website and be free to move to a new hosting provider as and when you want.

WHERE TO START WITH BUILDING A WEBSITE

Starting your own business can be one of the best ways to ease the transition if you are moving with, or leaving, the military. An essential item of any business is a website, especially given the current climate!

So, you need a website. Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the different choices, things to consider, and costs? Stephen Hamill breaks down the basics of setting up a website for your business.

I run a web design business, with over ten years experience in the industry. I also run a web hosting and domain name registration company. In this article, I’m going to break down the technical jargon and the process of creating a website that accurately portrays your business.

There are two primary ways of setting up a website for your business: DIY or professional. Both have their pros and cons. Your budget also plays a massive part in what you can achieve.

First of all, what do you need for a website?

1. A domain name

2. A website

3. Somewhere to host it

DOMAIN NAMES

In order for your website to exist on the internet, you need a domain name. So, what is a domain name? It is the address that a user would type to visit your website.

It’s really a bunch of numbers called an IP address. A typical IP address looks something like 185.151.30.105. As that’s quite a difficult address to remember − enter domain names! Domain names were invented to overcome that problem and make websites easier to find.

How to choose a domain name

Choosing the right domain name is crucial to the success of your website. You can choose your business name or a keyword-rich name (e.g. B&Q’s domain is diy.com). There are also a multitude of domain name extensions to choose from. I would always use the tried and tested ones such as .com, .co.uk, .uk, etc, as these are more familiar to users than .ninja, for example!

By Stephen Hamill

Once you have decided on your domain name, it’s time to register it. A .co.uk domain starts at around £5.99 a year, depending on who you choose to register it with. Be wary of low introductory prices as the cost often shoots up in the second year.

Once you have your preferred domain name, you will need a website.

WEBSITES

Should you do it yourself or have it built professionally? This really comes down to budget and how much time you are willing to put into the building of your website.

DIY

Some of the more popular website builders include Wix, and Squarespace. They all work in a similar way − you can design and launch a website with no coding experience necessary.

A website built using one of these services is never truly yours, as it will be tied to each company’s own platform and is not transferable.

• Wix starts at £8.00/month (for a no ads account).

• Squarespace starts at £10.00/month.

If you plan on selling products, then the prices will significantly increase.

Things to note about website builders:

• Website builders have limited customisation options.

• They are time intensive.

• If you decide to change the website provider, you’ll have to develop a new website from scratch.

• With the free plans, advertisements show up on the websites.

• There are no advanced marketing and SEO (search engine optimisation) tools in the builders’ software.

Professionally-built websites

Having a website built by a professional developer will cost more than a DIY website. However, you will have complete control over how it looks, how it works, etc. More importantly, you should have ownership of the finished website and be free to move to a new hosting provider as and when you want.

The most popular platform today is WordPress. It powers 37% of all websites*. Some notable companies that use WordPress are The Walt Disney Company and Marks & Spencer.

I would always recommend using WordPress because it’s the most popular platform that, pretty much, any web design company can build on. Leaving you free to choose the best web developer for you.

The cost of a professionally-built website can vary, but I would expect to pay at least £500 for a basic website and around £1,000 for an e-commerce website that’s designed and built to your specific requirements.

A professionally-built website will also be developed with search engines in mind and will be relatively easy to optimise for higher rankings on Google and other search engines.

If you choose the professionally-built website route, then your website will require hosting.

WEBSITE HOSTING

Think of website hosting as a virtual office space that you rent on the internet. There are numerous places to get website hosting from. Some of the well-known ones are GoDaddy, Hostgator, and Fasthosts. Again, be wary of low introductory offers.

If you live in the UK, I would recommend using a UK-based hosting company, as you will be able to get support when you need it. More importantly, the distance from where a user is to where your files are stored could impact your rankings on search engines.

You should be able to create a business email with any hosting package you choose (e.g. sales@yourdomain.co.uk). These should come free with the package, though some providers will charge extra, so it’s worth checking first.

Things to consider when choosing a web hosting provider,

• Ensure that the hosting platform is optimised for WordPress

• Most hosting providers will also offer a free SSL (the secure padlock sign next to a domain name)

• UK-based support

• UK-based servers

• At least 99.9% uptime (uptime is a measure of system reliability)

• Malware scanning

• Easy-to-use control panel

• Email accounts included

• Email account set up

• Room to grow

There’s quite a bit to take in, but the main thing to remember is to research before committing to either a DIY or professionally-built website.

It boils down to the following two questions really:

1. Do you have the time and inclination to set your website up yourself?

2. Can you afford to/does your start-up budget cover hiring a professional to design and build your website?

Once you have answered these questions, you can go down your preferred route. Just remember, your website is your ‘shop front’ – so you want to make sure it appeals to your customers and offers a smooth user experience. The initial cost may seem daunting, but if you get it right, the return on investment is more than worth it.

My name is Stephen Hamill. I served eight years in the 1st Battalion King’s Regiment from 1994 to 2002. I served in several places around the world including Cyprus, Kuwait, and Kenya and carried out operational tours of Bosnia and Northern Ireland.

I have six children and I’m married to a Norwegian. I’m from Liverpool originally but have lived in Middlesbrough for the past 11 years.

I own and run Sunray Media, a website design agency based in Middlesbrough. We have been creating websites since 2008: www.sunraymedia.co.uk .

I also run a web hosting company called Viking Hosting: www.vikinghosting.co.uk

Some of the more popular website builders include Wix and Squarespace. You can design and launch a website with no coding experience necessary.

BEHIND THE SCENES: WHAT PROGRAMS/SYSTEMS TO USE WITHIN YOUR BUSINESS

OOGLE/ GOOGLE WORKSPACE

Here is the lowdown on some of Google’s key systems:

KEEP is a great place to store links, notes, brain dumps, and more! It’s great that you can have the app on your mobile but also view it on your PC web browser. Like all the Google systems, this makes it very user-friendly and really easy to use across various devices.

Laura Dolphin, director of Dolphin Outsourcing Ltd and Especially UK Business CIC, gives her insight into the most useful programs/systems to benefit you and your business. Below you’ll find out her recommendations for some really affordable (or free!) systems.

FORMS is hugely underutilised – you can use them for surveys, onboarding forms, feedback forms, and more! The ability to share the editing with someone else opens up a world of possibilities to work with writers, coaches, and more when creating these forms. Fillable on PCs and other devices, this is a great tool for business owners.

DRIVE is a fabulous file-sharing or access point to open up communication between businesses and clients. The addition of being able to download it to use on your desktop (previously known as Google Drive File Stream) means that you can use it just like My Documents for all file types –including design files like Adobe Illustrator Artwork files, video, and much more.

By Laura Dolphin

CHAT is a fun system to use when you have a team of employees − or even for group chats with clients. The benefits of having a simple-to-use chat facility when working with a team is of paramount importance in this digital age. Having something that you can control as a business owner is even more important. Unlike using WhatsApp on a personal mobile device, if you create ‘users’ for each member of your team, you have complete control of their account. So, should you need to remove them, you can do that, whereas not all chat software has that option. This is especially important if you’re discussing or sharing client information.

MICROSOFT 365 (EXCEL, OUTLOOK)

You may have already seen discussions on social media over which is better: Google or Microsoft? I’m torn. In fact, so torn that I use both! They both have very similar systems in terms of video calling, file sharing (Microsoft OneDrive/ Google Drive) documents (Microsoft Word/Google Docs and Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets).

I’d say there are some areas where Microsoft presently tops Google, specifically with their functionality in Excel – the complex formula options (and much more) really do outrank Google Sheets.

Outlook also has some great benefits for the ‘multi-account’style user. As an owner of two organisations, I have a number of email accounts for business, plus personal accounts – Outlook’s ability to have all the accounts in one place and the simple facility (on a PC) of being able to drag and drop emails between them. Plus, the complex functionality behind rules really surpasses Gmail.

TRELLO (BY ATLASSIAN) – FROM FREE

Ok, if you’re not yet using a project management system to manage your life, now is the time! Pen and paper or whiteboards are great… until you need to share that information. Having a digitised way of organising your business, projects, or even clients is so critical in this virtual world and even more crucial with the rise of remote working.

The great thing with Trello is it’s very visual. It’s just like using a whiteboard and sticky notes. But under those sticky notes is a notebook with a whole load of information.

Trello can be used free – or you have the option to upgrade to get access to a world of possibilities.

Other benefits include:

• You can sync it with your Google Drive, so you can easily access further information without repeating yourself in each system/platform.

• You can sync the calendar to your main calendar.

• You can email your Trello board (or CC/BCC it into email conversations), and it will auto-load as a new card!

• You can set reminders, you can assign cards, you can customise the look and feel of your boards. You can colour code your cards, have multi-boards… the list goes on and on!

• You can even use it for personal reasons – like sharing a shopping list with your partner or to count down to them returning from deployment (if they’re in the Forces). You could even use it to help organise moving house!

I could go on and on! Can you tell I’m a bit of a Trello geek?!

CANVA – FROM FREE

Canva is the DIY tool for business owners looking to do their own design work. The program’s popularity in recent years has just, well, exploded! The market really needed something that was easy to learn, affordable (from free), and multi-purpose. This is more than a quick selfie-editing app.

I would strongly suggest using the PC version rather than the mobile app; it has much more functionality, whereas the app is rather limited. You also have greater control over finer

details, which you just don’t really get from using a finger on a screen.

Even designers use it. I said it − it’s true! Sometimes, when the design task is really simple, it can be done in moments using Canva. It may not be the ultimate design tool for graphic designers and illustrators, but in terms of knocking together a quick social media graphic, Canva is a really fun and easy way to get something done quickly.

Canva is not just for social media graphics. You can use it to create web-based content, like interactive PDFs (you can add hyperlinks), ‘link-trees’ which can link back to your social media, or even a digital business card.

Canva has recently added an option to download your designs as an SVG file, which is great for creating logos. However, bear in mind that you cannot trademark designs from Canva that use any of its own icons, shapes, etc.

If you want to create work to then give to your own clients, there is a ‘template’ option, which is simply fabulous! You can design a file, an image, or a layout that you can share with the end user. Once they download it, they can do anything they like – without editing your version! This is so amazing when you want to share something with a number of people, or even produce a document you’d like to sell on.

AND, WE’RE DONE!

These are just a handful of options to help you and your business. I wanted to share some insider knowledge of the different uses, options and benefits of these systems.

Please do not hesitate to reach out. You can find me and Dolphin Outsourcing Ltd on most social media channels, or even connect with me directly on LinkedIn. For more information, please visit our website: www.dolphinoutsourcing.co.uk . If you’d like to get in touch, please reach out via email: info@dolphin-outsourcing.co.uk or via WhatsApp: https://wa.me//447508509992

DIGITAL MARKETING TRAINING

Do you want to learn more about digital marketing?

André Stephan is the founder and owner of BeZeally. He has two major passions: the tech sector and lifting up people from disadvantaged and marginalised backgrounds. BeZeally is the platform he has built to pursue those passions in unison.

BeZeally is on an ambitious mission to transform the potential of 250,000 people globally who want to build skills to thrive in the digital economy. With the future of work demanding more technical skills, many people who do not have the financial resources, industry network, or a community are at risk of being left behind. Our mission is simple: to build talent for the future of work within digital marketing, user experience (UX), and data, and connect them with companies who are looking to hire.

Are you looking to upgrade your digital marketing skills and pursue a career in this area? BeZeally are giving military spouses/ partners and veterans the opportunity to access FREE digital marketing training. Read on to find out more about this exciting opportunity.

industry experts who host sessions and career chats to help you gain an insight into the work they do and be part of an online community to find out about industry trends and opportunities and make new friends.

Enrolling onto the BeZeally Digital Marketing Career Incubator will equip you with the theory and knowledge to help you become a specialist in your own right and expose you to the variety of different opportunities within the sector. As champions for your development, our sessions also cover personal branding, mindset resetting, and how to boss the interview; ultimately giving you the confidence boost to become one of the 80% of our alumni who secured a new role, promotion, or started their own brand within three months of graduating.

Our three-month programme is completely free and caters for both those who are remotely based and those who can attend a physical location. We cover over 15 different topics and provide the opportunity to create meaningful work to demonstrate potential. Check out www.bezeally.com/ programmes for more information on the curriculum.

Sessions take place on two workdays and generally last no longer than two hours in the evening (UK time). They occasionally run on the weekend too. We have a variety of

If you are curious about exploring a career change into digital marketing and have four hours spare after working hours, we would welcome your application.

You can find out about our next cohort and apply directly at www.bezeally.com

If you have any questions, or would like to book a call to discuss further, please email hello@bezeally.com.

As part of its Armed Forces Covenant commitment, Barclays recognised that it needed to focus on its core business of being an innovative bank and catering to the needs of this unique customer base.

BARCLAYS

As one of the main sponsors of Career Pursuit, Barclays has been pivotal to the magazine coming to life. However, they have been involved with supporting the military community for over a decade. In this article, I explore the initiatives Barclays has in place to give back and support the men, women, and families who have dedicated their lives to military service.

Barclays made a formal pledge to support our Servicemen and women in 2013 when it signed the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC). This followed on from its initial pledge of £1 million in 2010 to support wounded injured and sick (WIS) personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan through employability grants with Service charity delivery partners. This commitment has not changed, and Barclays has committed a further £2 million in grants since, with nearly 2,000 WIS and vulnerable veterans benefitting. In addition to the grants programme, it has a CV and interview workshop scheme to support WIS veterans through the MOD’s personnel recovery centres.

As part of its AFC commitment, Barclays decided there was more they could do to support this unique customer base. It’s all well and good helping someone write a CV, but if their debit card gets blocked for suspected fraudulent activity in a PX (an American military-run store) in Afghanistan, that’s not providing the best service. So, Barclays started by putting an Armed Forces marker on customer accounts and providing free telephone access to call Barclays when deployed overseas. These small but impactful changes were just the beginning.

That has since grown, with a whole host of offerings, including Armed Forces-dedicated branches, better access to credit and loans, financial education, the Forces ‘Help

By Helen Massy

to Buy’ scheme, and incorporating veteran-owned businesses into its Global Supplier Diversity strategy.

Kevin Gartside, Head of Military & Veterans Outreach at Barclays, discusses that: “Veterans bring an incredible array of skills to any workplace – leadership, commitment, diversity of thought, agility, adaptability, integrity, experience – and they have been adding huge value to our business for a decade now, making Barclays a better organisation. We have hired over 600 [veterans] right across the business in that time, and they are a high-performing, dedicated colleague group who are valued very highly at all levels. We have now opened our programmes to military spouses and partners, as we recognise them as another highquality talent pipeline. So, we are expecting to see even more value added with their diversity of thought and wide range of skills in the coming years.”

However, Barclays didn’t stop there. It recognised that not all veterans want to work for a bank, so it set up the Veterans' Employment Transition Support (VETS) programme to help all veterans – regardless of rank, Service, or circumstance – find the right job. VETS is now the UK’s single biggest veteran support programme. Over 6,000 veterans benefit from the support of thousands of mentors and over 180 partner organisations that want to support veterans into positive employment outcomes.

Kevin goes on to explain that Barclays’ initiatives are also spreading worldwide: “The most recent piece was to take the positive learnings from our UK programmes and launch Military & Veterans Outreach (MVO) in the US, which we did in 2019. Since then, we have become a key leader in the Veteran Jobs Mission, Veterans On Wall Street, and launched our own hiring initiatives, bringing US military talent in to benefit the US arm of the bank. We are also launching our milspouses programmes in the US simultaneously alongside the programme in the UK.”

It’s evident that Barclays is doing a lot to support the military community, so let’s break down its services. MVO is Barclays’ interface with all facets of our Armed Forces communities, creating opportunities for serving personnel, veterans, reservists, and the wider military family. MVO consists of the following areas:

AFTER (ARMED FORCES TRANSITION, EMPLOYMENT & RESETTLEMENT) UK

Supports Service personnel through its various outreach activities, including CV and interview workshops and its Military Talent Scheme (MTS) which offers a 12-week secondment into Barclays. Since 2013, more than 7,000 Servicemen and women have been supported by AFTER, and over 600 veterans have secured jobs with Barclays.

• In-depth experience: participants will have the opportunity to leverage their skills and gain sector experience by undertaking a role as part of a permanent team.

• Networking: participants will attend speaker sessions hosted by senior leaders across the bank, have the opportunity to shadow key business people, and also attend regular networking events.

• Mentors: participants will each be assigned a mentor to support them throughout their placement, commencing directly after acceptance onto the programme.

• Setting up for success: participants will attend CV and interview-skills workshops and will be guided through the internal jobs board – and given full access – to understand how their skills align to open roles. Barclays are currently accepting applications for the MTS. Candidates must apply via the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) – RightJob Number N326030.

THE MILITARY TALENT SCHEME (MTS)

The Barclays MTS is open to any Service leaver – regardless of Service, rank, or experience − who is in their resettlement period for the duration of the scheme.

The MTS aims to support the transition into the civilian workplace by providing the following:

• Corporate acumen: participants will broaden their knowledge of the financial services industry and develop an understanding of the corporate environment

THE VETS PROGRAMME

Launched in 2015, VETS is a collaborative employability initiative designed to help all veterans and spouses –regardless of rank, Service, or circumstance – find the right job through the online platform www.veteranemployment. co.uk . Founded and powered by Barclays, it is open to any organisation keen to provide opportunities for members of the military community. It is the market leader in peer-topeer mentoring for veterans in the UK.

For more information on the VETS Military Spouse/ Partner Employment Programme, see the VETS article on page 78.

“I am honoured that we are able to help so many ex-Servicemen and women with the transition into civilian employment through Barclays Military & Veterans Outreach. Barclays is a better business thanks to the unique experiences and skills they bring.”

Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO

ARMED FORCES BANKING UK

Launched in 2015, this innovative suite of banking products and services is designed to meet the unique needs of those serving, veterans, and Forces families.

MVO-US

MVO-US creates opportunities for veterans, military spouses, and members of the National Guard and Reserves in the US. In addition to AFTER, the bank provides support, including a comprehensive military leave policy, onboarding resources, and support for veteran business owners. MVO in the US is supported by the Barclays Military Network, a volunteer colleague diversity network that is active across all of Barclays’ campuses, acting as a force multiplier to the efforts of MVO.

If you are interested in taking advantage of some of these services, then here are a few dates to take note of.

Dates for your diary

• Military Talent Day – October 2021 (exact date to be confirmed). Keep an eye out for the date on www.home.barclays/mvo.

• Military Talent Scheme – this is done on a rolling basis throughout the year, so the start date is flexible.

Contact afterprogramme@barclayscorp.com to find out more.

• Spouses/Partners Employment Programmes –these will be running in October and November this year – watch out on www.home.barclays/ mvo to find out more and how to get involved.

Peter previously served in the Army and has been with Barclays for three years. He began working in an advisory and strategy role before taking his present role in business management for Barclays Payments. He thinks the adaptability he learned in the Army has been key to his progression here.

“When I went through a career transition programme, I was pointed to Barclays. I went to the AFTER programme’s Talent Day, and I was blown away. It was much more exciting than I’d thought, with so many options. I decided this was the game plan.”

Peter Griffiths Business Management & Insights, Barclaycard

THE MILITARY COWORKING NETWORK

Our coworking hubs are comfortable office spaces varying in size from three to 15 desks, with printing facilities, Wi-Fi, breakout areas, and refreshments.

TThe Military Coworking Network (MCN) is a physical and online community for individuals, who have joined together to create a network of coworking office spaces on military bases in the UK and overseas. Run with the support of the MOD, the MCN is a community where serving personnel, their partners, and their adult children come together to work, study, learn, and network in a coworking hub.

Having a dedicated space where members can go to work and study together helps to reduce social isolation, and it can help and support you to maintain flexible jobs that work around a military lifestyle. You can meet new people and make useful contacts for work, study, or to socialise with.

We host a wide variety of events in each hub ranging from business support, career advice, training courses, market days, and social events.

FIND YOUR NEAREST COWORKING HUB

Visit our website, www.militarycoworking.uk, to reserve your space on a tour of your nearest hub and enjoy a free membership trial. Hub membership starts from just £20 per annum to access all the benefits. It isn’t all work and no play at the MCN; we host lots of social events too where you can meet fellow members and make new friends.

The network of coworking spaces is supported by an online community for partners of serving personnel everywhere to share advice, information, and inspiration, as well as creating a network of contacts you never have to say goodbye to.

WHAT A COWORKING HUB PROVIDES

Professional workspace

Wi-Fi and printing

Networking meet-ups

Business, career, and social events

Coffee, conversation, and inspiration

“Working from home left me feeling lonely and isolated from the community. Having now discovered and joined the coworking hub, I now have new friends and a great place to work from.”

– MCN Member

BENEFITS OF BEING AN ONLINE MEMBER

The MCN can support you wherever you are. Online membership is completely free, and it is easy to join via the website. This will give you access to a host of benefits: networking ‘Power Hours’, welcome webinars, skill share sessions and ‘Network Natters’, member discounted training courses, and a FREE business directory.

ONLINE COMMUNITY

At the heart of coworking is collaboration; the Facebook Military Coworking Community group is a safe space to ask questions, share information, and connect with other members to find out how they are building careers and businesses that work around their military lifestyles. There are no silly questions and there is always someone who has been there and done that and willing to share their experience.

ONLINE EVENTS

The MCN has a busy programme of online events that you can join live or, in most cases, catch up on the recordings later in the members area of the website. Each month, networking Power Hours feature a guest speaker to discover the support they can offer to our members. Previous Power Hours have included Recruit for Spouses, The Warrior Programme, and Advance Virtual Assistants who spoke about the role that virtual assistants can have in your small business and how to go about starting out in this flexible, remote career option.

Other online events include monthly welcome webinars, to learn more about the MCN and meet other members, and ad hoc topics such as our ‘Money Talks’ week where we opened up the conversation about money by discussing topics such as the gender pension gap, how to fund your business, and how to realise the value you offer and charge for it.

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Our FREE online business directory is a great way of getting your business known to the military community, and beyond. As an online member, you can list your business, and next time you need a gift or service and would like to support a business from the military community, you will know where to look!

Here are the ways you can join the MCN: Head to the website, www.militarycoworking.uk, and join the MCN online.

Join the community Facebook group to meet fellow partners working hard to maintain their careers around their transient lifestyles: Military Coworking Community Group.

If you would like more information on our coworking hubs, please email info@militarycoworking.uk .

Follow us for advice, support, and inspiration. Facebook: @militarycoworkingnetwork

Instagram: @militarycoworkingnetwork

Twitter: @militarycowork

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/militarycoworking

“When we were posted unexpectedly, I only considered taking a job working from home full-time because I heard about the Military Coworking Network and I love the idea of working from a hub.”

Ellice Marwood – MCN member

“The Families Federations exist to advocate on behalf of military families and try where possible to remove − or reduce − any disadvantages that may come with service life. These may come in a number of forms, including employment and career support.”

Maria Lyle, Director, RAF Families Federation

TRI-SERVICE FAMILIES FEDERATIONS

All three Families Federations are independent to their single service and offer confidential advice and guidance and are often pivotal in achieving improvements for military families such as changes to government policy. Our role is to highlight emerging problems and themes to the chain of command or service providers and to work with them and other agencies to improve the support they provide to service communities.

We also provide a signposting service, as well as providing useful information for

The Naval, Army, and RAF Families Federations are separate organisations that act as an independent voice for you as military families, continually working hard to improve the quality of life for families around the world on the unique challenges that can sometimes be experienced whilst living a military lifestyle.

each of the three communities through our own websites, e-newsletters, and magazines. Some of the main areas we deal with include housing, health and additional needs, education and childcare, employment and training, foreign and commonwealth, deployments, money and allowances, and family life.

Please note that each of the Families Federations has a slightly different remit: the NFF and RAF FF also provide support to single regular and reserve service personnel.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Naval Families Federation: nff.org.uk

(Magazine – Homeport)

Army Families Federation: aff.org.uk

(Magazine – Army & You)

RAF Families Federation: raf-ff.org.uk

(Magazine – Envoy)

RECRUIT FOR SPOUSES

RECRUIT FOR SPOUSES

Military and veteran spouses have this unique ability to adapt and overcome obstacles that many civilian individuals will never encounter, yet, often, they are grossly underestimated by the average employer.

We work tirelessly to open doors for some of the most disenfranchised job hunters to gain a voice that stands out to the employer or client.

Whether it’s starting their own business, re-entering the job market after a career break, or simply gaining enough confidence to put themselves forward for employment, our coaching programme is just one of our tried-and-tested initiatives which has seen spouses upskill and thrive since its 2017 launch.

And this has been ours and our military/veteran spouse members’ most successful 12-month period yet.

This past year, we have encountered unprecedented times. A pandemic of a monumental scale hit our shores in early 2020 and saw our entire way of life change overnight.

We became home-based workers. We became furloughed. We became full-time teachers to our children. We watched the daily reports every evening, and with each report, our futures became compounded with uncertainty. What was originally proposed as “a few weeks” of disruption has become our “new normal”.

SO, WHAT PART DID THE RFS CAREER ACADEMY PLAY THROUGHOUT ALL OF THIS?

Firstly, our registrations from military and veteran spouses shot up by a huge 287% during the first lockdown period and over 320% by the end of last year.

We believe this can be put down to the pandemic and the multitude of socio-economic issues that have arisen in its wake.

Our spouses have been looking for reassurance and guidance. Some have been furloughed since March 2020. Others have experienced a period of reflection during their time in lockdown and felt they needed to find a new direction in their personal and professional life and to take this time to regain a sense of identity and independence.

Although this year has been unpredictable, strange, exhausting, and, for most of us, somewhat terrifying, the continuation of the coaching and upskilling programmes throughout this period of uncertainty has proven to be a huge success… with more to come. It consolidates our purpose to be a service that provides hope and guidance, in spite of the national climate.

The coaching programme has been just one of the successful Career Academy programmes, because, unlike other offerings in this sphere, it is tailored to individual needs. We operate a unique screening process in which we can

In the Recruit for Spouses (RfS) Career Academy, we support and empower military and veteran spouses, both nationally and globally, to reach their true career potential, despite the challenges they face.

identify each spouse’s strengths and areas that need development. Our in-house coach also carries out an in-depth onboarding process for our coaches joining the Career Academy, in which we identity the strengths and experiences of each of our volunteer coaches, resulting in a diverse pool that allows us to provide bespoke resources to them on their journey with us.

Each member from our volunteercoach pool provides an individual approach to coaching; this enables us to establish an optimum match between coach and coachee, creating a strong professional bond to procure the very best outcomes from the programme.

In the past 12 months, we have seen 72 military and veteran spouses successfully complete our six-month coaching programme.

Additionally, we have just celebrated the opening of our RfS Career Mentorship Programme that launched as part of our inclusive partnership with our client Virgin Red, in April 2021. In the next 12 months, this free service will see over 30 military and veteran spouses follow a similar journey to that of our coaching programme.

Our members will be able to access a tailored, three-month professional mentoring relationship with access to an array of industry-leading expertise from Virgin Red’s talent pool, ranging from directors of finance, heads of business development, as well as project, portfolio, and delivery managers.

As you may have heard on our RfS podcast, we have also been running ongoing virtual events and resources through our various social media platforms.

Since the beginning of the year, we have supported over 2,000 of our members through our monthly awareness campaigns, from career preparation to mental health, as well as resilience and diversity programmes that see field experts and fellow spouses alike share their diverse wealth of knowledge, stories, and support to our community.

We are delighted to be continuing our journey as military and veteran spouses supporting military and veteran spouses. The next 12 months will see a multitude of

opportunities being created for our members, from two new certified digital marketing programmes, a social media marketing course, business start-up support services, and round table leadership events amongst many other initiatives. All of which will continue to be delivered to our members free of charge, online, and following a flexible timeline.

Resourceful, resilient, and reactive − three key words that describe the military and veteran spouses in our community, and, oh boy, 2020Won is your year!

RECRUIT FOR SPOUSES

For more information about our free coaching and mentoring programmes, email our head coach, Becky, at coaching@recruitforspouses.co.uk

For more information on our free six-week certified Mike Alpha Digital Marketing online course, email Ella at e.mountney@recruitforspouses.co.uk .

To join over 2,000 military and veteran spouses on our private members forum with access to our free career resources, CV toolkits, online events, and networking pools, search Recruit for Spouses − Private Members Forum on Facebook .

To register with us and discover the career opportunities, lifestyle support, and industry experts available to you, head over to www.recruitforspouses.co.uk

Alternatively, catch up with us over on our socials: Instagram: @recruitforspouses

Twitter: @recruit4spouses

Whether it’s starting their own business, re-entering the job market after a career break, or simply gaining enough confidence to put themselves forward for employment, our coaching programme is just one of our tried-and-tested initiatives which has seen spouses upskill and thrive since its 2017 launch.

HEROPRENEURS

Heropreneurs was established in 2009 and is the only registered charity in the UK that works exclusively to help members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and military dependants to fulfil their potential to set up and run their own businesses.

Our business mentoring programme is available entirely free of charge to any member of the military community with a vested interest in establishing their own business, and we have the backing of successful entrepreneurs, politicians, Armed Forces veterans from all ranks, and business leaders. Our community of volunteers, who dedicate their time to running the charity and providing support to our beneficiaries, are all successful people in business and highly aware of the tough and lonely road that creating a new business can present, and we are here to provide support to alleviate some of these concerns and smooth the path to a successful business as best we can.

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

Through our free, bespoke mentoring programme, we provide support through all practical aspects of setting up a business venture. Our wide community of business mentors is made up of highly successful entrepreneurs, business leaders, and senior corporate figures, all of whom volunteer their time freely to provide advice and support borne from their own extensive experience. Whilst our mentoring programme manager is on-hand to facilitate successful relationships, through our online MentorNet platform, mentees are given the freedom to choose their own business mentor, making our programme a truly personalised experience, driven entirely by the mentee in order to deliver maximum benefit to them and their business.

We do not offer grants or monetary input to the businesses on our mentoring programme – all advice from our mentors is objective and unbiased; Heropreneurs is not trying to sell anything to anyone. Our mentors are able to offer support in all aspects of building a successful business at any stage, from start-up to scale-up, including sales, marketing, finance, negotiations, and the preparation of business plans and business strategies, to name a few.

THE HEROPRENEURS COMMUNITY

We have an established community, consisting of past beneficiaries, successful entrepreneurs, Heropreneurs mentors, business leaders, and major corporate and academic partners, through which we are able to provide extensive networking possibilities. Alongside our mentoring programme, we provide an extensive schedule of events, including webinars, workshops, and networking opportunities, all of which provide fantastic opportunities to upskill; increase your knowledge in a variety of areas, such as marketing, negotiation skills, implementing sustainable, ethical processes, and raising money for your business; and make valuable contacts through which to build your networks.

Additionally, we have established partnerships with major organisations, such as Warwick Business School and Goldman Sachs, which provide huge value for our community, including collaboration on events, networking, and learning and development opportunities.

THE HEROPRENEURS AWARDS

Our prestigious annual awards programme was established in 2018 to showcase the veteran and wider military community as a positive economic asset. The awards recognise the exceptional achievements of veterans, Armed Forces personnel, and their dependants, in business. Startups, employers, entrepreneurs, and technology businesses all feature, alongside charities and those companies with a strong veteran supporting mentality. Sponsors of the awards include major organisations, and the prizes available offer significant, even life-changing, opportunities.

GET IN TOUCH

Take a look at our website, www.heropreneurs.co.uk, to see feedback from our beneficiaries, check out our latest news, hear about our events, and find out more about the variety of support we offer to the military community. Find out what we are up to by following us on social media:

Facebook: @HeropreneursCharity

Twitter: @Heropreneurs

LinkedIn: www.linkedin/company/Heropreneurs

Our mentors are able to offer support in all aspects of building a successful business at any stage, from start-up to scale-up, including sales, marketing, finance, negotiations, and the preparation of business plans and business strategies, to name a few.

Over the last eight years* XFE has supported over 2,000 businesses start up and supported many more through peer-to-peer knowledge exchange. XFE has helped beneficiaries access over £20 million in start-up funding and has delivered over 35,000 hours of training.

OUR ETHOS

X-FORCES

X-Forces Enterprise (XFE) is the leading community interest company in the UK for nurturing entrepreneurial ambition and enterprise skills specifically within the military community. Now into its eighth year, XFE offers training, knowledge exchange, and funding support throughout your entire entrepreneurial journey, helping you be the best in business.

Enterprise for life. Learn life-long enterprise skills, whether starting a business or going into gainful employment. Understanding business basics gives individuals commercial know-how and the building blocks into the civilian world. Should you decide that self-employment is not the right option, you can apply the enterprise skills you have learned to develop your career and focus better on your job search.

OUR SERVICES

Funding is an integral part of many start-up businesses. For some, it means they need to look externally. Therefore, the government initiative for supporting businesses has increased more than ever to make it easier for those eligible to have access to seed funding. With that in mind, we are an accredited government delivery partner for start-up loans through the British Business Bank. We always encourage start-up business owners to take as much advice and go on as much training

as possible, so that if you are looking for funding, you are informed and prepared to make the right decision for you.

Training. If you are contemplating self-employment and want to make an informed decision as to whether the enterprise route is right for you, sign up to the one-day Self-employment Discovery Workshop and discover the pros and cons of starting your own business, get to know your own red lines, and increase your understanding and make an informed decision around whether to start your own business venture. Hear from recent attendee Harry Boyt here.

If you decide that a start-up is right for you, the next available step, should you want it, is to attend a two-day Start-up Skills Workshop. Both courses are fully funded and offer a consultative, immersive experience led by experts in the field.

Additionally, we have a brand-new self-employment training programme exclusively for Tri-service spouses, partners, and family members. The three-day Self-employment Discovery course is an amazing opportunity to develop valuable enterprise skills, learn all about the self-employment landscape, determine the viability of any business idea, and network with other spouses, partners, and family members going on a similar journey to you. Read about last year’s cohort here.

Already trading? We have a bespoke range of business masterclasses to support current business owners, with topics ranging from building your online presence to understanding your audience in 2021. These free half-day courses are available to register for now.

If you are looking to network with like-minded people, at any stage of your journey, XFE holds weekly Military in Business® networking events, hosted by amazing regional ambassadors and with guest speakers from a variety of businesses, including XFE partners at the Federation of Small Businesses and NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator hubs. This is so helpful for building your network and supports peer-to-peer learning.

For any of the events mentioned above, go to the XFE Eventbrite page.

The free-to-use digital XFE hub is a business support platform specifically for the Armed Forces community. It is designed to complement the support already offered by XFE. It is a single resource for all things related to self-employment, including peer-to-peer support, free events, and business information, removing the barriers of fixed delivery schedules, travel, and balancing family commitments.

Be inspired. Listen to business owners who have already made the transition on the podcast series or read some of the success stories .

Peer-to-peer knowledge exchange and mentoring is fundamental to XFE’s DNA, and on the brand-new XFE Knowledge Exchange Hub, launched in 2020, there is a growing nucleus of ‘business captains’, from across society and sectors, waiting to support you in a confidential and secure environment. Register today as a member and start chatting to a business expert.

X-Forces Enterprise helps anyone in the Tri-service Armed Forces community: service leavers, veterans, reservists, and family members.

Please do get in touch today. These are all FREE resources for the Armed Forces community. The team at XFE are available to help.

Website: www.x-forces.com

Email: info@x-forces.com

“X-Forces Enterprise gave us a chance to turn our dream into a reality. If they had not believed in us, our story would have stopped there.”

Matt and James, Co-founders of Geotekk

THE MILSPO BUSINESS NETWORK

Do you want to have your own business? Then look no further…

Military life can sometimes be a bit lonely, can’t it? Add running your own business and a pandemic to the equation, and there’s a chance that you will be feeling even more isolated than ever! Thankfully, there’s a growing online community stuffed full of amazing business owners who will always have your back.

The Milspo Network is not your usual business network; it gives the partners of our brave personnel the means to live a better version of our military lives, with greater support, so that, in turn, we can support our serving personnel and the UK’s Defence mission.

Milspo is a global network that supports all UK Military SPOs (Spouses, Partners, and Other-halves), to build successful and resilient businesses that can endure and thrive in the nomadic Armed Forces life. The Milspo Network is special in that, whilst its roots are in business support, it also connects our isolated and dispersed community and inspires us to achieve something greater for ourselves.

Over the last three years, Milspo has expanded to become a family of over 1,100 members and counting! The secret to our success is that our group is 100% run by SPOs for SPOs. The life of an SPO is a truly unique life which cannot be replicated nor truly empathised with until you live that life – essentially, at Milspo, we get it! If you’re a current SPO, or a widowed, separated or divorced Military SPO and are self-employed or own a business, come join us

"The Milspo Business Network is genuinely empowering and a community I am so proud to be part of. It encourages military spouses and their businesses to flourish and provides invaluable support to a talented, passionate, resilient, and courageous group of people, who themselves are inspiring."

Emma Randell − Scrumptious Bakes By Emma

As you know, more than anyone, Military SPOs face unique challenges not encountered by our civilian counterparts. Armed Forces life means that our families are regularly moved, often with little notice, to different parts of the UK and the world. This makes partner employment and continuity of career almost impossible. Such a transient way of life means that we, as SPOs, often find ourselves separated from our support networks. Because of this, we may find it challenging to find work, which in turn isolates us further and has a detrimental effect on our mental health.

Many in our community have found a solution in self-employment. But it is difficult to build a client or customer base when you are forced to move every few years. Valuable business contacts and networks are lost with each posting. If a business fails, it just reinforces feelings of isolation and low self-worth. That is where The Milspo Network comes in. It provides vital support to Military SPO-run businesses, and more than that, it provides a place to belong.

“You cannot be who you cannot see.”

Our digital solutions provide hugely successful virtual meet-ups, networking opportunities, workshops, expert training, annual events, and resources, which are unlimited by location, enabling Milspo members to share experiences and champion each other to achieve their dreams. There are also opportunities to showcase your company, celebrate your successes, and support others who can learn from your business or military journey.

The network is based on collaboration, not competition. It doesn’t matter what your business or background is, there’ll be someone in the network who can help you, and most probably someone who you can help.

"Being a member of The Milspo Business Network is more than being part of any other normal business network. These men and women understand the strain and sacrifices that come with military life. But more than that, they don’t use that as an excuse to not grow and fulfil their own dreams. There is relevant and useful information shared consistently. Instead of competition, there is only support, enthusiasm, and a whole network of people behind you moving towards the same goal and passions."

Grace Selous Bull – The.Rainbow.Tree

During the pandemic, the stresses of military life have become a catalyst in an already difficult time. With extra troop deployments to the front line on Covid response, and the usual operations continuing, we military SPOs find ourselves even more pressured. In the same way that the general population were homeschooling and adapting to the ‘new normal’, military families had the added strain of location moves, both in the UK and abroad as lockdown spread throughout the world. In response, Milspo stepped up our online meet-ups to cater to all partners posted worldwide, giving our members an essential link to ‘home’.

There’s an inspiring quote by Marian Wright Edelman that is at the heart of The Milspo Network: “You cannot be who you cannot see.” The Milspo Network is all about online connection and taking that community with you wherever you’re posted – we connect and support online through events, training, and mentoring all over the UK and beyond.

We know that if you have access to others just like you, achieving their dreams despite the challenges that military life can throw, you will be inspired to do the same.

Instagram: @milsponetwork

Twitter: @milsponetwork

Milspo: recognised by and working in collaboration with the Military Families Federations, MOD, and DRM.

“It’s a daily reminder that I’m not alone. Having a place where like-minded people interact and support each other is so powerful, and some days I need to see other people doing great things to remind me that I too can achieve what feels like the unachievable!”

Suzanne Pattinson – Soul Purpose Jewellery

SUPPORTING THE UNSUNG HERO

Supporting the Unsung Hero, the award-winning business start-up programme from the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, is helping members of the Armed Forces community turn bright ideas into successful businesses.

Supporting the Unsung Hero (SUH) is so much more than a training course. Its delegate network is unique, comprised completely of entrepreneurs from the Armed Forces community. Now in its eighth year, this FREE business training programme delivered inperson at MOD bases throughout the UK and overseas and online has been in high demand from Armed Forces families, veterans, and reservists, helping them realise their ambition to start up and develop a business. SUH comprises four stages: Stage 1, an introduction to selfemployment webinar; Stage 2, a four-day business start-up training course; Stage 3, ten months business mentoring; and finally, Stage 4, ‘Thinking Better For Success’, which is for businesses that have been trading between 18 months and three years.

SUH stages 1 to 3 are delivered FREE to service families and continue to grow in popularity, having already been attended by more than 1,000 delegates at MOD bases in the UK and overseas in British Forces Germany, Belgium, Italy, Cyprus, and online.

Julie George, founder of The Medal Box Company, says: “The first few years, all of my business profits had gone back into growing the business. Developing my new woodworking shop and buying the industrial machines needed to do this doesn’t come cheaply. At times I have despaired. Sarah has been truly amazing; she has mentored

me over the last year, encouraged me to increase my prices to cover my time and eight years of sheer, hard graft, and I’m delighted. For the first time, I’m actually seeing a little profit this year.

I was also given the fabulous opportunity to attend the ‘Start-up to Sustainability’ course with the wonderful Isabel Knight. To learn and look deep within ourselves to realise our hopes, dreams, and ambitions. We brainstormed, set goals, and established steps to get there.

Again, I met some amazing people. We definitely bonded together, made fabulous memories, shared stories, lots of laughs, tears and triumphs, which enabled us to fly high and achieve what seemed like the impossible.”

ABOUT SUPPORTING THE UNSUNG HERO

SUH is a four-stage business start-up programme developed specifically for Armed Forces families, to provide them with the transferable skills and support required to start and maintain a business − enabling families to become more financially stable and help them to develop a sustainable career. The course is designed to be as informative, fun, and relaxed as possible and to provide encouragement throughout the programme. This business training and mentoring support programme is open to spouses and adult dependants of serving, veteran, and reserve Armed Forces personnel. Applications from veterans and reservists are

also welcome. Stages 1 to 3 of the SUH programme are delivered free of charge, as they are funded by HSBC bank. A fee applies to Stage 4, ‘Thinking Better For Success’.

With the support of qualified and experienced business mentors, delegates will have the opportunity to start and grow their businesses and meet like-minded entrepreneurs who are part of the Armed Forces community. From graphic designers, writers, sports coaches, crafters, and artists, the SUH team will guide them through the early stages of setting up their own business.

SUH is particularly popular with Armed Forces families who are posted to EJSU (European Joint Support Unit) locations. As employment opportunities are varied and can

be limited, depending on location, many spouses choose self-employment to continue their career or start a new business venture.

“There are several hurdles to jump when it comes to registering to be self-employed overseas, trading licences, and permissions are required as well as tax and statutory implications. Our trainers have prepared a tailored programme to accommodate European laws as well as those within the UK to ensure delegates understand their responsibilities of trading whilst on an EJSU posting. This has involved a significant amount of research and sourcing of examples of best practices in order to deliver the correct information and provide ultimate support to course delegates.” Sarah Walker, SUH Project Manager.

SUPPORTING THE UNSUNG HERO BUSINESS START-UP PROGRAMME (CURRENTLY DELIVERED ONLINE)

Stage 1: Introduction to self-employment

This session is designed to answer all the questions you may have about becoming self-employed and starting a business.

Stage 2: Four-day business start-up course

The course is taught by experienced business advisers from the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.

Areas covered include:

• Market Research

• Marketing

• Law and Legislation

• Business Planning

• Cash Flow and Profit

• Balance Sheets

• Break-even

• Financial Forecasting

• Keeping Records

• Tax, National Insurance, and VAT

Stage 3: Mentoring

Following completion of the four-day course, you will be assigned a dedicated business mentor and given a ten-month mentoring programme, consisting of five individual and two group mentoring sessions. The mentoring sessions have been designed to support you through the process of starting and maintaining a business.

Stage 4: New for 2021 − ‘Thinking Better For Success’

As a result of a successful ‘Start-up to Sustainability’ pilot course, the SUH team have launched ‘Thinking Better For Success’ which is Stage 4 of the SUH programme. If you have a business which has been trading for between 18 months and three years and you’re looking to take your next steps along your business journey, then ‘Thinking Better For Success’ will help take your start-up business from surviving to thriving. Delivered and supported by an experienced team of business advisers, delegates have the opportunity to develop the skills needed to grow their business.

So, if you are considering starting up in business, wish to develop your enterprise, or would simply like to learn more about self-employment, register your interest and join a unique and friendly business community. For more information and to book your place on the SUH business start-up programme or ‘Thinking Better For Success’, please visit www.supportingtheunsunghero.co.uk .

Email: info@supportingtheunsunghero.co.uk

FORCES FAMILIES JOBS

It’s being delivered by a Triservice partnership between the Naval Families Federation (NFF), Army Families Federation (AFF), and Royal Air Force Families Federation (RAF FF).

Forces Families Jobs (FFJ) is an employment and training platform designed to support service families into meaningful employment and provide opportunities for training and development.

FFJ is a platform that bridges the gap between spouses, partners, and family members of current serving personnel, organisations who have signed the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC), and organisations offering training and development opportunities, as well as providing access to career-related information.

HOW IT STARTED

If you’re a partner of a serving person, you will be familiar with frequent moves and the subsequent need to hand in your notice with your current employer, update your CV, look for a new job whilst trying to move, sort out schools, or organise childcare in a new area.

You may have to look at changing your career or applying for jobs that are not at the same level as the one you had previously.

FFJ came about as a result of AFF research conducted by the University of Warwick, titled ‘Military spousal/ partner employment: identifying the barriers and support required’, which stated a key recommendation as being the introduction of an online jobs platform.

FFJ IN 2021

FFJ has been going from strength to strength and has thousands of live jobs available on the site every day.

The number of jobseekers registering accounts has also risen, taking the total to more than 5,500, highlighting the Service community’s need for the site during an unprecedented time.

More than 850 employers are now registered and the number of training courses on the site is also growing, with 62 different providers now signed up, all of whom offer free or discounted training for Armed Forces families.

WHO CAN USE IT?

1.Employers who have signed the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC)

Any organisation that has signed the AFC can advertise their job opportunities free of charge. For employers, it’s an opportunity to promote their organisation and showcase their commitment towards fulfilling the AFC, as well as access a large, highly skilled candidate database of Armed Forces family members from all three services.

2. Training providers who demonstrate a commitment to the Armed Forces community

Training providers who offer training or career opportunities without charge and companies who offer a discount specifically for Armed Forces families on a training course.

3. Spouses, partners, and family members of current serving military personnel

• Spouses, partners, and family members of current regular and reservist personnel

• Spouses, partners, and family members of Service personnel who have left the Armed Forces within the last 12 months

• Bereaved spouses, partners, and family members for up to two years post-service

NEW FEATURES

You can now find news and details of events and apprenticeship opportunities on the site. We have also introduced a free career advice webinar series, partnering with training providers and employers.

PROMOTING THE COVENANT

For employers to be able to advertise on the site, they must have signed the AFC. The Families Federations are working with the MOD’s Defence Relationship Management to encourage all those employers who have signed the Covenant to use the site to promote their jobs and increase their exposure to a highly skilled and relatively untapped area of the labour force.

The advantage of employers all being Covenant signatories is that partners, spouses, and family members can be reassured

that the employers are aware of the challenges presented by the military lifestyle, won’t discriminate against them because of this, and are committed to being supportive of this community.

ABOUT THE SITE

As a jobseeker you can register to create an account, build and/or upload a CV using the site’s CV builder, create job alerts, and search for jobs by a variety of filters. The site is for all Service families, anywhere around the world. You can find it at www.forcesfamiliesjobs.co.uk .

If you have any queries or if you’re an employer or training provider who would like to sign up, please contact the team on help@forcesfamiliesjobs.co.uk .

RFEA FAMILIES PROGRAMME

Prior to the pandemic, partners and spouses of those serving already faced a number of challenges when entering the workplace, from frequent moves and isolated locations, to lack of social support and employment networks. Research shows they are also more likely to take on greater caring responsibilities and may undervalue their experience and deselect themselves from roles they are suitable for. Now they are facing a new set of challenges as a result of Covid-19, as many of the roles that offered flexibility, such as hospitality and retail, have gone into sharp decline.

RFEA’s Families Programme is led by expert employment advisers who, as well as having expert knowledge of the local job markets, have experienced many of the same challenges as military spouses and partners. They are on-hand to support with anything from careers advice to career diagnostics, helping partners and spouses with how to obtain a job by helping them know where to look, as well as CV reviews and interview techniques.

RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity offers a unique Families Programme to help the civilian spouses and partners of still serving and ex-Service personnel (including divorced, separated and widowed, in the UK and overseas) into meaningful employment with the support of a dedicated families employment adviser.

Lee Johnston, families employment adviser at RFEA, says: “Whether it’s in terms of welfare, family, or deployment, I can completely empathise with the challenges our clients face, because, as the wife of a Royal Marine, I’ve experienced them myself. That’s why I am so passionate about getting our clients to where they want to be.”

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on employment and many military partners/ spouses have been disproportionately affected. The good news is that RFEA is actively working with a range of organisations, across industries such as financial, technology, and healthcare, who all have vacancies to fill and recognise the value of employing people with experience of military life.

The Families Programme also works closely with the Forces Families Jobs board, set up by the Families Federations, and also uses RFEA’s extensive network of over 9,000 employers who actively recruit Service leavers and veterans.

RFEA’s work brings about life-changing transformations for thousands of veterans, and their families, every year.

Jen Crews, whose partner is a Royal Marine, moved 500 miles from her home in the south-east of England to begin a new life in Arbroath at the start of the pandemic. The relocation meant she had to forgo her existing role, and she sought to find a new role in the local area. Unfortunately, the impact of the pandemic on the job market, coupled with a lack of nearby support networks, meant she struggled to find a role. The impact of this was that she had to contemplate returning to her hometown, as her and her partner’s financial situation became increasingly untenable.

their families, irrespective of circumstances, rank, length of service, or reason for leaving.

Founded in 1885 and operating across the UK, we have the specialist knowledge and understanding to bridge the gap between military life and civilian employment. We work in partnership with other organisations and employers who, like us, respect and value the unique qualities and abilities of all those who have served.

She says: “I had been applying for jobs but without much luck when someone recommended RFEA. My adviser made me realise how much I had been underselling myself and showed me not only how to improve my CV and applications by reflecting more of my achievements, but also how to demonstrate to employers the positives that come with being a military partner, such as my resilience and adaptability, that make for great skills in the workplace. Thanks to the help I received, I have now secured a new role in the NHS. After I took the call to confirm I had been offered the job, I burst into tears with relief, knowing that the financial and emotional pressure I had been under would now be over. I have such immense gratitude to my adviser. Without her, I would not have found this job and I probably wouldn’t even still be living here. Instead, I now have a sense of belonging from doing such a rewarding job, in an organisation where I know I am making a difference.”

ABOUT RFEA

RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity – exists to provide life-long, life-changing support, job opportunities, and training to Service leavers, reservists, veterans, and

HOW TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE RFEA FAMILIES PROGRAMME AND WHAT TO EXPECT:

• Anyone seeking support or further information about RFEA’s Families Programme, generously funded by Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund, can find out more by visiting www.rfea.org.uk/families

• A families adviser will be in touch to find out more about your situation and how your job search is going.

• We will carry out a ‘needs assessment’ which will help us understand any barriers to employment, relating to issues such as health, housing, debt, etc. If any additional needs are identified, your adviser will then be able to refer you to other organisations who can provide the relevant help required.

• Our families advisers can then help develop your employability to present you to employers in the best possible way. We provide advice on what to apply for, how to find work, and how to develop a good CV, all based on our expert knowledge of local employers and the job market in your area. We can also offer support with Royal British Legion Employment Support Grant applications to secure funding for training.

• We will also support you with interviews, both before and afterwards, to help you find employment opportunities that enable you to thrive.

• The UK-wide programme is open to civilian spouses and partners of still serving and ex-Service personnel, including divorced, separated and widowed, in the UK and overseas, subject to eligibility checks.

Website: www.rfea.org.uk

Email: info@rfea.org.uk

LIFEWORKS FAMILIES

LifeWorks has industry-leading success rates, with more than 83% of participants moving into meaningful employment or work-related activity within 12 months of completing the programme. This only becomes more significant when considering that almost 80% of delegates have some form of physical or mental disability, which could pose as barriers to employment.

Needless to say, the Covid pandemic has presented LifeWorks with challenges. The programme relies on a five-day intensive face-to-face delivery model, where veterans and their family members have direct contact with and feedback from trained vocational assessors – many of whom are veterans themselves. Here, they learn how to revamp their CVs, search both the traditional and hidden job markets, and receive tailored advice through practice interviews with business leaders and experienced professionals.

Since 2011, Royal British Legion Industries’ (RBLI) LifeWorks programme has provided truly life-changing employment support to military veterans and their families. Over the past decade, RBLI’s LifeWorks programme has supported more than 3,000 people from the Armed Forces community, helping them to move into meaningful and rewarding employment and, ultimately, regain their independence.

Sadly, our traditional delivery model was postponed due to the pandemic. However, undeterred by not being able to deliver at our usual locations across the country, LifeWorks adapted to provide veterans and their family members, who were struggling to find employment during the pandemic, the tools they needed to secure work and improve their own lives. Through a remote, digitised support programme, LifeWorks ensured that veterans weren’t left behind.

This break in the usual operational tempo, however, allowed for a timely opportunity to review the LifeWorks programme and how we can best support our beneficiaries. Moving forward, our skilled team of vocational assessors, who underpin the LifeWorks framework, will continue in their central role. However, with the support of a new veteran liaison role, LifeWorks will now actively develop relationships with employment partners who recognise the immense value and potential of the Armed Forces community in the world of work –providing an additional referral outlet for our delegates.

Our unique ReachBack service will also continue, which will see LifeWorks delegates receive ongoing, proactive support and mentoring to ensure job sustainability, as well as further on-hand advice to instil continued confidence in engaging with the job market.

Moving forward, to further enhance the LifeWorks model, RBLI will incorporate its highly impactful holistic welfare support service, STEP-IN, which provides a tailored support programme to more than 300 veterans living on RBLI’s intergenerational Aylesford village. This will see our leading LifeWorks programme further reinforce the support available for those beneficiaries who have ongoing, complex needs.

For more information and to hear about LifeWorks and how you can work with us, please email us at lifeworks@rbli.co.uk

Through a remote, digitised support programme, LifeWorks ensured that veterans weren’t left behind.

Over the past decade, RBLI’s LifeWorks programme has supported more than 3,000 people from the Armed Forces community, helping them to move into meaningful and rewarding employment and, ultimately, regain their independence.

POSITIVE TRANSITION

Imagine a time when transition is holistic and supports families too.

Having delivered transition support for 20+ years, it is clear to me that transition is about so much more than employment. It is about more than the service leaver − needing to include their family and dependants too. It is not as simple as the administrative process of leaving, outlined in the Service Leavers’ Guide. It is more significant than the act of removing a uniform, handing in an ID card, and walking through the gate as a ‘civvy’.

Positive Transition (+t –pronounced 'plus t') is a new digital platform that will modernise and transform the transition process for serving military personnel and their families to civilian life. Founder and CEO Tim Jones introduces this innovative and inclusive new development in transition support.

The question is, is it clear to other people, other than those who experience it?

The transition from the military to civilian life is the move from a well-provisioned, secure, connected, and supported environment into the free-flow, dog-eat-dog world that is so radically different in relation to language, values, and motivations.

The transition should be addressed holistically. It needs to:

• Be a family managed process.

• Be addressed from the start of their career, recognising a high probability of them leaving before they are fully retired.

• Cover all the aspects of transition, not purely employment.

• Be delivered to empower the individual and their family to manage it, rather than leaving it to the overtasked front-line commands.

• Accommodate the opportunity for social mobility and support the serving person and their family in upskilling for positive outcomes.

As was identified in the Veterans’ Transition Review (Ashcroft, 2014), bad transition negatively impacts the four Rs – Recruitment, Retention, Reputation, and Reserves. Why? When you leave with a poor overview of the support experienced, then you are not inclined to promote the Services as a prospective career path. You are not inclined to review your decision and extend your service. The reputation of the MOD and the Government dips in your eyes. Further, you are less inclined to transfer your Service knowledge, skills, and background to your local reserve unit. Poor transition costs the UK approximately £110 million every year.

So, how do you address these diverse issues and requirements? The resources are out there and reasonably easy to find, but the fact is, if you don’t know what you need to know, you are scuppered from the start.

+t is a digital platform developed to deliver a holistic experience to the serving person, their family, and dependants, based on their circumstances and aspirations. Twenty-three years of experience, 24 months of development

work, 12 months of partner scrutiny and data collection, and we are coming to the start point of deployment to do a Proof of Concept with serving and transitioning families. With a design strategy accommodating ‘any point of entry’ and tailored information specific to their transition across all aspects: accommodation, employment, finances, children, health, wellbeing, education, and community.

It is with this design strategy that +t can offer support in the ‘outlier’ situations, such as:

• Family break-ups, where the non-serving person can be supported in their move out of service family accommodation and back to civvy street.

• Continuation of the transition process engagement while on deployment.

• Access to training and employment support, where people are unable to attend courses and career transition workshops.

• Welcoming the family to a new posting location, with information and contacts ready for their move.

The digital platform is accessible, available, and configurable to meet the individual’s needs − serving or not.

The content on the platform is not proprietary but aggregated from several providers. There is a full rating and review option to ensure that all content remains relevant, current, and valuable. However, the user experience is designed to ensure that the information is not overwhelming and is available based on your navigation to what you are looking for. The vast majority of the content is accessible within three or four clicks of the mouse or taps of the screen.

For the serving person, there is a Progress Compass© to capture their engagement with the platform, which can inform conversations with immediate managers, unit command, or the requisite resettlement support organisation, providing real governance and provenance around the individual’s progress, and easy identification of support measures required.

The seminal reports on transition have all identified that the process can feel very isolating for the individual or their family. Isolation is inherent in the process, as it is dependent upon the service, cap badge, trade, length of service, rank achieved, operational background, familial circumstances, health needs, location of resettlement, etc. However, many of the elements of an individual’s transition are relatable to other people, and so, the overarching social media connectivity will support people in sharing best practices, providing mutual support, and thereby mitigating the sense of ‘going it alone’, which is so commonly reported.

Bringing this all into one platform has been an incredible journey, and because of the nature of the technology, as and when we launch, that will only be the start of the journey. Digital platforms are easily enhanced, with functionality based on user feedback and requests. Our development roadmap is building out, intending to develop the underpinning AI to provide support in CV improvements, best next steps, contact recommendations, wellbeing advice and support, profile-based useful courses, and much more.

Post-Proof of Concept, it is hoped that single Service or MOD centre procurement will contract for the provision of this service to all serving personnel, their families, and recent service leavers. There is an inherent right to a holistic, personalised transition for all those that are, or have been, a part of our Armed Forces community.

Our journey could then take us into other life-changing scenarios and other markets: emergency services, pro sports, onboarding university students, and also, supporting children in care in becoming independent-living adults. All these markets have similar but nuanced requirements.

You can learn more about Positive Transition from the following web and social media connections:

Website: www.plus-t.co.uk

Facebook: @PositiveTransition

Twitter: @Plus_Transition

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/positivetransition-ltd

YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/ UCDS0XoBzYQg8NZzEIJ-oZGQ

VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION SUPPORT (VETS) PROGRAMME

Supporting military spouses, is not new for VETS. Having worked with spouses on both an individual basis and through various programmes, the team were keen to make this an official route. The VETS programme manager, Lisa Marr, explains: “I arrived to run the VETS programme in 2019 and identified that we were providing support to the military spouse community but in a very ad hoc way and on an individual basis. I was keen to get this formalised and opened up to all military spouses, especially the mentoring side of VETS, which is really key to aiding our military community to transition successfully.

The transition from military to civilian life, and translating your experience, isn’t always easy, which is why the VETS team and our mentors are available to support throughout the process. This process is sometimes more difficult for the military spouse or partner, as they have often given up their own careers to follow the flag.

The Veterans' Employment Transition Support (VETS) programme exists to support members of the military community realise their potential and find the right job. Up until March 2021, VETS had only been available to support service leavers and veterans, but the programme has now been opened up to military spouses.

As a result, they often have long career breaks or, even if they have continued to work, have often taken roles to suit their situation rather than their skillset and experience.”

The VETS programme ensures support is available on everything from translating skills, advising how to explain gaps or career breaks in a CV, and interview preparation to general advice and guidance on careers. What makes VETS unique, however, is the mentoring platform, which is available to anyone who signs up for the programme. These mentors are provided by all the businesses who sign up to work with VETS. They come from across all sectors, all parts of the country, and are all from Armed Forces-friendly organisations. These mentors voluntarily sign up to assist those transitioning and have been extremely enthusiastic to see the programme opened up to spouses and partners. With over 170 companies signed up as VETS partners, there is bound to be something for everyone.

In October 2019, VETS ran a hugely successful Military Spouses Employment Programme in conjunction with the Naval Families Federation in Helensburgh, Scotland. It was an eight-day programme designed by the VETS team building on self-confidence and working on CVs and interview skills. It ended with a visit to the new Barclays building in Glasgow, giving the course participants an opportunity to speak to Barclays staff. Given the success of the pilot, VETS had hoped to run further courses. However, due to Covid, this had to be put on hold.

Plans are now in place to run two further courses in 2021. The first course will take place in Plymouth in collaboration with the Armed Forces employment charity RFEA and will run during the last two weeks in September. The second course will be held in Helensburgh at the end of October. Lisa explains: “We had such a warm welcome from the community in Helensburgh. We are all really looking forward to returning and running a second course there. The initial group of military spouses/partners were just fabulous. They threw themselves into the course and gave 100%. It was such a pleasure to work with them and they have all just done brilliantly since the course ended.”

Anyone interested in attending one of the above courses can email the VETS team directly, and those who wish to join the VETS programme can now register their interest. The contact details are below.

VETS team email: team@veteranemployment.co.uk

VETS website: www.veteranemployment.co.uk

The transition from military to civilian life, and translating your experience, isn’t always easy, which is why the VETS team and our mentors are available to support throughout the process.

e50K is an interesting name; where does it come from?

Dr Elizabeth Newman-Earl:

e 50K

We spoke to the team at e50KtodiscusstheNEWnonprofit organisation working with military families. Here is what they had to say.

We were developing a community engagement strategy seeking to improve the ‘lived-experience’ of the military community, which is roughly 50,000, and so the 50K part of our name was born. We found, through co-produced surveys and needs analyses, that military families need a ‘sustainable social enterprise approach’ to projects they access; and ‘Enterprise’ was added [Enterprise 50K]. When we established our four pillars (education, employment, engagement, and enterprise), we condensed to e50K.

So, what is the purpose of e50K?

Quincy Ankrett: The ultimate purpose is to support ‘Forces Living’ and all the effects it has upon our lives − to support integrated local communities and projects which are self-sustaining by nature.

Sam Staincliffe: To bring us together! Constant moves, upheavals, and all the other “fun” that comes with being a military family − we can feel that being part of a meaningful, continuous community network of support alludes us, and reaching

every spouse/partner just isn’t possible right now. We are not all of one mind or ambition, and we deserve to have opportunities to shape our own destiny.

Some people may ask how you are different from those other organisations supporting the military community. Quincy Ankrett: First and foremost is recognising the work those organisations are doing is fantastic − we are not here to compete with them but to support their infrastructure. These [organisations/charities] are for specific demographics (veterans, Service personnel transitioning, policy, spousal employment) – our aims are broader, to consider the overarching needs of the community. We aim to support other organisations whilst figuring out if there are any gaps and seeing how interested locally-based parties can work together to fill those gaps.

Rachael Ladd: For me, e50K is the thread that allows you to get the information you need to do the things you want − that’s what sets us apart. We are giving people the tools to actively engage in the community in a way that is right for them. So, if you are rather shy, you don’t have to go to a coffee morning; if you are unable to engage with social media due to your Service person’s area of work, there is a safe place for you to engage; or if you want to get involved in a local project, but don’t know how.

As with every new endeavour, I am sure you have faced some challenges; how have you had to overcome some of those?

Dr Elizabeth Newman-Earl: Whilst most environments and organisations are positive about experiencing a change in the community, we have come up against people who seem to question our reasons for wanting to do it – they simply don’t see a need for change.

I believe the best way to overcome this is by getting these projects up off the ground (and with a sustainable, commercial element built in). To show the community: “we said we would do this – and we have.” To build trust through delivery.

The Catterick project sounds exciting!

Quincy Ankrett: We have been working with DIO and Amey to secure a plot of land to build a three-stage project serving our governing principles. [Bramble woods] is a beautiful section of veteran woodland which should be preserved in a sympathetic way – through a caretaker or guardian who can enhance the space – to better serve its community, through education, social events, and employment. The adjacent allotment [Smuts Road] also supports that − creating a community space anyone in the local area can engage with to whatever extent they want to. The third section of the project [the Horse-Float Café] is very specifically geared to the needs of the people using the area − if you want to sit at your allotment, or watch your kid play football [at Catterick Football Centre], or simply take a family walk, you can do it with a cup of tea or coffee and a homemade cake.

I understand skillsets and learning new things is a big part of e50K; what would you say to someone who is perhaps apprehensive about engaging with your services?

Dr Elizabeth Newman-Earl: What’s the worst that can happen?! Anyone can acquire new skillsets − we’re all learning every day. Through e50K, I have worked with some inspirational spouses – all of whom have re-skilled at somepoint due to the effects of forces living. I have acquired skills myself, including getting my PhD, and that is testament to what we want e50K to be for everyone. It’s hard thinking you’re out there on our own, but… you’re not, because e50K has completely got your back!

Reach out to e50K today via its social media links or the website www.e50K.org.uk and be the change you want to see in your community.

Facebook: @e50Korg

Twitter: @E50Korg

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/e50k

Make sure you ask questions at the end of an interview; this not only shows that you are interested in the role and company, but it also gives you an opportunity to find out if the company is a good fit for you too!

QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK AT THE END OF AN INTERVIEW

Here are a few questions to consider that might be useful and can be tailored to your interview.

Is this a new role or did the former employee leave?

Do you get nervous or go blank when the person interviewing you asks if you have any questions? Do you walk away thinking ‘I wish I had asked…’?

• If someone left, you can ask why they left.

• If no one has lasted long in this role, it could be a red flag.

In this role, will you be working closely with anyone else on the team?

• If yes, what role are they in and how long have they been in the company?

• This will give you an idea of how much support you will get.

Is there anyone you can learn from within your specific role/department?

• This will give you an indication of whether you will receive support and guidance to help you progress.

• Also, if you are applying for a low-level role but there is no one above you, it could suggest that they will expect high-level work for a low-level salary!

Has the role always involved remote working or is this only because of Covid?

• If it’s only because of Covid, what’s the likelihood they’ll go back to in-person working conditions after?

• Does that work for you?

Depending on who is interviewing you and if you seem to have good rapport with them: What’s the most random task that they’ve done whilst working here?

• Firstly, this one shows how flexible you might need to be around your job description.

• It also offers an insight into the culture of the organisation, via a normally funny story.

• Have a real think about whether you are comfortable with a flexible job description. If this is the case, it is better to know in advance.

What is the goal of the company?

• Is it profit/market expansion/growth via international offices, etc?

• This tells you a lot about the working environment and what will be expected of you.

Have many employees gained promotions? And, how long, on average, has that taken them?

• If career progression is important to you, this will help you understand what options are available to you in the future.

CAREER ON THE MOVE CHECKLIST

By Helen Massy

Are you moving locations soon? Keep your career organised with this handy checklist.

UPDATE YOUR CV

Make sure your CV and contact details are up to date when you move.

PERSONALISE YOUR COVER LETTER

Give your cover letter a fresh new look, and make it relevant to the new position you are applying for.

BUSINESS CARDS

Update your business cards and have a new set printed off to take with you on your move. If you use a digital card, make sure all your details are updated.

PACKING

Keep your business cards, CV, documents, and relevant career materials separate from your household packing. Take them with you in your personal goods.

NOTICE PERIOD

If you are currently employed, check your notice period as soon as you know you are moving. Hand in your notice at an appropriate time to ensure no penalties are faced.

ANNUAL LEAVE

Check your annual leave allowance: how much have you used and how much do you have left? Have you got leave still to take? Are you moving earlier than expected and have some to payback?

GET A RECOMMENDATION LETTER

Request a letter of recommendation from your supervisor, as it may help with future applications.

REFERENCES

Make sure all your references are up to date, have the referee's contact details, and check they are happy to be approached by a future employer.

LINKEDIN

Optimise your LinkedIn profile and add relevant connections from your current company and city to stay in touch. Ask your current colleagues for endorsements. Connect with future companies you are interested in working for.

RESOURCES

Not going straight to a job? Changing career? Starting a business? Check out the resources in this guide, make contact, and start using the resources available to help you transform your career.

LEAVE ON A HIGH NOTE

Whether you have loved your current job or not, finish strong. Remember, your current employer will need to give you a reference for your future career. Having a strong, professional ending to your job will put you in good stead for the next position.