Trent Morrissey
Account Director, Whole of Australian Government (WoAG) Account
Trent Morrissey, Account Director, Whole of Australian Government (WoAG) Account
It has been 15 years since Trent moved from the military to civilian life, but the resilience he developed in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has been key to his success in corporate roles.
Trent was promoted to his current role at JLL in January 2022 and has held a number of roles including, Account Executive for WoAG and Account Director for Australian Federal Police, in the Federal Government Business since joining the organisation in 2014.
“I credit much of my success in transitioning from 11 Years in Defence as an Officer in the Australian Regular Army to the Corporate Sector with the skills and experience gained from training and appointments during my time in uniform,” he says. “In particular, my Defence Force experience equipped me with resilience and the ability to ‘be comfortable being uncomfortable’ which has helped me to work through the different challenges that come up in day-to-day business.”
Like many who have served in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Trent has many key skills that are essential for success when working in a team.
“I have strong leadership and management skills, high-level written and verbal communication skills, as well as a strategic mindset and discipline, which is an asset in my role,” he says.
Trent says his training in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) also helped him to develop moral courage, which is an important attribute in a corporate workplace that values ethical operations.
“I have highly developed ‘big picture’ thinking, and I value diversity and different individual, cultural and organisational perspectives,” he says.
When considering a future career path, Trent says he’d encourage veterans to utilise the resources available through the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
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“Reflecting upon my own experiences, I would say be sure to plan your transition as early as possible,” he says. “I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), but I knew ultimately I wanted to pursue professional and personal goals ‘outside.’ I made the most of the resources available in Defence to assist me in transitioning, this included ‘civilianising’ my military training and qualifications wherever possible and I also leveraged the Defence Assisted Study Scheme (DASS) to obtain my Master of Business Administration. The other advice I would provide to people looking to transition out of Defence is to be patient with your career on the outside. Growth and progression will come but you may need to be flexible and ‘step sideways’ to establish a foundation of experience in a workplace before ‘stepping up’. This patience with your career is particularly important because you and your family will be experiencing other significant changes after a career/life in Defence, so give yourself time to adjust.”