Careers advisor advice please.

[il-mostro]

Hello Folks.

I won't bore people with too much detail, as I know there are a lot of non-sympathisers out there, I get that and try to understand their point of view.

I am a Police officer of 14 years service and have just hit 35 years of age, so affectively within sniffing distance of half way house.

I like many others am fed up with the job for many reasons that I won't go into. If you want to know, just ask about 90% of Police officers, you'll get the same answer i'm sure.

My question is this, I am trying to find new work, and am at a bit of a loss as to what direction to take or what to do next? My GF says I have loads of skills etc that would be snapped up by many companies, but on paper, I am just a long serving officer with skills mainly associated to a Policing career, as you would expect.

Has anyone on here sought advice from a career advisor, and did they find it much use?

Any info or advice would be much appreciated. I know its a pretty open ended thread, but i'd like to hear from people in similar positions and how things panned out for them.

All the best, Mark.

[chrisxr2]

I am pretty sure there is a thread similar to this in speed and plod forum somewhere, i am sure someone with a better memory will be along soon to point you in the right direction.

[rog007]

Your GF is correct; you will have a shed load of transferable skills and experiences valued by many sectors and employers. But what do you want to do? Write down some options and then look at job descriptions on job boards and see how you match up. If there's a delta and it's the type of role for you, then get trained to close that gap. If that's not possible, go to the next one on your list. Simplified process there, but can still be effective. If you need additional support around competency and behavioural mapping, CV writing, interview techniques training and job search advice, drop me a PM. Good luck!

[japgt]

first thing that springs to mind is teaching, surely you would have many skills that would equip you well to do such a job with the kids of today.

[japgt]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

lol

[SVS]

Hi Mark,

I've heard similar sentiments from friends of mine in the police. What a shame it's come to this with our police force.

I agree with Rog that you'll have many transferable skills. Good advice too re: thinking what you might like to do.

In addition to Rog's advice, you also need to consider how to manage the change in organisational culture. Commercial life, for example, will have a very different set of values, norms and ways of working compared to the police. At the very least, you'll want to be self-aware enough to recognise this.

You might also seek out a careers advisor, mate or mentor to talk though ideas. Have you got friends or contacts outside the police you could ask?

[il-mostro]

Thanks for the replies guys and girls.

I am still a little unsure what to do, but am trying to keep a positive slant on it, and work out which are the best of my transferable skills.

To answer a few questions, I work for the British Transport Police, so I come from a railway background. I am interested in working for Network Rail as a MOM, but the opportunities seem to be few and far between from looking at the Network Rail recruitment pages. I am still trying to seek advice on this. I am a Police spec PTS card holder which allows me to go onto the railway, but not to work unless supervised by a MOM or PICOW.

Another key skill I have picked up is becoming a 'working at height' operator, and am the supervisor of a team of 10 people. I have been doing this for over 4 years now, but infrequently, which means I do not do thousands of hours a year climbing on my log book. I work in line with IRATA level 1 and 2, but we are not certificated as such. I know the skills and can demonstrate them well, but I don't really have a piece of paper to say so. I guess it would be easy enough to get a certificate though. The problem I have with this though, is that I can demonstrate the skills fine, but I don't have another skill such as Electrical testing, quality inspection etc to go with it........

If I stay in the force I can either go for promotion as I have my Part 1 and 2 exams behind me and lots of Acting PS experience, but there is nothing coming up at the moment and my area seems far more keen on employing officers from other forces into promotion positions rather than promote from within. This is causing a lot of resentment amongst officers such as myself. I have been offered a motorcycle response course in the spring, which is the only thing I am really hanging around for at the moment. I come from an Operations background, so have skills in search, public order, VIP movements etc etc.

Thats where I stand really. Outside skills include being an IAM driver, a very keen driver, albeit bikes or cars, and I also run my own photography website, and last year started doing wedding pictures for people as favours whilst I develop my skills to such a point, that I might then be able to start charging for work.

So in summing up, a few options, but nothing solid at the moment.

[The jiffle king]

As a policeman, you also have:
Communication skills
Negotiation skills
problem solving skills

If I was to ask you... Give me and example when you had to:
- deal with conflict
- think about someone´s point of view
- deal with conflicting priorities

you´d have good answers from your work.... I think you could do many more things e.g. Transport manager