How an insight day kick-started my career with FDM…

FDM Trainee Chris Corby joined FDM’s Ex-Forces Advanced Programme, and is currently training as a Project Manager. He reflects on his journey from searching for a new career outside the military, to how he came to join FDM.

“I left full-time service with the British Army in 2012 and started working in various roles but I found myself wanting a more challenging, professional career. I decided to follow in the footsteps of a couple of my friends who I had served with during my Military career and attended one of FDM Group’s Ex-Forces Programme Insight Days at their head office in London.

The insight day was led by the FDM Ex-Forces Programme team, who each have experience in leaving the military and trying to find their way in the civilian world. There was a comforting sense of camaraderie to the day, which would be familiar to anyone who has spent time in the forces. We heard from consultants who had been through the Ex-Forces Programme on how the scheme had helped them to get jobs they may not have had the chance to pursue otherwise. The day ended with some informal drinks and an opportunity to speak to other people in my situation, as well as those who were considering what to do when their time in the forces comes to an end.

I came away understanding that the FDM programme was a fair arrangement. FDM would invest time and money giving me the skills and knowledge to become a Project Management Consultant and the opportunity to be placed within one of their prestigious, high-profile clients across a range of industries such as banking, IT, media, retail or the public sector. In return I would undertake a six-week training programme and then complete two years as a consultant working for FDM at one of their client’s sites.

I applied and went to an assessment day a few weeks later. This was a chance to demonstrate my experience and skills and to show FDM how I approach certain tasks. I was given a project management case study and tasked with presenting my understandings and answering questions from an FDM representative. This was followed by a one-to-one interview with a mixture of behavioural and competency-based questions. I was extremely happy to find out I had been successful and would be joining FDM on their January intake.

My experience with FDM so far has been seamless; from the outset, I was assigned a recruiter who processed my application and was my single point of contact for any questions. The whole application and assessment process ran smoothly and gave me all the information I needed to make the right decision. I am really pleased that I decided to take that first step of attending an Insight Day with FDM Group.

Stay tuned for part two of Chris’ FDM Journey once he is placed on client site. For further information on our Ex-Forces Insight Days, see our events page here or apply to FDM now.