So, you are ready to move on whether you want a change or are retiring. Below are some key considerations for making the transition as seamless as possible!
Questions to ask yourself!
- Which are your strongest transferable skills from the police to bring into a new industry?
- Do you need any specific skills to make the transition to your new career?
- What do you need to do to close your skills gap?
- What types of jobs are you interested in?
Key steps for transitioning:
Know yourself
Take the time to understand your strengths to help you identify which jobs you will be good at, as well as any gaps in knowledge.
Upskill yourself
Acquiring new skills is an excellent way to fill any gaps in your existing knowledge. Enrolling in a career programme or online learning resources can be great places to start.
Update your CV and brush up on your interviewing skills
- Write or review your CV, showcase your skills and achievements to attract potential employers.
- Add context to your skills list; mention where you have used these skills in real-life situations and explain how they would be useful to the role you’re applying for.
- Make a list of your achievements to add power to your document.
- Set yourself some interview questions and prepare your answers, read your CV and any job description thoroughly before your interview.
Build your professional network
Connect with like-minded professionals outside of the policing world, this can help with referrals for job roles. LinkedIn is a great place to start with around 65 million people using LinkedIn to search for jobs each week. Not only is LinkedIn a great platform for networking, it’s also a useful tool to keep up to date with industry news and trends.
Start applying for jobs
So, you’ve upskilled yourself, refreshed your CV and grown your professional network, you’re now ready to start applying for jobs! You can use job sites, reach out to your professional network for recommendations, or contact recruiters.
Adapt to your new work environment
Adapting to a new work environment can be difficult for everyone. Working in the police force is unlike any other job, this means transitioning to a new role can take some getting used to! However, with your current skills you will find it easy to embrace new learning, build your knowledge of industry trends and form solid relationships with colleagues.
If you’d like professional help moving on from your police career, our experienced writers know exactly what is required to build effective career documents (CV, LinkedIn profile and cover letters), and are ready to assist you with this. If you would like to chat anything through please get in touch or you can order here.