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The British Army launched a new initiative to recruit potential candidates called ‘Start Thinking Soldier’ this week. The first of four commercials was aired on Monday evening on Channel 4 and pointed interested people to complete an online mission on a theme related to the advert.
The move follows the release of a Populus report for the Army which highlights the important place that self-awareness holds in making career decisions. Almost 7 in 10 people aged 17-21 don’t have any definite career plan – and Populus believe that this uncertainty is due to 86 percent of that age group being uninformed about their own strengths and weaknesses. This often means that people change their career plans in later years; now, almost 80 percent of those aged 30 plus swap careers at least once in their working life.
Senior Psychology Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic said that, “People perform better and are happier if they work on something they are good at, hence knowing your strengths and limitations is a key determinant of both job satisfaction and performance.” He added that the British Army has always assumed an important role in developing cutting-edge techniques to assist in our understanding of people’s unlocked skills potential.
In total there will be four commercials and online missions over a four month period. They are designed to animate four key Army skills - teamwork, decision making, leadership and fitness/mental sharpness.
The first mission – now online at ‘Start Thinking Soldier’ – places you near to an explosives factory in the desert. You must then choose what option to take – will you burst in through the doors, launch an air strike or blast an opening in the wall?
The jobs on offer are not aimed specifically at graduates – they are open to anyone who might have the skills that the Army are looking for. They currently recruit around 15,000 soldiers to a choice of 140 different trade groups spanning a thousand different types of jobs – from pilots, engineers and electricians to musicians, drivers and chefs.
But, even if you aren’t sure that a career in the Army is for you, this initiative is still a great opportunity to test out your strengths, weaknesses and skills for free online.
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