Every year, around 15,000 people leave the armed forces. The question is where do they go, and why should financial services be the first place they look?
Working in financial services is not a typical office job. Depending where and how you decide to work, it can offer vast entrepreneurial opportunities, desirable income, flexible contracts, and the opportunity to help people every day - particularly other veterans.
The jump from military leaver to financial adviser is not as obscure as it may first appear. Your experience in the forces will have armed you with a wealth of skills such as communication, accountability, and decision-making. You may be surprised to learn how directly these particular skills translate into the life of a financial adviser, and how they can help you to become a great one.
1. Responsibility
As a military leaver, you have a greater understanding of what responsibility means than the average person. Take SJP adviser Jonny Shingles, for example. Jonny was a fighter-pilot for the Royal Air Force, responsible for millions of pounds worth of military equipment every time he flew. He applies the same skills he used in the cockpit of his fighter-jet in his office as a financial adviser now, where he helps clients manage and protect their money.
You may not have been responsible for a jet, but you undoubtedly still held great responsibilities no matter what your role was. You are responsible for your life and the life of those around you both as military personnel and as a financial adviser.
2. Communication
In both military and financial situations, effective, truthful, and realistic communication is paramount for success. You are unlikely to achieve your goal if there is ambiguity around what your target is as well as the strategy, risk and motivations behind your decisions. Good advisers communicate effectively and honestly – even if it’s not what people want to hear.
3. Analytical skills
No matter what role you occupied in the military, it is likely that you were required to use your analytical skills daily, whether you realised it or not. You will have had extensive practice processing information quickly, then calculating likely options and outcomes – maybe even subconsciously – in order to make decisions.
As an adviser, you must also use these analytical skills to assess your clients’ situation, finances, and capacity for risk, as well as your own investment options to make the best and most informed decision possible.
4. Teamwork
As financial adviser, you’ll need to be able to work with a team. You will often need to work with several other professionals such as lawyers, personal accountants as well as your own team of advisers and paraplanners. Your military experience working with a unit during operations and training will enable you to juggle these different relationships and steer everyone towards your mutual goal.
5. Moral purpose
Financial advisers are more than just investment experts in expensive suits; they are people who have dedicated their time to helping others build and protect their dreams - whether that’s buying their first house, funding a honeymoon, or navigating themselves out of debt. To make a good adviser, you have to view your job as a morally purposeful one. You need to have your clients’ best interests at heart when making decisions.
The same can be said reflecting on a career in the military. By transitioning to the world of financial advice, you’re continuing your commitment to protect and help people, just from a new perspective.
The strong correlation between these skills and the ones you need to be successful in the world of financial advice is what makes it such an excellent second career - one that is popular with military leavers. The best way to find a rewarding career is to follow your purpose, morals and talents; financial advice offers a successful, long-term career that enables you to follow all three.