The Blue Light Leavers Podcast

Looking Back and a Blueprint for Policing with John Sutherland Police Commander 

This week's episode is a very welcome return to former Police Commander John Sutherland. 

John is a former Met Police Chief Superintendent, he is the best-selling author of the books Blue and Crossing the Line, he's a highly sought after police commentator with the national press and media and host of the brilliant, Police Commander Blog. He's also a former guest on Episode 18 of the Blue Light Leavers podcast, where he spoke very openly and honestly about his journey with mental ill-health and his breakdown. 

In this episode, we're basically just chatting, reflecting on the past 15 months and the impact on policing with so many significant events. We talk about the future of policing and what needs to change and we also get a sneak preview into some really big news. 

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021! 

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! 

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share with your friends and colleagues and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

How to Really Stand Out in Interview

This week's episode takes a slightly different format and is more of a tutorial, based on my own experience of being interviewed on so many occasions since leaving the job in early 2015, my experience of conducting interviews for new staff, and successfully helping many others (check out the videos and written testimonials on the Blue Light Leavers website), and this episode is all about:

How to Really Stand Out in Interview.

In this episode, I talk you through:

If you've an interview coming up and you need personalised, bespoke interview prep, go to the Blue Light Leavers website and click on 'Services' and book through the link.

In this episode, I'm covering topics I normally only go through with paying clients and cohort members of the Blue Light Achievers Programme.

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!

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!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

From Policing to Train Driver with Matt Kent

In this episode, I'm talking with Matthew (Matt) Kent. Now I think this episode is going to be incredibly popular, because Matthew is a former Police Officer, who left after 10 years to become a train driver, and he's been a train driver for the last 5 years.

In this episode, we talk about his reasons for leaving, and what he actually did in the job, we talk about the reaction of his colleagues and his supervisors, when he handed in his resignation.

We also talk about the selection process that he went through and actually what's required now. We talk about the training that's involved, the salary, and we also discuss the role itself and how it's impacted his life and his family.

We also discuss, how to find the vacancies. Matt is a lovely bloke and he was so happy to share his experiences with us.

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!

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!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

From Policing to Operations Duty Manager Elizabeth Line with Dave Glennon

If you come from an operational background or you're interested in any operational role, I promise this interview is going to be of huge interest to you and will help you massively.

So in this interview, we talk through Dave's policing career and his background. We also talk about his catalyst for change and why he needed to move on and how he went about doing it.

What's interesting about Dave's story is that he was at 22 years service and really caught in the pension trap and he gives a great explanation as to why he still decided to move on.

We also talk about the process of identifying the right skills and experience and talk through the entire interview process he went through, including the assessment day and how he went about finding specific examples that were relevant to this particular role.

We talk about his transition and challenges and some of the ups and downs and stuff he misses and the benefits of moving on. The way he describes it is about reframing the discomfort and it's a fantastic way of putting it. Throughout the interview, as always, the theme is connections and networking and he gives some great advice, tips and support on how to go about doing that correctly.

This is another great interview and worth getting your pen and paper out (old school!) and making some notes if you're after an operational role.

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!

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!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Coping with grief and the Grief Recovery Method with Joan Hughes and Sara Donnelly

Grief is something we are all too familiar with, personally and when dealing with the grief of others, including our families, friends and colleagues and the last year has been more challenging than ever.

In line with the National Day of Reflection and exactly 12 months since the first lockdown, in this episode I'm talking with former Police Officer Joan Hughes who was forced to take ill-health retirement and Sara Donnelly who is a former nurse of over 30 years. Both are advanced grief recovery and health and well-being specialists.

In this interview we look at what grief actually is and the type of life events and incidents that can cause grief, some of which may surprise you. We talk about how we might recognise the signs and how grief might actually manifest itself and how we tend to try and cope with it.

I talk very briefly (you'll be pleased to hear) about a couple of things that occurred in my life that caused Joan and I to make contact and she actually took me through the Grief Recovery Method which made a huge difference to how I view and manage those particular incidents. 

We discuss what the Grief Recovery Method actually is and isn't and we talk through a couple of case studies and testimonials from others who've been through the process and how it's helped them. 

We also look at how we can help others and how we can help ourselves when dealing with grief. 

The Grief Recovery Method is the only evidence-based grief programme in the world. Research published in peer-reviewed journals has shown that it makes a measurable, positive difference in people's grief journey.

If you'd like more information or help dealing with your own grief, you can contact them via www.griefuk.org/joan or www.griefuk.org/sara

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!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers 

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021!

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

From Policing to HS2 Engagement Specialist with Michael Newbrook 

Mike is a former Sergeant who reached around 17 years service before looking to leave and is another former student/alumni of The Blue Light Achievers Programme. 

Mike started looking at his options outside of policing for roles with greater work/life balance after the birth of his youngest child. He got in touch with me last year to discuss what his options might be and was after some support and guidance around the types of roles he could apply for and made the decision to join the Achievers Programme. I'm pleased to say that a few months ago he left the Police for a fantastic new role as an engagement specialist with a company working on HS2. 

In this interview, he talks us through some of the challenges that he faced and he explains how he recognised that his skills and experience were a really good fit or this particular role. He also gives some great insight and words of wisdom for anyone that's leaving soon or looking to leave mid-service. 

If you're interested in finding out more about the Blue Light Achievers programme, click HERE  

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! 

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers  

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free NEW and UPDATED guide to LinkedIn for Police Officers for 2021! 

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.

Louise is the Operations Manager for UK Missing Persons within the National Crime Agency. 

She's a former uniformed PC that left policing to join, what was, the Serious Organised Crime Agency which later became the National Crime Agency. In this interview, she talks us through why she wanted to leave policing and talks us through the current application process. We talk about how to map your skills and experience across from policing into the NCA and the interview process.

We also talk about the pros and cons of working with the NCA and the pay and conditions and we also talk about the fantastic opportunities that the NCA have, both for those leaving mid-service and on retirement.

If the National Crime Agency is something that interests you, this will give you real insight and a great introduction into the work they do, how they value their staff and their recruitment process.

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!

Don't forget you can join our Private Facebook group at : www.facebook.com/groups/bluelightleavers

You can also visit the website and blog on www.bluelightleavers.com and download my free guide to LinkedIn for Emergency Service Professionals!

If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, hit 5* and leave a review and share and come and join us in our Private Facebook Group.