The Blue Light Leavers Podcast (Andy Labrum)

Welcome to Episode 53 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast.

Now I'm sure if you're like me, there are certain times during your working life, where you come to a crossroads and need to make a decision about what you're going to do next. This episode will be particularly relevant for those of you that are considering a career break or have actually taken a career break and are maybe thinking about coming back and what to do. 

The theme throughout this episode is about taking risks, and being brave, and what if it all works out...

Today I'm talking with Justine Banks, who is a former Metropolitan Police Officer, who did exactly that. They had a real life changing decision to make, and they stepped out of their comfort zone. It's not all been easy for them, and they've been through some really tough times but it just goes to show, that if you do need to take some time out, that you can come back and you can flourish and continue to grow.

Justine is now working for a fantastic global organisation called Pinkerton who are a Detective and Risk Management Agency. She explains more about her role and the organisation and the journey that took her there, via Singapore and Dubai!

This is an episode that may mess with your head but it's all about, taking risks, being brave and what if it all works out.

Don't forget, you can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

Welcome to Ep. 76 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast.

Hope you've all had a fantastic summer, despite the weather!
We've had a few weeks away and we're back with an amazing interview with Jim Bishop and Gavin Crowther who are the founders of Red Air Media.
Red Air Media are a specialist drone company, and they use drones for filming, surveys, photography, inspection works and more.
In this interview we talk about how drones have changed the way we work, the speed of expansion, and what an amazing opportunity it is as a career option, or as an option for cops who've retired and looking to own their own business.
Red Air Media don't just fly drones!
They're actually an award-winning media team that provides drone content for massive brands and broadcast TV across the globe and have undertaken numerous programmes for the BBC including DIY SOS, Countryfile and many others and they've got over 35 years industry experience and they are just really lovely blokes.
This is a fantastic opportunity to partner with a genuine 'Best in Class' company and access their training, systems, expertise and knowledge.
You can find out more and contact them through:
Website - https://bit.ly/RedAirMedia
Email - enquiries@redairmedia.com
Telephone - 0800 999 1399 and let them know you're from Blue Light Leavers or you heard it on the Blue Light Leavers podcast!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with Andy, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!
This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠Motor Source Group.⁠⁠ They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to ⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠

You can join the private Facebook Group via ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers⁠⁠

My guest is a former Detective Sergeant who was one of the first on scene at the Edgeware Road 7/7 bombing. She is a multi-award winning entrepreneur and franchise creator, business owner, transformational coach and Angel Investor and has been recognised as one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in the UK. Jenni Dunman is the creator and Director of Daisy First Aid and has grown her business from table top to multi-award winning in just a few short years and is now a paediatric first aid expert. She has featured in numerous publications and has a huge celebrity parents portfolio. Her story is so inspirational and Jenni is offering listeners an opportunity to join Daisy First Aid. If you've ever considered owning your own business and you want something with flexibility, then this is really going to be of interest! ** Jenni will be joining me on a Facebook Live in the Blue Light Leavers Facebook group at 7pm on Thursday 10th September to talk more about Daisy First Aid and answer any questions you have! ** You can register an interest by emailing info@daisyfirstaid.com and putting 'Blue Light Leavers' in the subject line. Listen on the go.. you can listen to the podcast on your phone or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals!   If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Stabbed, caught up in two terrorist explosions and shot at a firearms incident having been the first Mother to join the SO19 Armed Response Vehicles in the Metropolitan Police, former Police Officer Helen Barnett has an incredible story to tell.  These incidents resulted in her being medically retired with a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which manifested itself in symptoms like Bulimia and relationship breakdown.  During this interview, Helen talks about how she felt she lost her identity and sense of purpose. She also talks about how fitness became her coping mechanism. Helen has had a long road to recovery and this continues. Despite all this, Helen talks about how lucky she is and the work she now does with two amazing charities called https://rock2recovery.co.uk and https://www.hiddenvalleybushcraft.co.uk where she's able to give back and help others.  Helen is also a former record holder for Concept II indoor rowing and in May 2019, her and her team broke the 24 hour World Deadlift Record.   I promise, this is an extraordinary interview with an amazing human being and an episode I found really emotional to record.  As promised during this episode, I have donated £50 to Rock to Recovery and £50 to Hidden Valley Bushcraft and my receipts shared with Helen as proof.  Both charities help former Military and Emergency Service personnel deal with trauma and PTSD and both charities have kindly agreed to be guests on the Blue Light Leavers Podcast in 2020. Don't forget, you can join the Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers   You can connect with Helen via the Blue Light Leavers private Facebook Group.  You can also access my free Emergency Service Professional's Guide to LinkedIn via this link: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723  If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group. 

Michael Pattinson is a Senior Rail Industry Leader and has an extensive career history in Project and Programme Management and Transformational Change and is now Head of the Digital Factory within Network Rail.  Network Rail is the owner, operator and infrastructure manager of Britain's main railway network, which includes 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and thousands of signals, level crossings and stations including 20 of the largest stations in the UK and employing around 40,000 staff and contractors.  In this episode, Michael talks about the influence his humble upbringing in the North East had on him and how it has shaped his leadership style today.  He also talks about the benefits that he sees in bringing Emergency Service professionals and Military leavers into the public and private sector and about three key factors for doing so:  We have an inbuilt sense of purpose Our skills and experience ARE relevant to business The importance of having different people, thinking differently within organisations He discusses the future of IT within Network Rail and the significant opportunities that will bring. He also gives some fantastic advice around CV's and interviews and the importance of making the right first impression but also how to deal with failure. Michael is a big supporter of the Blue Light Leavers Group, the emergency services and military personnel, previously kindly organising an IT careers evening for us and I promise, this is a great interview. Don't forget, you can join the Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also access my free Emergency Service Professional's Guide to LinkedIn via this link: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Looking Back and a Blueprint for Policing with John Sutherland Police Commander 

This week's episode is a very welcome return to former Police Commander John Sutherland. 

John is a former Met Police Chief Superintendent, he is the best-selling author of the books Blue and Crossing the Line, he's a highly sought after police commentator with the national press and media and host of the brilliant, Police Commander Blog. He's also a former guest on Episode 18 of the Blue Light Leavers podcast, where he spoke very openly and honestly about his journey with mental ill-health and his breakdown. 

In this episode, we're basically just chatting, reflecting on the past 15 months and the impact on policing with so many significant events. We talk about the future of policing and what needs to change and we also get a sneak preview into some really big news. 

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021! 

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! 

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops! 

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share with your friends and colleagues and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Tina is the owner of Safe and Sound, who are a First Aid Training provider. They also deliver health and safety training, conflict management and numerous other training programmes to public and private sector organisations. Phil is a former cop who's now delivering first aid training on behalf of Safe and Sound and in this episode, we talk through his policing career and what he's done since leaving policing. We also talk about why we're a really good fit for this particular type of work. If you don't have the necessary qualifications right now, they will, at a discounted rate, provide train the trainer qualifications, so you can deliver training and work for/with them. We discuss the costs and the type of career paths that can follow, whether full time or part time, and it really is a great opportunity. If you're interested, Tina has very kindly offered an opportunity to watch a course being delivered, so you can get a real feel for whether it's the right fit for you.

This is a really insightful interview and I'm very grateful to Tina for offering this career opportunity to members, and to Phil for telling us his post-policing story.

You can register an interest through this link and Tina will be in touch : Safe and Sound First Aid

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there.

If you go to the website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well.

We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every day in the private Facebook Group!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with me, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

Welcome to Episode 59 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

Ian Grant is a former police officer who's now a Senior Lecturer at a very well-known and hugely respected University, having left school with no qualifications. 

He talks us through his police career, we talk about the conversations we had towards the end of his service and coming to terms with that transition, along with the interview processes that he went through for his first role, and how things have just exploded and expanded for him from that point. 

This is all with a backdrop of a really significant health condition, so this episode comes with a bit of a warning that it is quite graphic in places with regards to the type of medical condition he has. We also talk about some of the skills and behaviours required for the role, and he gives some amazing advice about what to do and how to plan a year or so before you leave, the importance of networking and how it's had a massive impact on his career success, post-policing. 

This episode is sponsored by the brilliant Motor Source Group, which, like Blue Light Leavers, is a very proud sponsor of the Emergency Services Football League. I've met CEO Steve Thornton a number of times now, I've interviewed him for the podcast and also met the team and been up to their head office and they're just a really lovely bunch of people who are genuinely doing the right thing and doing their bit to say thanks. Motor Source Group offer genuine new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot.

They also work closely with the Police Federation and with NARPO and they deliver direct to your door. I promise you; you will make savings. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com/partners

Don't forget, you can also visit the website at www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more. Doors open again soon, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can go to www.bluelightleavers.com/academy

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

From Policing to HS2 Engagement Specialist with Michael Newbrook 

Mike is a former Sergeant who reached around 17 years service before looking to leave and is another former student/alumni of The Blue Light Achievers Programme. 

Mike started looking at his options outside of policing for roles with greater work/life balance after the birth of his youngest child. He got in touch with me last year to discuss what his options might be and was after some support and guidance around the types of roles he could apply for and made the decision to join the Achievers Programme. I'm pleased to say that a few months ago he left the Police for a fantastic new role as an engagement specialist with a company working on HS2. 

In this interview, he talks us through some of the challenges that he faced and he explains how he recognised that his skills and experience were a really good fit or this particular role. He also gives some great insight and words of wisdom for anyone that's leaving soon or looking to leave mid-service. 

If you're interested in finding out more about the Blue Light Achievers programme, click HERE  

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! 

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops! 

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers  

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021! 

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Welcome to Episode 54 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast. 

Today I'm talking to Kul Mahay. Now, Kul is a genuine force of nature and inspirational leader. He completed 30 years in policing, reaching the rank of Temporary Chief Superintendent and since leaving in 2015, he's gone on to do some extraordinary things. He delivers leadership training to senior execs and organisations globally, helping them to build highly emotional and social intelligent cultures, really focusing on inclusivity, communications and performance.  

He's the founder of the Create and Speak Programme and founder of Ignite Your Inner Potential events. He's an author, he is the co-creator of a new policing drama TV series, and he's also a podcast host.  To be fair, there's not a huge amount that he doesn't do. You're going to really enjoy this I promise. 

Don't forget, you can also visit the website and at www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers 

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com) 

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! 

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

From Policing to Operations Duty Manager Elizabeth Line with Dave Glennon

If you come from an operational background or you're interested in any operational role, I promise this interview is going to be of huge interest to you and will help you massively.

So in this interview, we talk through Dave's policing career and his background. We also talk about his catalyst for change and why he needed to move on and how he went about doing it.

What's interesting about Dave's story is that he was at 22 years service and really caught in the pension trap and he gives a great explanation as to why he still decided to move on.

We also talk about the process of identifying the right skills and experience and talk through the entire interview process he went through, including the assessment day and how he went about finding specific examples that were relevant to this particular role.

We talk about his transition and challenges and some of the ups and downs and stuff he misses and the benefits of moving on. The way he describes it is about reframing the discomfort and it's a fantastic way of putting it. Throughout the interview, as always, the theme is connections and networking and he gives some great advice, tips and support on how to go about doing that correctly.

This is another great interview and worth getting your pen and paper out (old school!) and making some notes if you're after an operational role.

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

It's fair to say, we're going through a bit of an economical bumpy ride at the moment and it's likely to last at least a few months longer yet and although there are firms recruiting, a number are having to lay people off.  Financial security, specifically through a number of income streams can be the difference between sleeping soundly or worrying about yours or your family's financial future.  If you've left the job or considering it and you're worried about job security, or you're struggling financially and you're looking for legitimate and proven ways to create additional income, then this is for you. (It's not MLM!).  This week's podcast guest is best selling author, entrepreneur, business coach and membership director of WealthBuilders, Christian Rodwell.  In this episode, Christian takes us through the 7 different methods (or pillars), of creating wealth and financial security for you and your loved ones. He also talks about WealthBuilders and a free 4 video series that goes into more detail with the founder Kevin Whelan.  I've known Christian for a number of years now and I was also one of the founding members and I'm an affiliate of WealthBuilders and the support and education has helped me massively, particularly with regards to my family's security and ensuring I have everything in place for them. Christian and Kevin are also helping me develop additional income streams outside of my day job.  New Membership to the WealthBuilders 7 Steps programme and community is open for just 4 days from Monday 5th Oct to late on Thursday 8th October and you can find out more by clicking on this link HERE to access the 4 free videos.  Christian and Kevin are also hosting a live training and Q&A session on Thursday 8th Oct 8pm - 9pm which you can access via THIS LINK Listen on the go.. you can listen to the podcast on your phone or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!    Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers    You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals!  If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.  If you decide to join the WealthBuilders membership programme, I do get a referral fee which allows me to offer some services for free.

From Policing to Train Driver with Matt Kent

In this episode, I'm talking with Matthew (Matt) Kent. Now I think this episode is going to be incredibly popular, because Matthew is a former Police Officer, who left after 10 years to become a train driver, and he's been a train driver for the last 5 years.

In this episode, we talk about his reasons for leaving, and what he actually did in the job, we talk about the reaction of his colleagues and his supervisors, when he handed in his resignation.

We also talk about the selection process that he went through and actually what's required now. We talk about the training that's involved, the salary, and we also discuss the role itself and how it's impacted his life and his family.

We also discuss, how to find the vacancies. Matt is a lovely bloke and he was so happy to share his experiences with us.

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

I'm incredibly proud to be able to announce another collaboration with a partner offering employment opportunities to Blue Light Leavers.   Career Forces, is the brainchild of Military Veteran Andy Howe, who spent over 4 decades serving in the military and civil service. He and I met a few weeks back at an event organised by Forces Transition Group and we immediately hit it off.

Career Forces are a socially responsible recruitment organisation, and a certified social enterprise, which means they donate at least 20% of their profits to charity, and they truly believe in helping and supporting those who have bravely supported our country and society, whether military or blue light.

Andy Howe and Career Forces have fantastic relationships with amazing organisations and some exceptional employment opportunities, and he helps those organisations understand the benefits and character traits of military and blue light professionals.

You can find out more by following this link : Career Forces and make sure you connect with Andy. He's so keen to help you find that next role, and this really is an incredible opportunity and I'm so pleased to be able to offer this to you.

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com

You can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for support and want to find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

From Policing to Senior Project Manager at Turner Townsend Consultancy.

In this episode I talk to former firearms sergeant and 1:1 client of mine, Josh Penwill.

In this interview, we talk about why he left policing, the steps we took to identify the type of roles and what was going to suit him best and his salary expectations, and we talk through the right courses that would help him. We also talk through the transferable skills that he's found have really helped him in his new role.

We talk about the interview processes and the applications that we went through, what he learned from the knockbacks and how we dealt with those.

We also talk about the importance of networking, the day in the life of a consultant and so much more.

If you would like to connect with Josh, the best way is through LinkedIn https://bit.ly/45crgA6 

He's such a great guy who will help you without shadow of a doubt. So, thanks again to Josh for his time. Brilliant interview.
If you like what you heard, then please leave a review. You can do that on Spotify and on Apple. I think I said on the last one, we've had tens of thousands of downloads, but not that many reviews.

So, if you do appreciate what it is that we're doing, if you could leave a review, it really helps because it just helps to get the message out there.

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with Andy, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠Motor Source Group.⁠⁠⁠ They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠

You can join the private Facebook Group via ⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers⁠⁠⁠

This bonus episode is taken from a Live Session that was held to introduce our partners Frontline Financial Solutions.

I was deeply honoured to have Howard Reuben and Victoria Bennett join me on the session.

Founded by Howard, Frontline are a division of HD Consultants. Offering advice on Mortgages, Insurance and Estate Planning (including a FREE basic will writing service) specifically tailored to the needs of the Blue Light, Military and Emergency Services Communities.

Frontline are long time supporters of the Blue Light Card Foundation because they want to give back to the Blue Light Community! Howard and Victoria talk about the founding of Frontline. Their personal histories and how they can help members of the Blue Light Leavers Community!

So, I am really grateful for having them join me! You can use the link below to find out more and get in touch with them! https://bit.ly/BLLFrontlineFinancialSolutions

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there. If you go to the website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well.

We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every week in the private Facebook Group!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This is 1:1 time via Zoom with a Blue Light Leavers Coach to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: the ScoreApp Scorecard Quiz ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard 

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

Welcome to Episode 71 of the Blue Light Leavers podcast.

Luke Chadwick is a former professional footballer who made his mark as a talented midfielder during his time at Manchester United, going on to play for numerous clubs, including West Ham, Norwich City, MK Dons, Cambridge Utd and others. Known for his dedication and perseverance, he was hugely admired for his work ethic, versatility, and ability to create scoring opportunities.

In this episode we talk about Luke's football career, from grassroots schoolboy to his debut for Manchester United and beyond, and the lessons he learned from his time under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Luke also talks really openly about his career highs and lows and how difficult he found it coming to terms with the end of his career and loss of identity, and how he ultimately had to seek help and learn to be vulnerable and grieve.

There are so many similarities between a lifelong career in sport and a career as a first responder.

Post-retirement, Luke has become a respected figure in football analysis and commentary, sharing his valuable insights and experiences, and is a Director of The Football Fun Factory where their mission is to use the nation’s passion for football as a vehicle for child development, and where the focus isn't simply on development or progression… they focus on having fun, and you can find out more, and potentially own your own Football Fun Factory franchise, by contacting Luke on luke@thefootballfunfactory.co.uk and mention the podcast!

Luke's mindset throughout his career and post football, is so inspiring and I'm incredibly grateful for his time and honesty.

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. MSG offer genuine new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. I promise you; you will make savings. To find out more, go to https://www.bluelightleavers.com

Don't forget, you can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can go to https://www.bluelightleavers.com/

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Join the Blue Light Leavers Private Facebook Group here!  If you've listened to the incredible podcast episode 7 with former Police Officer and PTSD survivor Helen Barnett, you'll know the huge impact my guests on this episode had on her and many others.  Owned and created by Louise Goldsmith, a Detective from Avon & Somerset Police and her husband Nick, a former Royal Marine Commando who suffered complex PTSD after his 4th Tour in Afghanistan, Hidden Valley Bushcraft and their Woodland Warrior Programme are doing amazing things by helping our Armed Forces & Emergency Service community to 'Recuperate, Recalibrate and Re-engage.'  During this interview, Louise and Nick talk about how they came to own 2 acres of ancient woodland, touching on Nick's own journey with PTSD, the incredible support The Royal Marine's Charity gave them and how creating Hidden Valley Bushcraft saved Nick.  They go on to talk about The Woodland Warrior Programme, which provides therapeutic activities for armed forces personnel, veterans and members of the emergency services. Set within a woodland environment, activities are centred around bushcraft and the natural world. Designed to be therapeutic, adaptive and inclusive for all who attend, its aim is to help participants relax, learn new skills, build self reliance and esteem, strengthen social bonding and move forward into the next stage of their lives. Examples of activities include foraging, tracking, making fire and shelters, archery, wild cooking, natural history, woodland management, woodcrafts and wilderness living skills.   Louise and Nick go on to explain how inclusive the programme is and how it can be accessed via this link: Woodland Warrior Programme  I donated and I urge you to do the same to help support Louise and Nick and the incredible work they're doing.  You can contact them via this email address: thewwprogramme@hiddenvalleybushcraft.co.uk  Don't forget you can join the Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers  You can also access my free guide to optimising LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Stuart McGuire is a former 24/7 response Temporary Police Inspector, who rose through the ranks pretty quickly and like many, loved what he was doing, particularly whilst managing a covert Operational Support Unit, but was becoming increasingly frustrated by the impact of austerity measures on Policing and the lack of career progression, alongside shift work for both him and his wife whilst raising a young family and after a particularly tough year personally, started looking at career options outside of Policing.  He worked on his CV and after being contacted by a former colleague, left to join the Royal Mail as an Operations/General Manager and after making a big impact using the skills and experience gained in the Police service, was moved to a really challenging location where the behaviours and culture were very difficult to manage. Other opportunities began to materialise through his network on LinkedIn and one in particular stood out as a fantastic offer and Stuart took a massive risk and left Royal Mail to help with a start-up and took a business from concept to fruition, stepping well outside of his comfort zone and learning a huge amount of new skills along the way. Another opportunity presented itself but after a period of time working for them as Head of Operations and then Business Development and Marketing, Stuart was made redundant which came as a huge shock to him and his family. He'd been in secure roles throughout his working life and it hit him hard. That's when our paths crossed (via LinkedIn). Stuart decided to set up his own Consultancy and is now working 3 days a week for the NHS and loving what he's doing and the work life balance he has. Towards the end of the interview, Stuart gives some amazing advice relating to really understanding how the private sector works. Throughout the interview, Stuart evidences great resilience and talks about the importance of networking and LinkedIn and the types of skills and experience that we can utilise outside of Policing. Don't forget you can join the Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also access my free Emergency Service Professional's Guide to LinkedIn via this link: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Don't forget you can access the private Facebook Group via this link: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers Today I'm talking to Steve Hardy. Steve is a Military Veteran and former Police Officer who started his career in Leicestershire Police, before transferring to Devon and Cornwall Police. Whilst in D&C Police he became a Security Coordinator and subsequently spent many years as a hostage negotiator. He served 22 years in total but for many reasons, fell out of love with the job with one particular incident becoming his catalyst for a career change. Whilst serving, he created 'Re-Rostered', which was an organisation showcasing a talent pool of Police Officers wanting to transition to new roles. Steve has also forged some exceptional partnerships with regards to Cyber Security training and the massive opportunities that brings. Most recently, he's become the Managing Director of 'Elite Level Comms', delivering enhanced communication workshops to the corporate world.  Throughout this interview, Steve gives some fantastic advice, particularly with regards to the steps to take in making that transition from Cop to Business owner. You can connect with Steve via Instagram @elitelevelcomms. If you're considering leaving the Police, you're close to retirement or you've retired, this will be of huge benefit to you. Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com Download my free guide to optimising LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Today I'm speaking with Abi and Louise from Protective Care Group.

Protective Care Group (PCG) was founded from lived experience and a genuine passion to give robust, consistent and therapeutic care to young people across the UK who are extremely complex and display challenging behaviours. These behaviours are vast, but often include aggression, self-harm, suicide risk, absconding, CCE risk and criminal activities.

This is why cops are such a good fit for an organisation like this.

In this interview we talk about Protective Care Group, the work they do, the children they support, a day in the life of a carer.

We look at the type of people they look for when they're hiring, our transferable skills, exciting stuff about the training and support they offer their staff, the challenges you might face, and how rewarding it can be to know you've had a real impact in a young persons life.

We also talk about salary and benefits too.

If you think you could help Protective Care Group transform young lives, use this link to find out more and make contact.

Protective Care Group

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there. If you go to the website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well. We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every week in the private Facebook Group!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This is 1:1 time via Zoom with a Blue Light Leavers Coach to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: the ⁠ScoreApp Scorecard Quiz ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard⁠ You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

If you're approaching retirement from policing, Law Enforcement or any of the Emergency Services, or if you've retired at full service or due to ill-health, you've had your second (or third) career and you're looking to retire fully, then this podcast is for you.  If you're anything like me towards the end of my service, you'll be feeling really apprehensive and unsure about what the future holds. Whether it's that loss of identity, that status, the loss of financial security and are you actually ready to leave, or are you leaving on an ill health pension?  What about those friendships and the support network that you developed over the years? It's a really worrying time.  Today, I'm speaking to Anne Cannings and Nigel Pacey. They're both experts in helping people transition and bridge that gap towards a happy and healthy second or third career or full retirement. During this interview, we talk about how Retirement Life Plan came about. We discuss the typical issues and pitfalls faced by those at the end of their service and they give hints and tips on finding that next role. We also talk about the importance of values, purpose and meaning. We discuss lifelong learning, and they give key messages and success stories, and they also talk about how they can help you.  So if you're approaching the end of your service, or you're retiring on ill-health, or you're looking at full time retirement, this podcast will definitely help you. If you're concerned about your retirement plan or want to ask any questions, you can contact Anne via annecannings@retirementlifeplan.com and Nigel via nigelpacey@retirementlifeplan.com and they'll be happy to help. If you're on shift and it's 'Q', have a listen! You can listen anywhere and whenever suits you best and they're all completely free! Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com  Download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via this link: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723  If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

During this episode, Jamie Davies talks about his background in sport and how his work ethic as a professional international rugby player, helped him forge a new career as a recruitment consultant.  Jamie also talks about what a recruiter looks for in a CV and the importance of a quality CV, personal behaviours, motivators and key attributes and why evidence and a work ethic is more important than qualifications.  He touches on the Applicant Tracking System (ATS algorithms) and how to ensure you match the key words. Jamie emphasises why networking is so important, how to go about doing it and gives hints and tips about how to get noticed by recruiters and what to do if you see a role you really like and much much more! He also goes on to answer many questions posed by members of the Blue Light Leavers Private Facebook Group which you can join via: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers Jamie tells it straight... 'Get comfortable being uncomfortable.' This is an exceptional interview and one worth sitting down with pen and paper to make notes! You can connect with Jamie via LinkedIn and he's also a member of the Blue Light Leavers private Facebook Group. If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, leave a review and share!

In this episode, I had the absolute honour of speaking with Nick Bailey.

Nick is a former Wiltshire Police Detective Sergeant who was a victim of the Novichok nerve agent attack in Salisbury in March 2018.

During this interview, Nick talks really openly and candidly about what occurred on that day, and the impact that it had on him and his family over the coming weeks and months.

We talk about his return to work and the challenges he faced with the ill-health process.

We also talk about the press and publicity and the impact that's had on him and his family as a result of what occurred and we actually look back and reflect on what happened and you'll be surprised at the positives that have come out of such an incredible incident.

We also talk about what's next for Nick.

I promise, this is such a great interview and a real privilege to hear what actually happened on the 4th March 2018.

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!

Don't forget you can also join our Private Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share with your friends and colleagues and come and join us in our Private Facebook

Welcome to Episode 63 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

Today's guest is Oliver Laurence, who is a managing partner at ionasia, and an award-winning expert in security, intelligence, investigations and crisis management.

In this interview, Oli shares his journey from policing, into the Security, Intelligence and Crisis Management sector.

He discusses the skills he gained in frontline roles, predominantly policing remote roles in the Australian outback, that helped him create his own business, the qualifications he took, his first roles outside policing, and how he transitioned into the security sector, and he also provides insights into the Security, Intelligence and Crisis Management Sector as a career path.

We talk different roles that are a good fit for cops and how you can position yourself to make that transition into the private sector.

Oli is also the host of the Protect and Serve podcast.

In this interview, he talks candidly about his journey and shares his wealth of knowledge, successes and experience with us.

This episode is sponsored by the brilliant Motor Source Group. Motor Source Group offer genuine new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com/partners

Don't forget, you can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can go to www.bluelightleavers.com/academy

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

Rebecca Kilpatrick is a former Detective who is a now a Mental Health First Aid trainer and Director of Kilpatrick Training and Consultancy. Rebecca did 10 years in Surrey Police before taking a career break and has gone from strength to strength since leaving, creating her own training consultancy and doing incredible work as a mental heath trainer. She delivers training to organisations globally and is a trainer for Mental Health First Aid England. In this interview, Rebecca talks about her Police career and why she took a career break. She also gives us fantastic advice about how to deal with the Covid-19 lockdown, what signs to look for in yourself and your colleagues and signposts loads of resources and coping strategies. Don't forget you can join the Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website on www.bluelightleavers.com Download my free guide to optimising LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Welcome to Episode 61 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

Now, this one really is a bit special, and this is going to help a huge amount of people. 

Today, we're talking pensions and we're really fortunate to be speaking to Rob Heath. 

Rob is a former police officer who retired due to ill-health after 23 years' service, and he's now the lead financial advisor for 3nines Financial Planning, and they offer bespoke financial planning for Police and Emergency Services personnel, and Rob is a Police pensions expert. He delivers pension presentations across the UK and he's just an all-round, lovely bloke. 

Now the challenge we have here is that a lot of advice and guidance is based on your personal circumstances, and your personal goals and needs, so we've tried to answer all of the pension related questions that were asked within the Blue Light Leavers Group. 

We've also tried to deal with some common themes and do some myth-busting.

In this episode we talk about that sweet spot of when you should or could go, we talk about the 87/06 and 2015 pension schemes and we also talk about the some of the really bad advice, such as retiring a day before your 55th birthday, and we talk about the risks associated with opting out of the 2015 scheme and we also talk about the pension trap. 

We also cover those with less than two years' service who decide that policing isn't for them, and the options they have in terms of getting access to their contributions. We talk about why having 25 years' service and being aged 50 is becoming much more relevant, and we also talk about becoming a financial advisor as a career path, and something that Rob talks about is the Aspiring Advisor Program.

You can contact Rob through info@3nines.co.uk

The value of an investment of St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and may fall as well as rise.  You may get back less than the amount invested.  The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time and are dependent on individual circumstances.  3Nines is a trading name of Eight Wealth Management Ltd, who are an Appointed Representative of and represent only St. James's Place Wealth Management plc, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

SJP Approved 18/11/22

Don't forget, you can also visit the website at www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more. DOORS ARE NOW OPEN after 3 months of no new application, so if you're looking for a lot more help and support at a ridiculously low price and want to find out more, you can go to www.bluelightleavers.com/academy

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

Welcome to Episode 82 of the Blue Light Leavers podcast. In this episode I'm talking to Simon and Angela Barry. In our first call, Simon really was genuinely pretty broken. He was lacking self-confidence, self-esteem, and he'd clearly been through a really tough time. They'd applied for a load of jobs with no success getting through to interviews, so we ended up working one to one. Why did I interview both? Well, I really wanted to share how PTSD and ill-health, retirement and all the associated symptoms and stress of the situation, can really impact everyone around you. Angela was so supportive, and she was very much part of this process, and she actually joined us for every call that we had. We talk about how we found the right roles, the application process, the interview prep, being ghosted, and the impact of dealing with the knockbacks and what success felt like with the choice of two jobs. I promise this is a stunning and very honest account of what they went through, and I really hope you enjoy it. I'm so grateful to Simon and Angela for their time and their honesty.

If you like what you've heard ,then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there.

If you go to the website ⁠⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ ⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and loads of other things as well, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well.

We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every day in the private Facebook Group!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with me, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

Welcome to Episode 74 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

So today I'm talking with Lewis Willcox.

Lewis is a consultant with a really highly sought after, well known recruitment company called Investigo and deals predominantly with change and transformation programmes in policing, public sector and government organisations.

He's really highly respected and a really good guy. I've known him for a number of years now and I've had a relationship with Investigo for a few years because of the type of work that I've been doing.

Now, in this interview, we discuss a recruiter's perspective and we talk about the type of organisations and types of roles he recruits for.

We also talk about Change Management and Transformation programmes, and the opportunities and skill sets that he's looking for, and we talk about the challenges some of these organisations have in finding the right staff and how you, with your experience and your background, regardless of your level of service or rank, could be a really good fit.

It's a brilliant interview and I'm really grateful to him for his time.

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com

You can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Welcome to Episode 57 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast. 

Raising Awareness of the Impact of Perinatal Mental Health with Jen Sharpling

Jen is a Sergeant in the Metropolitan Police and she's the National Lead for Perinatal Mental Health which is a workstream under the National Family Support Group. She runs the national team and does all she can to ensure there's support for women and their partners for issues relating to perinatal mental health, she gives talks to raise awareness and also talks about her own personal journey.

Now, in this episode, we talk about the signs and symptoms of perinatal mental health and postnatal depression, the impact on mum and the impact on partners.

We also talk about the help and support that's available.

Perinatal mental health and post-natal depression has a huge impact on relationships at home, friendships, and also how parents feel about returning to work, and what I really wanted to do was highlight the amazing work that Jen is doing to help raise awareness.

Don't forget, you can also visit the website and at www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers, gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CV's, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more. Doors open again soon, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can email me at andy@bluelightleavers.com

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

In this episode I've got the absolute pleasure of talking to Cheryl

 

Thornley. Cheryl is the director of Puzzle Piece Law, they are an independent legal consultancy that advises and support individuals on all family law matters that includes separation, divorce, child contact and access to education, including special educational needs.

 

Cheryl is a former military veteran and an ex-cop. She did 20 years in policing before leaving to set up her own business. But actually, her journey to get to that point was really interesting and she did some additional qualifications.

 

In the episode she talks about how she went about doing those qualifications and actually the really diverse roles that she went to after leaving police and before actually creating puzzle peace law. Puzzle Piece Law is a franchise and it's a brilliant opportunity.

 

We talk about why you don't need to have those qualifications or what the qualifications that you might think you need to actually advise in this subject matter area. We talk about why it's a really good fit for cops and other emergency services professionals. As well as we talk about the power of networking and so many other topics.

It's a brilliant interview, really inspirational, and I'm really grateful to Cheryl for her time. If you're interested in contacting Cheryl, you can do it through LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/puzzle-piece-law/ or you can do it through the Blue Light Leavers website http://bit.ly/BLLPuzzlePieceLaw 

 

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

 

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there. If you go to the website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well. We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every week in the private Facebook Group!

 

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This is 1:1 time via Zoom with a Blue Light Leavers Coach to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

 

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: the ScoreApp Scorecard Quiz ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

I'm incredibly proud to be able announce another collaboration with a partner offering a complete career path from policing into roles which include roles within the tech industry, Project Management, project support, business and data analysts and much more, alongside consultancy careers including sectors such as finance, education, media and entertainment, life sciences, local and national government, and the beauty of this collaboration is that you actually get paid while you train!

So, I'm very proud to announce that Blue Light Leavers have formed a collaboration with FDM Group, who are committed to supporting your transition. alongside fully funded training, industry-recognised qualifications, ongoing support and commercial experience, with placements into leading global companies.

In this episode we talk about the application/selection process, the training that's involved and the courses provided, the salary and earning potential and loads more, including identifying your key skills that map across into numerous careers.

This is an incredible opportunity and I'm so pleased to be able to offer this to Police and other Emergency Service Professionals.

Tickets are on sale for 'Out Of The Blue' Police and Emergency Services Career Transition event on Sat 29th April 2023 at the Millennium Point, Birmingham and you can view and purchase your tickets HERE

Join our one-day event for Police and Emergency Services leavers and be ready to make the change!

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com
You can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers
The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for support and want to find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com
Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)
You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Phil is the National Conduct and Performance Lead for the Police Federation of England and Wales

In this episode, Phil talks us through the whole Misconduct and Gross Misconduct end to end processes.

We cover all sorts of topics and answer a load of questions from members of the Blue Light Leavers Facebook group, covering everything from, what is Misconduct and Gross Misconduct, we talk about Fed Reps and the different types of training they have.

We talk through the suspension criteria, we discuss the #IOPC and why investigations can take so long and a huge range of other topics, including the recent survey results, current Pol Fed priorities, retention and the impact of the mental heath and PTSD, along with the impact of a 20% cut in salaries in real terms under this Government, and the fact that some forces are having to open food banks to support officers.

Phil also raises the shocking statistic that on average, there are 110 officers assaulted EVERY single day! That's absolutely staggering!

I'm incredibly grateful to Phil for his time and expert knowledge, as he's exceptionally busy and he was incredibly open, honest and helpful.

Early Bird tickets are now on sale for 'Out Of The Blue' event on Sat 29th April 2023 at the Millennium Point, Birmingham and you can view and purchase your tickets HERE

Join our one-day event for Police and Emergency Services leavers and be ready to make the change!

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com

You can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for support and want to find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

It feels so good to be back! New role means I have more time to do the stuff I love, including being back recording amazing podcast interviews to help guide and inspire you to find new careers, outside of the emergency services and prison service.

In this episode, I'm talking to a former police officer, Neil Whitbread. 

Neil is incredibly honest about the challenges he faced coming to terms with leaving the police and how lost he felt, but he's since gone on to do incredible things, including setting up a recruitment company and he's now am Investigations, Intelligence and Risk Advisory Specialist to the Football Industry across the UK and Europe.

Many of you will relate to how Neil felt and this will really help you I promise!

Don't forget, you can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

If you’re a Police Officer, Law Enforcement or other emergency services professional considering leaving, then this is for you! Every episode, I’ll bring you interviews with subject matter experts like CV writers, recruiters, business coaches, senior executives and more plus interviews with cops who have successfully transitioned to new roles. We’ll discuss why and how they did it, their fears, how they overcame them and lessons learned and what life is like outside of the Service. I’m your host Andy Labrum, welcome to The Blue Light Leavers Podcast. During this episode, Charlotte Eve tells us about her background in HR and why she created her own CV writing company more than 20 years ago. Charlotte has written many CV’s for Police Officers in all ranks across the globe, including members of the Blue Light Leavers private Facebook group and has an incredible work ethic, using her skills and experience to help the long term unemployed, those made redundant and those returning from parental leave with their CV and the interview process. Charlotte talks about the importance of a quality CV, the key points and structure, the difference between roles and achievements and what you should focus on, the ‘applicant tracking system’ that sifts your CV, how to evidence Police related skills and experience, LinkedIn and much much more. This is a fantastic interview that will answer so many of your questions relating to CV’s and applying for roles. Charlotte’s website is www.ckfutures.co.uk and she has loads of advice and free resources available. Charlotte has also kindly offered her advice and support if you have any queries or questions.  She can be contacted via charlotte@ckfutures.co.uk and please put ‘Blue Light Leavers’ in the subject line of your email. Don’t forget you can access our private facebook group via: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers As a thank you from me for listening, grab your Emergency Service Professional's Guide to LinkedIn, 5 simple steps to really get noticed by recruiters: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you’ve heard, please subscribe, leave a review and share it widely!

Welcome to Episode 75 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast Today, I've got the absolute privilege of talking to Anna Allerton. 

As a former journalist and producer, she enjoyed a 17 year career at Sky Sports in varying senior roles with the most prominent in founding and producing the sportswomen program. 

An industry leader in women's sport journalism throughout her career, she's been hugely influential and at the forefront of the changing landscape for women's sport on screen and in the newsroom. 

She now specialises in perimenopause and menopause because she knows firsthand what impact it can have on your career. 

Soon after returning to work after having a second child at the age of thirty nine, A variety of perimenopause symptoms started to deeply impact her day-to-day life. These became progressively worse and impossible to manage as time went on. 

Now research suggests that up to 1,000,000 women have changed their roles or quit their jobs because of this, and she is one of them. 

She's deeply passionate to do whatever she can to support women, their partners, and their employers during this time to raise awareness, educate and encourage collaborative conversations in the workplace. 

In this episode, we talk about signs and symptoms and the impact on confidence and self esteem, and we discuss what you can do to help yourself, what you can do as a partner and how to have a conversation with your employer,.

We signpost support networks, loads more. 

Anna is doing amazing work, and you can connect with her through her website, allertoncoaching.com. 

This episode is sponsored by ⁠Motor Source Group.⁠ They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to ⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠

You can join the private Facebook Group via ⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers⁠

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: Clarity Call

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with Andy, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Welcome to Episode 58 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

In this episode, I'm talking to Steve Thornton. Steve is a multiple business owner and he's the co-founder and CEO of 3 organisations including Motor Source Group and Forces Cars Direct.

Now, you may have heard of them as they're trusted and preferred partners for NARPO and the Police Federation, and I'm very proud to say that they are the new sponsors of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

Today, I talk to Steve about his background, his troubled childhood and his military career and we also discuss the transition from the military to civvie life, and we also discussed how he went about creating his businesses. 

Steve is really candid, honest and open about some of the challenges he had, particularly around leadership, managing others after the military, and that transition from the military into civvie street. 

We also talk about what's really important to Steve in terms of the core values and behaviours that he looks for in his employees. We discuss problem-solving and that initial setup, and we talk about some of the massive challenges that he had along the way.

In this interview, we talk through transition, through leadership, and business ownership. There are some fantastic things to learn here, and I'm very proud that they are the new sponsors of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast. 

Don't forget, you can also visit the website at www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more. Doors open again soon, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can email me at andy@bluelightleavers.com

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

I'm very conscious that many of you and members of the Blue Light Leavers Facebook group won't know much about me, my own journey of leaving the Police to freelance Business Change Manager via Project Management, the challenges, set backs and successes I've had, how Blue Light Leavers came about and why and some of the success stories of those I've mentored.   I had the honour of being asked to be interviewed by Alexander Seery of Shifts to Success and I've decided to release this as a podcast episode to help fill some of the gaps.    This podcast is in 4 sections:   1. My background and career history   2. My fears and worries as I approached the end of my service and my own transition from Policing to Project Management and Business Change   3. Why I created Blue Light Leavers and the podcast   4. Loads of hints and tips about leaving the Police, why transferable skills are not enough, LinkedIn and CV's and much more!   I really hope you find it so useful and full of value that'll help you in your own journey and it gives you the belief that if an operational Cop can do well after only knowing Policing from 18 - 49, you can too!   If you're on shift and it's 'Q', have a listen! You can listen anywhere and whenever suits you best and they're all completely free!    Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers    You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals!   If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Successful police career, retired, knock backs, lacking confidence to dream job!  If you're retired or close to it and you're feeling a little bit lost and not sure how to go about moving on, or what opportunities are out there for you, then this will really help I promise.  This week's episode is with a former student/alumni of The Blue Light Achievers Programme, Brain Faint.  Brian is a retired Police officer and former career detective, including the National Crime Squad and SOCA and he had an amazing career. He left the job for another great role but ended up being micro-managed after a change of leadership and it got to the the point where he was applying for loads of jobs but was getting knock-back after knock-back which completely knocked his confidence.  Brian made the decision to join the Blue Light Achievers programme and as a result of putting into practice everything we cover within the programme, the interviews started coming through thick and fast, as did the job offers. Since leaving the job, Brian's worked short term contracts and in consulting and he's now in his dream role in an incredible location which I'll let him reveal to you in the episode.  If you're interested in finding out more about the Blue Light Achievers programme, click HERE  You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!  You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!  Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers  You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!  If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

From Policing to Safeguarding and Welfare Lead - Kelly Fardon Kelly is a former Police Officer who has a background working on the domestic violence team and online paedophile unit. She's also a cancer survivor. In this interview, she explains how she'd been looking for a new role for about 2 years but lacked the courage and self belief to make the move. Despite some financial challenges, having recently moved home, Kelly made the decision to commit to making a change and joined the Blue Light Achievers programme I ran earlier this year. Soon after joining the programme, Kelly found a role she was interested in and we worked together through the application process and soon afterwards, she heard that she'd been successful in getting through to the next stage. We sat down again and talked through the interview process, but this wasn't any regular interview. Kelly had to attend a 'carousel' of activities and she talks us through the entire process. Kelly also tells us about 'that call' to tell her she'd been successful. Things can happen really quickly and you'll hear in this interview, exactly how long it was from seeing the role to the offer! Kelly is one of a number of success stories from the Achievers programme and you can register an interest HERE. Listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops! Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals! If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Welcome to episode 70 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

In this episode, I've the absolute pleasure of talking with Amanda Whittaker.

Amanda is the founder of Super Simple Sleep and the Baby Sleep Support Facebook Community.

In the episode, she talks us through her policing career history and some of the challenges she had being, balancing being a new mum and a police officer.

She goes on to explain how she invested in herself and her knowledge, and how she's gone on to create a business, out of something that many new parents go through. She said 'It got to a point where I wasn’t coping, I was so sleep deprived I couldn’t function, it made my anxiety soar through the roof, I wasn’t able to keep up with household chores as much as I wanted. But more than anything, I wasn’t being the mother I thought I would be. Lack of patience, moody, snappy, didn’t want to go anywhere, didn’t have the energy to play with my son, I ended up resenting my husband for going to work as he got a break from it all. That’s when I knew something had to change.'

Amanda tells us how she built her business alongside her policing role, with the job's permission, and got to the point where she's been able to leave policing completely and focus on her, her family and her business.

This is such an inspirational interview! Let me know what you think!

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. MSG offer genuine new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. I promise you; you will make savings. To find out more, go to https://www.bluelightleavers.com

Don't forget, you can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can go to https://www.bluelightleavers.com/

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

In this episode I'm talking to an incredible human being, Shirley Kennett.

Shirley is an ex-cop and a former police cadet like me, and she's gone on to do some incredible and amazing things.

She talks about policing career and what caused her ill-health retirement, and then what she's gone on to from that point. She's doing some amazing things, and I promise you will not regret listening to this episode. It's just incredible.

She really opened up and told me everything, including some of her challenges. This is honestly one of the most emotional and motivating episodes I've ever recorded.

A lot more came out after we'd stopped recording and there is other stuff that she's done as well that we forgot to talk about. So, we may well save that for another episode.

And she's also agreed to do it as one of the live guests in the academy for us as well.

If you'd like to connect with Shirley you can so through:

🔹Website https://bit.ly/ShirleyKennett 

🔹Instagram @ready4realchange

🔹Facebook @ready4realchange

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there. There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there.

If you go to the website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well.

We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every day in the private Facebook Group!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This is 1:1 time via Zoom with a Blue Light Leavers Coach to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have. 

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: the ScoreApp Scorecard Quiz ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

Louise is the Operations Manager for UK Missing Persons within the National Crime Agency. 

She's a former uniformed PC that left policing to join, what was, the Serious Organised Crime Agency which later became the National Crime Agency. In this interview, she talks us through why she wanted to leave policing and talks us through the current application process. We talk about how to map your skills and experience across from policing into the NCA and the interview process.

We also talk about the pros and cons of working with the NCA and the pay and conditions and we also talk about the fantastic opportunities that the NCA have, both for those leaving mid-service and on retirement.

If the National Crime Agency is something that interests you, this will give you real insight and a great introduction into the work they do, how they value their staff and their recruitment process.

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals!

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

From Police Officer to Project Manager Damien Ellis

Damien's story is all about resilience, consistency and the ability to bounce back and I know you'll find it really helpful and inspirational.

Damien and I connected a while back when he was going through a really tough time and looking to leave Policing and we started working together to put a plan in place and went through the whole process. 

He had knock back after knock back and came so close but never quite got the role but he kept going, kept plugging away and finally got a fantastic new role with the NHS and handed in his resignation a few months back.

He talks through his challenges and gives loads of hints and tips and I'm genuinely really honoured to have been able to help him.

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals!

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Join the Blue Light Leavers Private Facebook Group here! What if I told you, you could do a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) in a fraction of the time, at a fraction of the cost of a regular Degree or MBA, do it by distance learning AND your experience in the Emergency Services or Military means you don't have to have a Degree to qualify for the Masters! This week's guest is Dr Milyan (Mils) Hills who runs the largest MBA top up in the UK for Military and Emergency Service professionals and he explains how an MBA can get you amazing roles in some of the largest and most progressive organisations in the world. Mils is the Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for the MBA Pathway for Military Veterans, Armed Forces and Emergency Services at the University of Northampton. He is also the expert PHD Thesis advisor for Loughborough University, Senior Subject Matter Expert for NATO and previously held posts in the Cabinet Office and Ministry of Defence leading efforts to build national resilience.  He is also the creator of the  'University Study is Easy: Study Hints & Hacks to TRANSFORM your studies!' Podcast which can be accessed here:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-academic-pirate-podcast/id1451413088?ign-mpt=uo%3D4&mt=2 Mils talks about why an MBA make you more employable and attractive to employers over a subject specific Batchelor's Degree and what some of his alumni are now doing, including Amazon, Barclays and Management Consultancies. You can also access his fantastic YouTube channel offering amazing study tips via Here Connect with Dr Mils Hills on LinkedIn via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milshills Don't forget you can join the Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website on www.bluelightleavers.com Download my free guide to optimising LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Sexism Stops Here! Challenging the System! For anyone that's been through or going through the grievance procedure, an employment tribunal or ill-health retirement, you'll know how arduous a journey it is and the impact it has. Today I'm talking with Rhona Malone.  Rhona is a former officer from Police Scotland and joined the job as a single mum of 3 kids. She had a great career and really enjoyed what she was doing, working with some fantastic people. A little later in her service, she qualified as a firearms officer and joined the firearms team. Now she tells the story far better than I ever could, which you'll pick up from the intro, however suffice to say, she had to retire on ill-health and is taking the force to an employment tribunal which takes place in August 2021. Rhona has been through an incredibly challenging time and this is a really hard hitting interview. I know from experience of supporting 2 officers through the employment tribunal process, that it takes a massive toll on your mental health, takes such a long time and also has a massive impact financially and Rhona has shown such resilience. Rhona's story is truly inspirational and with the support of Blue Light Leavers and key members of the group, and also the Police Firearms Officers Association, Rhona has since gone on to do amazing things, including owning her own business as a Property Personal Assistant. Rhona is now also supporting other female officers who've been subjected to sexual discrimination and victimisation and she gives details in the episode of how to connect. It was 30C when we recorded the episode, so please excuse the birds singing in the background as I recorded outside of the 50C studio!  You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021! You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops! Don't forget you can also join our Private Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share with your friends and colleagues and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

In this episode I'm talking to Eddie Whittingham.

I'm not going to give too much away; however, this is an incredible story. So inspirational. Eddie is a serial entrepreneur and he's a former cop and he's just gone on to do some amazing things. He talks us through his policing career and why he left and what he left to do and how he felt about leaving.

He went on to create his own business and he talks about what happened at that point and honestly, it is jaw dropping. Eddie talks about how he approaches life. His humility and he has that lovely self-deprecating sense of humour and it was just a real joy to record this episode.

If you would like to connect with Eddie you can reach him through his LinkedIn. He'll be happy to hear from you! https://bit.ly/EddieWhittinghamLinkedIn 

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there.

If you go to the website: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well. We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every day in the private Facebook Group!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This is 1:1 time via Zoom with a Blue Light Leavers Coach to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: the ScoreApp Scorecard Quiz ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?'

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers 

From Policing to Cyber Security with Carl Osborne - Principal Cell Site Specialist

In this fantastic episode, Carl talks about his Policing career and why he left to follow a career in Cyber Security.

Carl was given Counselling support due to the challenging role he had in Policing. It was the moment where his counsellor described it as an abusive relationship, that gave him crystal clarity that he had to leave.

Within 4 weeks of the counselling session, he'd had an offer of a new role in Cyber Security.

Carl gives so many great hints and tips and talks about the right courses and how the connections he'd made, were the difference between success and failure.

Cyber Training Links Mentioned in the Episode:

• https://firebrand.training/uk
• https://www.cybrary.it/
• https://www.forensicanalytics.co.uk/

You can listen to the podcast on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers  

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals!    

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

During this episode, Simon Hankins talks about his Police career and how despite loving his role as Temporary Inspector in the Force Control Room, he got increasingly frustrated with the lack of resilience of other services and agencies and the lack of progression in terms of promotion. He talks about how this impacted him and his family and the catalyst for him and how suddenly being open to new roles and opportunities ensured he was in the right mindset when a new exciting role suddenly materialised. Simon also discusses the importance of investing in further/higher education, a quality and in-depth CV and coaching and interview preparation. He also talks about his application, the fears and concerns and those of his family on leaving the Police with 24 years service. He discusses the interview process, dealing with the shock of a successful interview and transition to his new role as Operations Manager for the Houses of Parliament. Simon talks about how competitive the market is and how to stand out from the crowd. He has continued to gain qualifications and new skills and within 18 months of landing his new role at the House of Commons, Simon has been promoted and is now the Head of Security Operations for the entire Parliamentary estate. He goes on to explain the challenges and expectations of working in the Private sector and the benefits and rewards but that you do have to earn it, sometimes with long hours and pressure, but at no time does he regret the decision. Simon was the on duty Operations Manager for the terrorist attack of March 2017 when PC Keith Palmer was brutally murdered and talks openly about where he was when he heard the call and the struggles of those on duty that day. This is such a great interview and one I know that many of you will relate to and get a lot of advice and guidance from and most importantly, the belief that if Simon can do it, you can too. If you like what you’ve heard, please subscribe, leave a review and share it widely! Don’t forget you can access our private facebook group via: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also access the Free Emergency Service Professional's Guide to LinkedIn, how to get noticed by recruiters in 5 simple steps, via this link: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723

Coping with grief and the Grief Recovery Method with Joan Hughes and Sara Donnelly

Grief is something we are all too familiar with, personally and when dealing with the grief of others, including our families, friends and colleagues and the last year has been more challenging than ever.

In line with the National Day of Reflection and exactly 12 months since the first lockdown, in this episode I'm talking with former Police Officer Joan Hughes who was forced to take ill-health retirement and Sara Donnelly who is a former nurse of over 30 years. Both are advanced grief recovery and health and well-being specialists.

In this interview we look at what grief actually is and the type of life events and incidents that can cause grief, some of which may surprise you. We talk about how we might recognise the signs and how grief might actually manifest itself and how we tend to try and cope with it.

I talk very briefly (you'll be pleased to hear) about a couple of things that occurred in my life that caused Joan and I to make contact and she actually took me through the Grief Recovery Method which made a huge difference to how I view and manage those particular incidents. 

We discuss what the Grief Recovery Method actually is and isn't and we talk through a couple of case studies and testimonials from others who've been through the process and how it's helped them. 

We also look at how we can help others and how we can help ourselves when dealing with grief. 

The Grief Recovery Method is the only evidence-based grief programme in the world. Research published in peer-reviewed journals has shown that it makes a measurable, positive difference in people's grief journey.

If you'd like more information or help dealing with your own grief, you can contact them via www.griefuk.org/joan or www.griefuk.org/sara

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers 

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Ep.80 From Policing to Investigative Consultancy and Training Provider with Sukie Madahar

Sukie is a former Detective Sergeant, and he is the founder of Swift Investigations Limited and Swift Edification.

They offer specialist education and consultancy services and they also provide training courses to businesses globally and they're accredited to deliver trainer sessions for Level 3 and Level 4 training and Quality Assessing qualifications.

He's a really good guy, he serves from the heart and he's really willing to help. He also gives us an amazing offer towards the end of this podcast, so, listen out for that.

The opportunities within the training sector, particularly adult learning are huge, so, if you are interested then you know where to go and mention Blue Light Leavers to get the discount.

If you like what you've heard then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there and please leave a review.

If you go to the website https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and loads of other things as well, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well.

We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every day in the private Facebook Group.

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with me, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Motor Source Group.⁠⁠⁠⁠ They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can join the private Facebook Group via ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

Welcome to Episode 73 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

Now, what we wanted to do was give you a bit of an insight into the type of live interviews we do within The Academy from Blue Light Leavers.

The Academy is a no tie in, really low fee monthly membership, and we have loads of guest speakers, including lots of cops that have moved into new roles and we talk about why and how they've gone about doing it.

We also have conversations with CV and LinkedIn experts and subject matter experts from different organisations, recruiters and all sorts and I really wanted to give you just an insight into the type of calls that we do, that are live Q and A type sessions within The Academy.

So this is a bit different to our usual podcast episode.

Laura McKeeman is a former police officer, who left policing after training through our collaboration with WithYouWithMe and is now working as a consultant in Leonardo, for WYWM.

WithYouWithMe are an organisation that were previously only open to Military Leavers, but are now open to Blue Light Leavers and they offer you a complete career path into the tech industry, that includes placements and their training is completely free.

This was an opportunity for The Academy Members to join the call and to listen to Laura's story, and then an opportunity to ask her some questions at the end, which you'll hear.

I really hope you enjoy this, and like I said, I just wanted to give you a bit of a taster as to the type of calls and the type of things that we do within The Academy that are very different from the normal Blue Light Leavers group.

Now, within this episode, we talk about what she was doing in her career in the police, and we talk about why she left and how she felt about leaving as well, and we talk about her experience of the training, and the type of training that she did with WithYouWithMe and her last day in the police service and we talk about the new environment and then she's asked a couple of questions from Academy members at the end.

I really hope you enjoy this, and like I say, if you want to join us in The Academy, then you can just go to www.bluelightleavers.com, click on Work With Me, and you'll see The Academy drop down from there.

We've had so many success stories through The Academy and I'm really proud of what we're doing, so hopefully we'll see you there.

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com

You can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for support and want to find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Today I have the privilege of talk to one of the most recognised and respected names in Policing, former Chief Supt John Sutherland.

John joined the Met in 1992, starting in Central London and after his probation, asked to go to a busier Borough and was moved to Brixton. He rose quickly through the ranks and had a number of high profile roles, including hostage negotiator. 

He was a Supt at Islington Borough, where I also worked for a number of years, before becoming Borough Commander for Camden and later, Borough Commander for what's considered to be the busiest borough in London, Southwark.

In 2013 John suffered a nervous breakdown that lasted 7 months and ultimately finished his police career.

John describes himself as a father to three, husband to one and says he now 'speaks and bit and writes a bit'… and that he certainly does. 

John is very well known for his Police Commander Blog and Twitter presence and for his first book and Sunday Times Best Seller, 'Blue – Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces' which tells the stories of his policing life and of his slow recovery from the serious nervous breakdown that ended his operational career in 2018, after over 25 years service

John has just launched his second book, 'Crossing the Line - Lessons from a Life on Duty' which is available now via these links:

Amazon

W & N

The Book Depository

Waterstones

In this interview John talks in detail about the exact moment his life changed through mental ill-health and his journey through the darkest time of his life and his ongoing recovery. He also talks about how his family coped through this incredibly difficult time.

John has been able to engage with frontline officers like no other Senior Officer I have ever come across. He just gets it.. and in this interview you’ll understand why, particularly as he talks about the periods of relentless hostility towards the Police service and his responses to that

John is now a sought after public speaker and commentator on a broad range of issues, and  regularly appears on TV and radio and also writes for major newspapers.

An incredible human being and an absolute privilege to spend time with. You can connect with John on Twitter @policecommander and via his Blog at : 

police commander.wordpress.com

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com

Download my free guide to optimising LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Neurolinguistic Programming and other associated support methodologies have been of huge interest to so many in the Blue Light Leavers Private Facebook group and have proved incredibly helpful for many officers and their families within the BLL group! Rak Nathwani works with the individuals and families, the Police Firearms Officers Association, Police Federations, Police Mutual, numerous charities and the Mental Health Crisis Pathway.  In this interview, he talks about his own journey and the moment he broke and how NLP can help you and also gives some hints and tips on staying calm when the pressure's really on. You can connect with Rak via his fantastic website and see the testimonials via http://www.futurecreationassociates.co.uk/ If you're on shift and it's 'Q', have a listen! You can listen anywhere and whenever suits you best and they're all completely free!  Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com Download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via this link: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

This episode is an Academy Live Session that we ran with John Edmunds.

 

Many of you will know, John is my right-hand man in the group. He really helps so much and does his utmost to keep me organised and on track.

 

What you may not know is that John retired from the police as a result of ill health in 2022!

 

Over the years, his mental health deteriorated significantly, which resulted in him suffering from severe anxiety, depression, and PTSD. He tried lots of different remedies and medications, but he did reach the point where he had to accept that he was just too unwell to continue as a police officer and that he couldn't recover and get well whilst he remained in that environment.

 

So, he retired on ill health in 2022, but the process itself was anything but smooth and it is incredibly challenging and there is a real lack of guidance and support, so John very kindly created this guide to help and support you through the process.

 

The Ill-Health Retirement Guide is completely FREE, you don't have to sign up or anything, you literally download it from the Blue Light Leavers website Blue Light Leavers ‘Ill-Health & Misconduct’ section.

 

In this academy session, we talk through ill health retirement and how long the process takes, what the process looks like, and some of the challenges that you might come across.

 

I'm really grateful to John for sharing his experience and his knowledge. We've had numerous people reach out to him for a bit of help and support through their process for some advice and guidance, and he really knows his stuff.

 

If you or someone you know is being considered for or are going through the process and would like to reach out to John, then you can do that on john@bluelightleavers.com

 

In addition to the Blue Light Leavers Ill-Health Retirement Guide there is also support available from: 

IoDPA (Injury on Duty Pensioners Association) they are the go-to for all things Ill-Heath Retirement and Injury on Duty claims.

Facebook - https://bit.ly/BLLIoDPAFacebookGroup

Website - https://bit.ly/BLLIoDPAWebsite

 

Police Care UK

Facebook - https://bit.ly/BLLPoliceCareUKFacebook

Website - https://bit.ly/BLLPoliceCareUKWebsite

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

 

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, and a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there.

 

If you go to the website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well.

 

We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every day in the private Facebook Group!

 

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

 

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with a qualified Blue Light Leavers coach to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

 

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

 

You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

From Policing to Child Exploitation Project Manager with Nikki Holmes 

Now some of you may have noticed that the gap between episode 47 and 48 has been a bit longer than usual, and many of you will know I took on a new role at the end of March and it's a massive role and it's taken a lot of getting used to and getting my head round. We also have a business interest outside of that which has needed some time and attention and I wanted to make sure everyone inside the Blue Light Leavers group was in a good place and subsequently the podcast was just one of the things I had to drop for a little while. However, we're back with a bang and I've some amazing guests lined up over the next few weeks and months.

My guest today is incredible. The story and the journey that she's been on is so inspiring. Nikki is a freelance consultant and owner of Safer Together, and is currently a Child Exploitation Project Manager with Coventry and Rugby CCG (NHS). In this interview, we talk about her current role and her time in the Police and we discuss her reasons why she wanted a career change and the key skills she identified that she was able to across to her new role. She also spent time with the Care Quality Commission and more recently, she's developed her own consultancy. We talk about the power of networking and using LinkedIn and she also gives some great advice with regards to a training course that she strongly recommends, if you want to follow in her footsteps. She gives so much insight and passes on so much knowledge, I know you'll get loads from this interview. 

Don't forget, you can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers! 

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

From ill-health Retirement to Published Fiction Author with Tracy Earl.

Tracy is a former police officer who served for 26 years before having to retire through ill-health, due to a diagnosis of PTSD. She has since gone on to become a published author of a book called Darkness Rising in a series called Children of the Light and signed by a US publishing house for a trilogy.

In this episode we cover the whole process from that initial seed of an idea, all the way through to becoming a published author, with an amazing story for young adults that I think, without a doubt has got film written all over it as well.

I really hope you enjoy hearing Tracy’s incredible and amazingly inspirational story as much as I did, recording it.

To find out more about Tracy's book you watch this brilliant promo video using this link: https://bit.ly/DarknesRisingVideo

The book is available now through Amazon and Waterstone's!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with Andy, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠Motor Source Group.⁠⁠⁠ They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠

You can join the private Facebook Group via ⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers⁠⁠⁠

Ep.79 Why So Many Police Officers Are Leaving - with Professor Sarah Charman and Dr Jemma Tyson.

Professor Sarah Charman is a Professor of Criminology, and Dr Jemma Tyson, a senior lecturer in Criminology, both work at the University of Portsmouth.

You may be aware that they conducted a study entitled ‘Voluntary resignations from the police service: the impact of organisational and occupational stressors on organisational commitment’, that looks at the reasons and rationale behind the exponential increase in voluntary resignations of police officers.

What it's shown is that there's been a 72% increase within twelve months and a 200% increase within ten years, and it's having a massive impact.
We talk about the research that was conducted and how they went about doing it. We talk about their findings and the impact, and we look at what's being done from a national and organisational perspective and also by the Federation.

We also talk about the importance of intervention and what can be done to reverse this, and we also talk about next steps for them.
It's an incredibly insightful and interesting interview and I think you're really going to enjoy this.
🙌If you like what you heard, then please leave a review. You can do that on Spotify and on Apple. If you do appreciate what it is that we're doing, if you could leave a review, it really helps because it just helps to get the message out there.

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with me, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

This episode is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠Motor Source Group.⁠⁠⁠ They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠

You can join the private Facebook Group via ⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

Welcome to episode 68 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

Today, I've got the absolute pleasure of talking with Gareth Keyte. Gareth is a former Police Officer and Royal Marine Commando, and in this episode he talks us through his policing career where he reached the rank of Detective Inspector.

Whilst serving, Gareth had identified a particular process within his organisation that resulted in him having to report the issue to, and subsequently challenge a senior officer, who then made it his mission to do all he could to make Gareth's life as difficult as possible, in every possible way.

It's an extraordinary and heart breaking story, and Gareth goes on to explain the impact on his mental health and the signs and symptoms that manifested themselves, as a result of the behaviour of the individual and the lack of support of the organisation.

This resulted in him having to leave on ill-health retirement after 21 years service, and he talks us through his struggle with the loss of identity, his ongoing recovery and treatment, and how he's since gone on to re-train and create Oxygen Coaching Company in partnership with his wife, Dawn.

He talks about the importance of being proactive in supporting your own mental health, and he talks about the importance of not relying on an overwhelmed organisation to provide the right support and how damaging the 'big boys don't cry' culture is. He also shows us that there really is life after policing and that it's a mindset shift, by learning to reject 'learned helplessness.'

We also go on to talk about reactive versus proactive mental health support and what can and should be in place? This is an extraordinary interview and Gareth is so honest and open about his struggles and the challenges he's had, but it's so inspiring and he's gone on to do some amazing things, including being asked to deliver a keynote speech by senior police leaders, to the National Police Chiefs'​ Council and the Disabled Police Association about his experience and challenging and changing the toxic culture in policing.

Tickets are on sale for 'Out Of The Blue' Police and Emergency Services Career Transition event on Sat 29th April 2023 at the Millennium Point, Birmingham and you can view and purchase your tickets HERE

Join our one-day event for Police and Emergency Services leavers and be ready to make the change!

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. MSG offer genuine new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. I promise you; you will make savings. To find out more, go to https://www.bluelightleavers.com

Don't forget, you can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can go to https://www.bluelightleavers.com/

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

Building on the last episode with CEO and joint founder Tom Moore of the Tech company, WithYouWithMe, in today's episode, I'm speaking with a former police officer, Samantha Gillison.

Samantha is a graduate of the WithYouWithMe programme and has an incredible new role as a result, and her experience of the programme, from skills profiling, through to training, finding employment and onboarding, has been exceptional.

Rather than feeling penalised for having a chronic illness and having to leave the job after 7 years, WYWM and her new employers have embraced her differences, and understand the challenges faced by those suffering from chronic illnesses.

Samantha started working closely with an organisation called Astriid.org. Astriid are an amazing organisation that help bridge the gap between the Invisible Talent Pool (people with chronic illnesses who wish to pursue volunteering or employment), and the UK skills crisis, and they suggested undertaking training new skills with WithYouWithMe.

Samantha has now completed her training and has been offered a really exciting new tech role with Northrop Grumman, who design, develop, build and support some of the world’s most advanced products, from cutting-edge aircraft and next-generation spacecraft to unrivalled cyber security systems and all-seeing radars.

Her story is truly inspirational and actually choked me up during the interview. I hope you enjoy!

Don't forget, you can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops. 

Never Give Up - Never Quit On April 10, 2012, United States Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills of the 82nd Airborne was critically injured on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan by an IED (improvised explosive device) while on patrol, losing portions of both legs and both arms. He is one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries. Travis tells us about that day, the moments after the explosion and his incredible and ongoing journey to recovery. He lives by his motto, Never Give Up, Never Quit! Travis is a motivational speaker, actor, author and an advocate for veterans and amputees. Travis’s New York Times bestselling memoir, Tough as They Come, is available in bookstores everywhere. He continues to overcome life’s challenges, breaking physical barriers and defying odds. In September 2013, Travis and his wife Kelsey founded the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit organisation, formed to benefit and assist post 9/11 veterans who have been injured in active duty or as a result of their service. You can connect with Travis via his Facebook page here Instagram via @ssgtravismills and via TravisMills.org Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com Download my free guide to optimising LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Welcome to Episode 55 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast. 

Return to Policing or Follow Your Heart with former Police Officer Sophie Leone

If you’re going on maternity/paternity leave or considering your options when your period of leave is up, then this is for you. If your partner is close to the point of returning to work after maternity or paternity leave, this interview will give you a real insight into the way many forces treat returning parents and the challenges and inner turmoil, parents or carers returning after maternity/paternity leave go through. 

I loved this interview. Sophie has such a lovely gentle, calming aura about her and shares her story so openly, from Detective Sergeant to parent, maternity leave and career break, yoga instructor, author, speaker, and performer and it’s another hugely inspiring interview. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Don't forget, you can also visit the website and blog at www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?'

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

During this episode, Ian Towell talks about four key attributes which helped shape his career and success in the corporate world, despite leaving school with few qualifications and not going to University. He talks about the recruitment process within Tesco and the wider Private Sector and the key sought after behavioural skills and values. He talks about the areas to focus on within your CV and how to prepare and he also talks about how the skills and experience gained within the Emergency Services are sought after within the Private Sector.    Importantly he talks about why we should take pride in our Service history and that fear of not having role specific experience shouldn't hold you back from applying. Ian gives a fantastic insight into the corporate world and Private Sector and the pressures, expectations and associated benefits. Ian is one of my closest friends and we've known each other for many years. This was recorded in Autumn in my back garden, so you may hear birds and voices in the background. If you like what you’ve heard, please subscribe, leave a review and share it widely! Don’t forget you can access our private facebook group via: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also access the free Emergency Service Professional's Guide to LinkedIn via https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723

Welcome to episode 81 of the Blue Light Leavers podcast which is a little bit different. This episode features Hannah Bailey, Fraser Bishop, John Edmunds and Andy Labrum.

This is an audio recording of our first New Year, Live session in ⁠The Blue Light Leavers Academy⁠, which is our low-cost monthly membership.

In this session, we share the successes of our Academy members who moved into new roles, and some of the highlights of the year, and a good friend of the group, Fraser Bishop, shares his amazing success story and details of his incredible new role at Netflix!

We also look forward and talk about what's coming in 2024 for Blue Light Leavers and Hannah Bailey of ⁠Blue Light Wellbeing⁠ shares some hints and tips about how to set goals and New Year resolutions the right way!

If you like what you've heard ,then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there and please leave a review.

If you go to the website ⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ ⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and loads of other things as well, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well.

We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every day in the private Facebook Group!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with me, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can join the private Facebook Group via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

Welcome to Episode 60 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast 

Today I'm talking to Jamie Stenton, who is a former police officer and now, Marketing Director of Lilac James, who are a Digital Marketing specialist agency. 

In this interview, we talked through Jamie's policing career and the roles, skills and experience he picked up in the way, and we also talk about the tipping point when he realised that the additional pressure, timescales, responsibilities and relative salary increase, really wasn't worth it, and there had to be easier ways.

During this time, he was developing a family business alongside his day job, and the support he got through, Shifts to Success and Alexander Seery.

We talk about the day in the life of the type of work that he actually does now, and we talk through the changes and benefits of being a business owner and getting some control back in his life.

He helps signpost some courses and people to follow on Facebook if this is an area that interests you, and we also talk about the importance of investing in your own success and future.

This episode is sponsored by the brilliant Motor Source Group, which, like Blue Light Leavers, is a very proud sponsor of the Emergency Services Football League. I've met CEO Steve Thornton a number of times now, I've interviewed him for the podcast and also met the team and been up to their head office and they're just a really lovely bunch of people who are genuinely doing the right thing and doing their bit to say thanks. Motor Source Group offer genuine new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot.

They also work closely with the Police Federation and with NARPO and they deliver direct to your door. I promise you; you will make savings. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com/partners

Don't forget, you can also visit the website at www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more. DOORS ARE NOW OPEN after 3 months of no new application, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can go to www.bluelightleavers.com/academy

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

* FREE TECH CAREER TRAINING AND SKILLS PROFILING FOR BLL MEMBERS AND PODCAST LISTENERS *

To celebrate the 50th episode of the Blue Light Leavers podcast which has just gone live, I'm incredibly proud and happy to announce that my guest on the episode, the co-founder of one of the fastest growing Start-Ups and Social Impact Companies in the world, Tom Moore, is offering free tech skills profiling and Accredited Technology training programmes to the Police, Law Enforcement and Emergency Service Professionals in the UK, North America and Australia, through a collaboration with Blue Light Leavers and WithYouWithMe.

WithYouWithMe is a social impact company, founded by military veterans, and helps organisations identify and fill gaps in their tech capability by matching them with jobseekers who are trained and ready to grow into their potential and I'm incredibly proud to be working alongside them.

'Discover your skills and the right career pathway for you based on your potential, not your experience.'

'Become new career-ready in under 100 hours through their online training platform.'

'Stand out to WYWM partnered employers with a single application and endless career opportunities.'

'Realise your potential, master your craft and continue learning for the rest of your life.'

The courses offered include:

Project Management

Cyber Security

Software Development

Automation

Data Analytics and more

Listen to the episode to find out more and go to www.bluelightleavers.com/withyouwithme

Episode links in the comments below.

FOR TRANSPARENCY, I'M NOT RECEIVING ANY FINANCIAL INCENTIVE OR BENEFIT WHATSOEVER

Don't forget, you can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

In this episode I am talking to Andy Robins. Andy who is director of Affinity Fostering Services.

He’s a really nice guy and ex-cop. We talk about his policing career history and the why he left policing to go into the fostering services and working with a family member.

We talk all things fostering including what make a really good foster carer. Those key skills and behaviours and what makes it a really good fit for cops. There are already a number of cops working with Affinity and doing really well.

We also discuss the challenges, checks and timescales. Whether misconduct can stop you from being a foster carer. The earning potential and the support that Affinity offer. That they are rated outstanding by OFSTED and are a great company to work for.

This is a really interesting episode and I think you will get loads from it!

If you think you could help Affinity transform young lives use this link to find out more and make contact.

https://bit.ly/BLLAffinityFostering

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there. If you go to the website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well. We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every week in the private Facebook Group!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This is 1:1 time via Zoom with a Blue Light Leavers Coach to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: the ScoreApp Scorecard Quiz ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

Paul Killingley is a former Police Inspector who was referred to me 5 months ago and has just embarked on his new career as a Project Manager. I caught up with Paul just a few weeks into his new role and in this interview, he talks about his former career and the highs and lows. He talks about how he'd been toying with the idea of finding a new career for around 5 years but like many of us, had no idea what he could do or what he wanted to do. He was becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of career progression and had also been through some significant challenges in his personal life and felt now was the right time for him. We met for coffee and it was clear he was ready to leave, but Paul had no idea what he wanted to do. In the interview he talks about our deep dive into the types of roles he'd had and the skills and experience he'd gained along the way and the tasks I set him. After meeting up again, a career path was clear and after reviewing his CV, I referred him to Charlotte Eve of CK Futures Ltd (Guest number 1 on the BLL Podcast) to really nail any application. He talks about the process from start to finish, the application, interview and presentation and THAT call. He also talks about handing in his resignation and his first few weeks in his new role.  Paul also discusses networking and how his view has changed beyond all recognition along with the lessons he's learned throughout the process.  You can also join the Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also access my free Emergency Service Professional's Guide to LinkedIn via this link: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group. 

Welcome to the Special Bonus Episode of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

Some of you who are a bit more eagle-eyed will have seen that Western Australia put an advert out advertising for international recruits, so basically, international transferees, and I was really fortunate to get contacted by someone who had a mate who did exactly that. 

Today's episode is with Haydn Farrow. Haydn is a former UK police officer, and he is now a Senior Sergeant with Western Australia Police. 

In this episode, we talk about the roles he had in the UK and the process that he went through to make that transfer across to Western Australia, 9 years ago. 

He talks about the conversations they had with family, and we also talk about salary and how it compares to UK salary, quality of life and lifestyle.

We also talk about pensions, the move itself and the logistics, as well and finding accommodation and where to live, and how to do that research. We talk about the job, culture and the culture fit in the first few months of being in a new role in a new country, and we talk about some of the amazing benefits of being an officer in Western Australia, and I've got to be honest, I was more than a little jealous. 

At the time of recording, they're still recruiting, so if you want to check it out, you can go to letsjoinforces.wa/gov.au and at the top, you've got a tab there that says Join the Team, then click through and there is International Transition - Transition Officer International, and there's a whole section that tells if you're eligible, and it talks you through the recruitment process, training at the Academy, and the job itself.

If you're interested in finding out more, you can also email the recruitment team on international.recruiting@police.wa.gov.au. 

This episode is sponsored by the brilliant Motor Source Group, which, like Blue Light Leavers, is a very proud sponsor of the Emergency Services Football League.  Motor Source Group offer genuine new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel. I promise you; you will make savings. 

To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com/partners

You can visit the website at www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it, along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more at a ridiculously low price. You can find out more at www.bluelightleavers.com/academy

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

In this episode I'm talking with Jo Morris. Jo is a Blue Light Leavers community member and also a member of The Academy and she's a real success story.

In the last episode we spoke to Jo, Jules and James with regards to our amazing collaboration with FDM Group and Jo is a former police officer who has been through their selection process and successfully passed the training, and she's recently started a fantastic new role consulting in a Project Manager role within the Finance sector.

We talk through her policing experience and reasons for leaving, and she's incredibly open and honest about what happened. We talk about how she felt and the impact the misconduct process had on her, and we talked through the first call that we had and what happened next. She talks us through the whole FDM application process that she went through and how she felt when she got that call to say she'd been successful in the application process and assessment day, and then we go through the training in detail and how intense it was and the challenges that she felt were part of that process.
We talk about her placement and I really do think she's got an incredibly exciting future ahead of her. This is a brilliant interview and I'm incredibly grateful to her for being so honest and open.

If you're thinking of leaving policing or other emergency service and unsure of your options, your transferable skills, the careers you can move to, the impact on your mental health, losing your identity, how to write a CV or use LinkedIn, then this event is for you.

Tickets are on sale for 'Out Of The Blue' Police and Emergency Services Career Transition event on Sat 29th April 2023 at the Millennium Point, Birmingham and you can find out more by clicking HERE

Join our one-day event for Police and Emergency Services leavers and be ready to make the change!

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. They offer genuine, new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com

You can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for support and want to find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

In this episode, I'm talking with former police officer, Paul Rowland.

Paul is a Deputy Manager in the care sector, predominantly caring for young people who are no longer within the family environment, whether through behaviour or because of specific learning requirements. Much of this is on a 1:1 basis and is incredibly rewarding and utilises so many of the skills we pick up in our policing careers.

Paul worked on response, CID and firearms and left policing after 10 years with no specific young person related experience. He moved into the security industry and then during Covid and lockdown, he was introduced to the care sector and hasn't looked back.

Unified Care Services provide a specialist service that aims to support young people with complex social and emotional needs, whose behaviours can be seen to challenge systems and services, and who are currently finding that other integration methods do not currently support or suit their individual needs.

Handpicked staff with specialist backgrounds are trained to specifically meet the needs of the young people they support.

They manage their challenging behaviours, supporting all the agencies who provide the necessary health, social and education care. They utilise knowledge from different industries to ensure they're able to deal with any situation with the best possible outcome for young people.

You can register an interest HERE : office@unifiedcareservices.org. 

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there.

If you go to the website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well.

We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every day in the private Facebook Group!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with me, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

This episode is a bit different, and some of you may find it a little challenging, and I really want you to please listen to this with an open mind. 

I get contacted very regularly by cops who are going through the disciplinary process, or who've been through the process and sanctioned in some way, or in fact, dismissed as a result of a Gross Misconduct finding.

I do take it on a case by case basis, but I do actually support a lot of cops who have been through that process, and I've helped them to find new careers, and I know for some of you, that's going to be a bit difficult to swallow. 

I want you to listen to this officer's story. I'm not going to give any details, and obviously it's anonymous and we don't talk about any organisations, but I think it'll be really interesting for you.

If you're going through the process, or you've been through the process and have absolutely no idea what it is you're going to do next, I just want to give you a bit of hope and belief, that whatever happened at that time doesn't have to define you... that doesn't mean that's it for the rest of your life. 

Have a listen to this and please feel free to contact me and feed back any comments or thoughts through andy@bluelightleavers.com

Don't forget, you can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

All things LinkedIn with Charlotte Eve CK Futures  As well as being a professional CV writer, Charlotte has been writing LinkedIn profiles for people for many years. During this interview, we cover everything from the absolute basics, so if you've never even been on LinkedIn before, we talk you through, from start to finish, all the way through to how to create and all-star profile, how to make sure that you stand out and get noticed, the best photographs, engagement, how to show that you're open to work, literally everything you need to know about LinkedIn.  So whether you've had your profile up for ages and you just need to tweak it or you want to know how to optimise your profile, or you're an absolute beginner and you've never even visited LinkedIn and wondering why it's important and why you need a profile, this will cover everything you could possibly need.  If you'd like more information, you can contact Charlotte via her website www.ckfutures.co.uk where you can also find loads of information under 'resources.'  You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!  You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!  Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers   If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Elaine Innes left the job after 15 years, moving into really well paid roles within the Telecoms industry that are incredibly sought after by former Cops and then made the decision to follow a passion, moving into Personal Training and coaching and has not looked back! We talk about the reasons why Elaine made the decision to leave, the interview processes, that transition to a new role and the challenges and much more. If you want the confidence, belief and knowledge to find a new role, either mid-service or having retired, this will definitely help you. If you're working shifts and it's 'Q', have a listen! You can connect with Elaine via https://www.elaineinnesfitness.com/ You can also listen anywhere and whenever suits you best and they're all completely free! Please click on the stars and maybe leave a review and subscribe! Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers  You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com  Download my free guide to optimising LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723  If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Andi Clark is a hugely successful global coach to the 911/999 family and helps officers and their families who are struggling with or close to burn-out. She tells us about her own health challenges that ultimately helped her, her Police Officer husband and his colleagues and many others since. Andi is invited to speak on stages to numerous organisations across North America and her coaching courses have helped many Emergency Service professionals and their families around the world, understand and recover from the physical and mental health risks associated with shift work and the hugely stressful work environment. I'm really grateful to Andi for agreeing to be a member of the Blue Light Leavers Facebook group and for agreeing to be a guest on The Blue Light Leavers podcast. In this interview Andi talks about what she calls 'the list'. She talks about how to mitigate against those signs and signals including 'tired and wired', brain fog and long term injuries and illnesses. She also gives us two simple steps that will immediately have a positive impact and gives much much more.  Andi has very kindly offered access to her web class called 3 Simple Steps to Prevent Burnout which can be accessed via: https://youtu.be/9Oi5Uu-GwFA You can contact Andi via her website which is www.911lifestyle.com and there you'll find her social media links, blogs, numerous free resources and details of her fantastic programmes which can be accessed via:  https://911lifestyle.com/work-with-me/ and please mention you're from Blue Light Leavers! Don’t forget you can access our private facebook group via: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers If you like what you’ve heard, please subscribe, leave a review and share it widely! As a thank you from me for listening, grab your Emergency Service Professional's Guide to LinkedIn, 5 simple steps to really get noticed by recruiters: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723

In this episode, I'm talking with Simon Chicken who is the Event Director of the International Franchise Show being held at the Excel in London, on Fri 12th and Sat 13th April 2024, and Daniel McCarthy who is the Director of Business Development.

Today we're talking about why franchising is a really good fit for cops, military and other emergency service professionals, whatever their length of service, and why this particular business model works so well.

We talk about the success rate and stats, the pros and cons and the risks, and what you can expect at the IFS and how to make the best use of it, and most importantly, it's completely free!

You can get your FREE tickets HERE:

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there.

There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there.

If you go to the website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well.

We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every day in the private Facebook Group!

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with me, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers is a low cost, no tie-in monthly subscription that gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for a bit more support and want to find out more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.bluelightleavers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can join the private Facebook Group via⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

Please be aware, we cover the topic of suicide in this episode.

Welcome to Episode 64 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast 

Today, I've the absolute pleasure of talking with Lorna Reeves. 

Lorna is the founder of MyOhMy Wedding and  MyOhMy Events and in this episode, we talk about her 15 years career in the police service as a Crime Scene Investigator through to a senior staff role and about her reasons for leaving, some of the incidents she attended, and the challenges that created.

We talk about how she found her niche in 2019/20 and how business was booming... and then Covid hit and all weddings were cancelled, effectively crippling the business overnight.

We then talk about how she pivoted and the huge amount of work that she did to become a subject matter expert, and how she's gone on to create another incredible organisation, MyOhMy Events, using all the skills and experience from her previous career and business ownership, and both are now absolutely flying.

It's an incredibly exciting and inspirational interview and Lorna is just so lovely to speak to.

We talk about the impact of being a business owner and how it's positively impacted her mental health and well-being, and we also talk about how to create those ideas and find something that might be a good business idea for you.

I'm also incredibly proud to announce that we've asked Lorna to help us plan and deliver the Out Of The Blue event on Sat 29th April at the Millennium Point, Birmingham.

Tickets go on sale this week, so keep an eye out!

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. Motor Source Group offer genuine new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com/partners

You can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including weekly live sessions with Andy and others who've been where you are, along with subject matter experts talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and much more, so if you're looking for support and want to find out more, you can go to www.bluelightleavers.com/academy

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

Management Consultancies, big or small, can be a really good fit for Emergency Service professionals. It's challenging, you need to be resilient, the ability to communicate and manage challenging and demanding stakeholders, remain calm under pressure, manage a high workload, advise and support clients, manage expectations, have challenging conversations and be results orientated. Any of this sound familiar? Nick Durrans is a former Royal Marine Commando and Officer who did 5 Tours in Iraq and Afghanistan completing 18 years military service before leaving for a Project and Programme Management career with one of the 'Big 4' Consultancies. Nick is now a Programme Director for Change and Transformation Programmes working with many national and high profile Public Sector organisations.  Whether considering management consulting, Project and Programme Management, or in fact, any move to a new role, whether mid-service or on retirement, this interview is absolutely crammed with information, hints and tips that will help you massively. It is an exceptional episode. We discuss mapping and evidencing your values, skills and experience into 'civvy street' and the selection process and what that entailed. We also talk about the most relevant courses for these types of roles and the importance of life-long learning. Nick also talks about how he felt as he was approaching the end of his service, having done nothing else, his worries, fears and concerns and that loss of identity that we feel. He also talks about 'imposter syndrome' and the importance of humility.  There is so much parity in what he went through and the feelings many of us have when leaving the Police or other services. If you're on shift and it's 'Q', have a listen! You can listen anywhere and whenever suits you best and they're all completely free!   Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers  You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com  Download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via this link: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723  If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

During this episode, Adrian Weatherill tells us about his 12 years in the Police Service as a Police Investigator. He talks very honestly about his challenges and the catalysts for change, his fears and what held him back from making the move earlier.  Adrian made an incredibly brave (some of his closest family would say foolish) decision to leave the job with no job to go to, no qualifications and no idea what he wanted to do. Now more than 2 years down the line, he has never been happier and more fulfilled teaching English as a second language in South America! Adrian's story is both inspirational and motivational and I know you're going to love it.  If you like what you've heard, please subscribe and leave a review and come and join us in the private Facebook Group at: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers As a thank you from me for listening, grab your Emergency Service Professional's Guide to LinkedIn, 5 simple steps to really get noticed by recruiters: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723

Welcome to Episode 62 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

Nic is a former police officer who left policing after 14 years to move into the banking industry and after a few years in banking investigations, came to the realisation that she needed something that had much greater earning potential, was much more aligned with her personality, where she could use her creativity, work to her strengths and find a role and organisation that matched her values.

After a call to talk this through, Nic came to work with me as a 1-2-1 client.

In this interview, we talk through her policing career and career in banking, and her catalysts for leaving, and then flipping into a career that's completely different from anything she's ever done before.

Nic talks about how the skills and experience that she picked up within policing and banking, are helping her now in her role as Public Sector Sales Manager for Synalogik, (winners of the Queens' Award for Innovation 2022).

We talk through the one-to-one process and the work we did together, and we talk through the type of roles, the organisations we were looking at. This is just such a brilliant interview, it really is.

Nic was so coachable, it was just an absolute pleasure to work with her and it's amazing to see her so happy, and she also talks about things outside work that have such a massive influence on her and well-being, what she loves doing, and it's just such an inspirational interview.

The key message here is that you don't have to follow the most obvious career path. Your skills and experience are absolutely valued in the private sector.

This episode is sponsored by the brilliant Motor Source Group. Motor Source Group offer genuine new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. I promise you; you will make savings. To find out more, go to www.bluelightleavers.com/partners

Don't forget, you can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can go to www.bluelightleavers.com/academy

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

How to Really Stand Out in Interview

This week's episode takes a slightly different format and is more of a tutorial, based on my own experience of being interviewed on so many occasions since leaving the job in early 2015, my experience of conducting interviews for new staff, and successfully helping many others (check out the videos and written testimonials on the Blue Light Leavers website), and this episode is all about:

How to Really Stand Out in Interview.

In this episode, I talk you through:

• The 3 stages of prep
  
• Answering warm up questions with confidence
  
• How to show you're a good fit, (also known as Motivational Fit)
  
• The 3 different types of interview styles
  
• The secret to answering competency based questions better than the other candidates (it's not STAR or SOAR!)
  
• And much more!
  

If you've an interview coming up and you need personalised, bespoke interview prep, go to the Blue Light Leavers website and click on 'Services' and book through the link.

In this episode, I'm covering topics I normally only go through with paying clients and cohort members of the Blue Light Achievers Programme.

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

This week's podcast guest is Simon Turner, Head of Reed Secure (part of Reed Global), Reed Secure specialise in working with former police officers, security cleared and cyber security professionals and are experts in providing specialist resources in investigation, project management, fraud, safety, compliance, risk assessment and cyber security. Simon has been in recruiting for 25 years, has a vast amount of experience in every type of recruiting and tells you exactly how to stand out from the crowd in this really competitive job market. This interview is crammed full of great advice and guidance  Simon also explains why roles utilising our skills and experience are bucking the Covid-19 trend and we talk about where these opportunities are. Listen on the go.. you can listen to the podcast on your phone or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!  Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers  You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals!    If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Welcome to episode 69 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast

In this episode, I'm incredibly honoured to be speaking with Donna Ohdedar.

She's the Managing Director of Review Consulting, she's a keynote public speaker, she's previously been the Head of Law for a large Metropolitan Authority, she's a safeguarding advisor and mentor, and she delivers a University Accredited programme called SILP School and you can find out more HERE.

In this interview, she talks about how to become an independent consultant, delivering safeguarding and domestic homicide reviews. She explains why this is a fantastic career path for cops and we discuss all of the the sought after skills and behaviours. We also talk about the SILP programme itself and the support you'll get through the programme.

This episode is sponsored by Motor Source Group. MSG offer genuine new car discounts to serving and retired emergency services personnel, including Police, NHS, Fire and Rescue, and the Prison Service. They're completely independent, offering a full range of makes and models, and are rated excellent by their customers on Trustpilot. I promise you; you will make savings. To find out more, go to https://www.bluelightleavers.com

Don't forget, you can join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CVs, LinkedIn, interviews and so much more, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can go to https://www.bluelightleavers.com/

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

This short punchy episode is all about making sure that 2020 is your year of change!   Christian Rodwell is a best selling author, business coach and mentor and host of the hugely successful podcast, 'Escape the Rat Race' which has thousands of downloads every week across more than 130 countries and is consistently featured on Apple Podcasts. Chris has interviewed many of the most successful and influential entrepreneurs and business owners in the world! In this episode, Christian talks about how he went from a career in the music industry to being a successful business owner and how he has since helped hundreds of people sack their boss! Christian and I discuss exactly what you need to have in place to ensure you start 2020 as you mean to go on and ensure that 2020 is your year of change! He also talks about the key success factors that he sees with those who have successfully moved on! Chris has kindly offered a free downloadable version of his best selling book, 'Sack Your Boss!' which is available at : www.bluelightleavers.com/episode8 Don't forget, you can join the Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can connect with Christian via his website which is at www.etrr.online and access his podcast via Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher and all the usual podcast platforms. You can also access my free Emergency Service Professional's Guide to LinkedIn via this link: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Managing Director of Frontier Risks Group - Pete Lawrence

This may ring a bell as Frontier Risks Group have been mentioned before on the Blue Light Leavers podcast and in particular, the Security Risk Management Consultants (SRMC) course I've heard so many great things about.

This course is recognised globally as the best there is for anyone looking to move towards strategic risk consultancy and cyber security and is a perfect fit for emergency service professionals and military leavers.

Frontier Risks Group is an amalgamation of a number of leading companies in their fields, guided by a team of subject matter experts in their respective domains; from Security and Crisis Management, Corporate Risk, Intelligence and Analysis, Compliance, Workplace Investigations, Trauma Response and Training.

Pete is a former Royal Marine Commando and has an incredible story to tell and talks about feeling lost on leaving his tribe, He also talks about a number of 'sliding door' moments in his life which have led to amazing opportunities.

Towards the end of the interview, Pete very kindly offers listeners to the podcast and members of the Blue Light Leavers Facebook Group a discount on the programme, so listen in for more details.

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops! 

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers 

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals! 

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

From Frontline Policing to Close Protection and Security Risk Consultant This week's guest is a former response and beat officer and mum of 3, Alecia Emerson-Thomas. Alecia talks us through her career and also talks about the impact of living with someone who is suffering from complex PTSD. This alongside being a mum and significant work pressure, caused Alecia to suffer mental health challenges herself. A lack of flexibility from her force when returning from maternity leave, made her decide to leave and she has not looked back. Since leaving, she's featured on Sky 1's, 'The Heist,'. she's a radio presenter, podcast host of 'The Wild Ones' podcast and is a 'ninja level' networker and in this episode, she gives an absolute masterclass on how to expand your network, particularly on LinkedIn. She's also a qualified Security Risk Consultant and Close Protection Operative. Alecia has suffered significant personal tragedy and challenges but has not let this define her and she has such an inspiring and brilliant story to tell and if you're not sure about networking and why it's so important, you'll get loads from this. You can listen to the podcast on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops! Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals! If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

This episode features a former Detective, Helly Walters. Helly spent a number of years in Child Protection before a really difficult personal tragedy gave her the reason, impetus and motivation to look for a new career away from policing. 

Helly talks us through the moment she spotted a particular role with the Care Quality Commission and how she could immediately see how her skills and experience mapped across to this particular role.

She also talks us through the application and interview process, the style of questions, the theme of the presentation and talks us through that moment when she received the phone call to say she'd been successful. 

Throughout the interview she gives so much value and so many hints and tips and her story is heartbreaking and hugely inspirational. 

You can listen to the podcast on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals!

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Support for those leaving or having left the job on ill-Health retirement or those who have suffered physical or psychological harm

This is an area I've been wanting to support members and listeners of the podcast for a while and I'm very honoured to say that Police Care UK and Blue Light Leavers will be working closely together over the coming weeks and months to support those going through IHR or having been through it, are struggling to move on or find new roles.

Police Care UK are the charity for serving and veteran police officers and staff, volunteers, and their families who have suffered any physical or psychological harm as a result of policing, including those leaving or who have left on IHR.

In this episode there are 4 short interviews, the first is with Dave Blundell who is the charity Head of Engagement, the second is with peer support lead Alan Fairclough and Alan is doing some fantastic support work for those going through IHR. The 3rd is with Andy Pennock who is a volunteer with the charity and doing great things in supporting them and those who need a helping hand and finally Teri Kearsey who is the fundraising and events manager.

This is a great introduction into PCUK and an explanation of the support that's available for those who need it most and I really hope it helps.

• PCUK support injured veterans – those harmed as a result of their policing role
  • PCUK do try to help those retiring due to an illness/condition where they can
• They currently focus on the 5 force areas they have actively collaborated in – Cheshire, Lancashire, GMP, Merseyside and TVP
  • Once someone is registered with Police Care, they offer them ill Health Retirement support, wherever they are in the UK
  • PCUK have supported beneficiaries in over 20 Forces across England, Scotland Wales and NI

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals!

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Gro

Today, I'm talking with Karen Connell. Karen is the founder and CEO of Hunter Protection, she's a globally renowned consultant and advisor, with unrivalled expertise in the Security Sector.  In this episode we talk about her upbringing and her corporate career and we talk about her experiences of having good and bad protection officers and being on the receiving end of good and poor practice and the difference between the two. We talk about how and why she set up Hunter Protection and that as a result of her unique selling proposition, she now has clients such as Shell, Coca Cola, Johnson and Johnson and many more. Alongside this, she also teaches communication and influencing skills to the British Army.  We talk about what she's doing to disrupt a very male dominated industry and the challenges she faces and Karen also talks about the importance of connections and leveraging those relationships and we talk about the opportunities for both sexes in the industry and how it's changing and evolving for the better.  We talk about the right courses and qualifications to take, the stand out skills (which will surprise you!), and how to make your profile and CV unmissable. We also get some insight into the whole selection process.  You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021! You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free! You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops! Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share with your friends and colleagues and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Welcome to Episode 56 of the Blue Light Leavers Podcast.

Today I'm talking to Hannah Bailey. Hannah is a former police officer and is the founder of the Blue Light Wellbeing, she is a psychotherapist in Brain Working Recursive Therapy (BWRT), she's a Well-Being Life Coach, she holds qualifications in mindfulness-based stress reduction, counselling PTSD, and Reconnective Healing.

In this interview, we talk about her time in the police and being diagnosed with cancer... twice.. and how going through the toughest of times and major life threatening adversity, helped her identify her passion and a new career path.

We talk about why she chose to resign and the impact that decision had on her, and then the interview goes two ways. We talk about Psychotherapy and Coaching as a possible career path, and then we talk about the positive impact that this type of therapy can have on you, how it helps and what Hannah can do for you. 

She's a true Subject Matter Expert, and we are incredibly lucky to have her in the Blue Light Leavers group and The Academy. 

Don't forget, you can also visit the website and at www.bluelightleavers.com and join the private Facebook Group via www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

The Academy Membership from Blue Light Leavers, gives you all the help you need to find your new role or career, including live sessions with Andy and others who've been there and done it along with subject matter experts, talking CV's LinkedIn, interviews and so much more. Doors open again later in September, so if you're looking for a little more help and support and want to find out more, you can email me at andy@bluelightleavers.com  

If you're not sure what roles you can do after the police, check this out: 'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com)

You can listen to the podcast on shift, walking the dog, pottering about, and do it on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet, anywhere and whenever suits you, pause and play and they're all completely free!

You can now even ask Alexa to 'Play Blue Light Leavers Podcast' and up it pops.

---

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bluelightleavers/message

This bonus episode is a Blue Light Leavers Live Session that that we ran with Dominic McVeigh.

Dom is a former cop and is now a lecturer with the University of West England.

The university starts is new course in September 2024 'The BSc(Hons) Applied Criminal Justice Top-Up degree' It is specifically designed to offer you the chance to gain academic recognition alongside your invaluable on-the-job experience. It would allow you to complete a three-year degree in one year (when taken as a full-time course)!

In this episode Dom explains what the course is, how it works and how to sign-up! If you are interested in signing up, you have until (Sunday) 30th June to do so for this year's course!

Click on the link below to find out more about the course. https://bit.ly/UWEAppliedCriminalJusticeTopUp 

Or you can email Dom on Dominic2.Mcveigh@uwe.ac.uk 

If you like what you've heard, then please leave a review, and share it with friends and let people know that this podcast is out there. There's a lot of people looking at the moment, a lot of people struggling and so if there's a particular episode that resonates with you then just share it via WhatsApp or text and just let people know that it's there and please leave a review.

If you go to the website ⁠⁠https://www.bluelightleavers.com/ ⁠⁠there's loads of information there about some of the amazing partnerships that we've got, CV writing services and LinkedIn and interview prep, and loads of other things as well, and tonnes of free stuff both within the Facebook group and on the website as well. We also advertise dozens of amazing jobs, every week in the private Facebook Group!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers/ 

If you've no idea where to start, you're feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and just not sure what career you think would be best suited for you or what steps you need to take to make it happen, then you can book a career clarity coaching call through the website.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is 1:1 time via Zoom with a Blue Light Leavers Coach, to help you get complete clarity and identify the roles and courses that are best suited to you, create an action plan and overcome any blockers you may have.

Not sure what roles you can do after the police, check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'What jobs can I do after the Police?' Scorecard (scoreapp.com) through the website.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Join us at www.bluelightleavers.com Keith Finson is a former Detective who, after 5 years as a Temporary Detective Sergeant in Major Crime and no career progression, decided to take his career into his own hands and look for new roles in the Private Sector and is now Head of Organised and Complex Fraud across the entire organisational portfolio, working in the Financial Sector with Barclays. Throughout this interview, Keith gives so many amazing hints and tips and talks openly about the steps he took, the interview process, his transition to the Private Sector, promotion and the lessons learned so far. He also talks about the roles that would fit Police Officers in the banking sector. Keith discusses what he calls our 'cross functional skills', values, behaviours and ethics and how our honesty, integrity and core values will always make us stand out. Don't forget you can join the Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website on www.bluelightleavers.com Download my free guide to optimising LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Fraser Bishop is a former Metropolitan Police Constable who served on the Territorial Support Group and then on the firearms team at Heathrow Airport and was an Operational Firearms Commander for the London Olympics, providing protection to VIP's and helping maintain the integrity of the Olympic Park before moving into an Officer Safety Instructor role instructing conflict management and resolution, self defence and control and restraint. Fraser explains why he left the job after 18 years to pursue a career within the Security Industry and has had some incredibly high profile roles since leaving, including the film industry. He also talks about how LinkedIn and networking have been so important to his progression and career path and also discusses the courses that he picked up whilst in the job that helped him find employment outside and also those he's undertaken since leaving the job.  Fraser also discusses the interview and selection processes he's been through and gives great advice about how to be successful in the private sector.  Don't forget you can join the Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers You can also visit the website on www.bluelightleavers.com Download my free guide to optimising LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals via: https://www.bluelightleavers.com/pl/95723 If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.