How Should Retiring Turkish Armed Forces Personnel Prepare for Civilian Working Life?
We get used to change and challenges in our military career, from many deployments to moving all over the country, but returning to civilian life can be, and sometimes is, the most difficult adjustment of all.
As members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), we return to civilian life when we retire after more than a quarter of a century of military career, a unique way of life that also includes our private lives.
In our military career, we get used to change and difficulties, from many assignments to moving all over our country, but returning to civilian life can be, and sometimes is, the most difficult adjustment of all.
Civilian life is a form of social life that we are not strangers to, a form of social life from which we came out of military life, but it welcomes us in our retirement as a social phenomenon whose culture and functioning we have not been able to remain parallel to for many years.
OK, if we are going to enjoy our retirement life as a pensioner, we adapt ourselves to this life after a while, but approximately 30% of military retirees may want to continue their working life after retirement for various reasons and may even be forced to do so.
After serving our country as a soldier, it is an uphill struggle to gain a position and a place in civilian working life outside the Turkish Armed Forces.
However, with the valuable support of the Turkish Armed Forces, skillful personal career planning, self-awareness and goal setting, the transition from military to civilian working life will be a more manageable process. I can list my recommendations on how this transition process should take place as follows.
Providing TAF Personnel with Professional Certificates that are also valid in Civilian Life
Yes, retiring Turkish Armed Forces personnel can be given professional certificates that are also valid in civilian life.
Forces in the Turkish Armed Forces (Land, Air, Naval) provide many trainings and certificates to their personnel throughout their professional lives. Most of these trainings are also valid in civilian life. At the end of these trainings that have civilian equivalents, it would be very appropriate and beneficial to provide personnel with certificates that they can present to their employers in civilian life.
For example, providing certificates within the scope of EADS/SHGM/JAR regulations to personnel serving in the aircraft maintenance class in the Air Force so that they can continue their profession in civilian life will eliminate the effort and cost expenditures in their retirement lives in order to obtain these certificates, and will also save time for retired personnel.
Do not decide to retire suddenly, make your decision a reasonable time in advance and plan your retirement process
Start preparing mentally and financially for the transition from military to civilian life one year before you are due to retire. The sooner you start researching and thinking about rejoining the civilian workforce, the better. Keep an open mind as you explore all the possibilities that lie ahead. Alleviate any doubts or fears that arise by arming yourself with the knowledge and confidence that you will make the most of this transition. Take some time to evaluate yourself, consider your experience and goals, and give yourself time to brainstorm about your retirement.
How would I like to define the next chapter of my life? What would I choose to do in my civilian life, what profession would I choose to pursue?
What are your technical skills? Make a list of them. Emphasize your technical skills in your civilian work life
Make a list of technical skills that can be used in the civilian world. Even if your general military training and experience does not easily translate into a specific civilian career, try to analyze and synthesize the responsibilities you have undertaken and determine which occupational groups' responsibilities overlap in the civilian world, and it would be very useful to consult with your civilian environment. For example, you can do machining or metalworking, all of these activities are also required in civilian industrial life and are much broader and more comprehensive. Remember, you will be moving from a narrow world to a much wider world, and many of the activities you carry out in your military career have their counterparts in civilian life.
Remember, your technical skills will make it much easier for you to find and keep a job.
What are your professional skills? Make a list
Make a list of your professional leadership skills. Think about the future value you will bring to an organization and which skills will best position you to compete effectively with other candidates with significant organizational experience. Some examples are: Team Building, Training and Development, International Relations, Strategic Planning, Cost Control, Financial Forecasting, Multi-site Operations, Cross-Cultural Relations, Supply Chain Management and Technology Leadership.
However, be aware that most of these qualities are sought after by mega and large-scale companies and that the average of these companies in Turkey will be between 5-10%.
In other words, when you transition from military to civilian life, it will not be easy for you to find a job in middle and senior management positions. Your insistence on this issue will also cause you to waste time.
What unique skills did you acquire in the TAF that a civilian employer would appreciate? List them
You should think a lot about this and be able to express these skills succinctly to the employer.
Try to build a network in the civilian world.
One of the most important features that will accelerate and facilitate your transition to civilian working life after retirement is to create a good and reliable environment for yourself. It is useful to have a circle of friends as close to you as possible, especially your relatives.
Do not hesitate to move to the city where you find a job you like.
The cities where you are most likely to find a job will most likely be cities that you do not want to live in; crowded, with a very mixed demographic structure, heavy traffic, urbanization, and dense industrial sectors. But do not hesitate to move to these cities and live in them. Because you cannot wait for job opportunities to come to the city where you want to live. It would be more logical for you to go to the cities where there is work.
It will be appropriate to look for the continuation of your professional working life primarily in large companies
It would be appropriate to look for the continuation of your professional working life primarily in large companies. Because large companies will exhibit a sociological outlook similar to the corporate culture you are used to. Your adaptation to large companies will be faster and healthier.
Maintain the Excitement and Effort to Actively Look for a Job, Don't Wait for the Job to Come to You, Because It Won't
Do not neglect to look for a job through employment agencies and organizations, especially your close circle. Go to job interview invitations, the more job interviews you have, the better. Maintain your excitement and effort to actively look for a job, do not wait for the job to come to you, because it will not.
Do not make comparisons between the civilian company you joined and the Turkish Armed Forces, and do not constantly criticize it
If the Land, Air and Naval Forces of the Turkish Armed Forces were civilian companies, they would be among the biggest companies not only in Turkey but also in the world. Therefore, do not compare the TAF with the civilian company you started working for, do not be constantly critical, you have retired from the TAF, keep it alive in your memories and in your heart. If you like the civilian company you joined, you can continue working there, if you don't like it, you can leave, but if you compare a civilian company with a giant institution that has the power of the state behind it, you will be constantly disappointed, and you will also be unfair.
Perform According to the Fire-and-forget Principle
As aviators know, "Fire and Forget" is the name given in military terminology to a missile guidance system that, once locked onto a target, requires no further tracking. Once the missile using this system is guided to its target, the operator launching it does not need to be in line of sight of the target.
When you enter the workplace, demonstrate the discipline you acquired in the Turkish Armed Forces, and complete the tasks you are assigned without the need for others to direct you. In civilian business life, "result orientation" is very important and valuable. You will make a difference, attract attention and consolidate your position.
Develop your "Polyvalence Polycompétence" Multitasking and Multiskilling Skills
The use of "Polyvalence Polycompétence" Multitasking and Multiskilling Skills is highly valued in a civilian work life focused on dynamism and efficiency. Excessive specialization is not a popular and preferred trait.
For example, the manager of one of the world's largest ventilation companies, located in one of the world's largest automotive companies, may prefer to operate the forklift himself instead of hiring a forklift operator. This manager is a PhD holder, an expert with great knowledge and experience in his field, and a very good manager. But he doesn't say "why should I drive a forklift", because anyone with a driver's license can drive a forklift after a short training. There is no need to employ a forklift operator for a task that is needed once or twice a month, everyone in the team, including the manager, who has a driver's license, also drives a forklift.
The world is now evolving to this concept. It will be an advantage to adapt.
Conclusion
After years of service to the glorious Turkish Armed Forces, you have earned the right to retire. All the best and good luck to you. You will either live your retirement life as a classical retiree, which is your right, or you think it is too early for retirement life, you have your reasons and you want to continue your professional life in civilian life. This is the general trend in the world, in many societies and cultures it is no longer preferred to live a life of retirement without doing anything. Life is shaped by our choices, and if you want to continue your working life, it will be beneficial for our country as well as for you.
In this article, I have tried to present my views and evaluations from life as a "former comrade-in-arms", not for military retirees who are thinking of starting their own business with the motivation of "entrepreneurship" (see Ref.-1 for detailed information on this subject), but for those who aim to enter a workplace and work "professionally".
Bibliography:
1. TSK Emeklileri, Girişimcilikte Türkiye’ye Örnek Olabilecek Potansiyele Sahiptir
