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Hello all stations, Charlie Mike!
The Singapore Armed Forces has an earlier retirement age than other organizations, and its members will thus have to transition into a second career. Charlie Mike is the military code for continue mission, and I spent my lunch break today putting together my slides for my sharing next week with officers preparing for their career transition.
Having traveled the path before, I can say the journey will not be easy. But, with the right mindset, it is not impossible to transit well. Here are my seven career transition tips:
#1: The younger the better.
The hard truth is that ageism exists, and organizations prefer to promote internally for senior roles. The former stems largely from the fear that a “senior person” will not be able to take instructions from a younger supervisor, while the latter concerns managing the morale of existing staff who may feel external hires deny them the opportunity to progress. So, it is important to decide early (and act early) if you do not intend to stay till the compulsory retirement age.
#2: Transition is a three-year plan.
Like any operation, a smooth transition takes both proper planning and time. Planning because you need…
