The Blue Light Leavers Podcast

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

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

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

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 [email protected]. 

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.

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 [email protected]

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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 [email protected]

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.

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

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 [email protected]

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.

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

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 [email protected]  

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.

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