Antony was forced to leave the Royal Marines for health reasons, but an OA career consultation provided the turning point he needed to find new employment.
Shortly after joining the Royal Marines, Antony Thompson was deployed to Afghanistan in January 2009. He later served in intelligence roles, and then in 2013 was selected for officer training. Unfortunately, he was injured on the course, forcing him to take administrative roles for two years as a Lieutenant, before receiving a medical discharge in April 2017.
As Antony had not planned to leave the Royal Marines, he had to quickly adapt to his new situation. The main pressures upon him were looking for work whilst providing for a young family. Undeterred, Antony completed project management courses and applied for jobs. However, without commercial experience, his CV did not clearly demonstrate how he could add value to a business.
Antony approached the OA for help. Keith Spencer, an OA Career Consultant, met Antony to give him career advice, introduced the concept of networking and provided useful contacts. The career consultation gave Antony the tailored support he required to achieve his career goals. Antony then attended several OA networking events, and was pleased to meet other former officers facing similar challenges.
He stopped applying for jobs and focused on networking. At the same time, Antony decided to apply the mentality needed to earn his Green Beret to his situation: discipline and mental fortitude. He attended as many networking as possible, as well as completing online courses and watching webinars to increase his skills and knowledge. Every learning and development step made Antony more effective at proving his commercial value.
