Hi, I’m Annie, a Bristol graduate (BA English, MSc Public Policy) currently working in the Ministry of Justice as part of the Civil Service Fast Stream graduate programme.
Back in 2018, when I decided to study English at Bristol, careers were the furthest thing from my mind. I was passionate about reading and literary history, especially the political contexts of my favourite novels, plays and poems, and knew that Bristol would be the perfect place to develop.
My journey
In my second year, as peers started to secure internships in all sorts of fields, from finance to journalism to theatre to law, I began to think it was time to start taking my career planning a little more seriously. I engaged with the Careers Service and threw myself into growing my employability skills, attending talks and undertaking the Bristol PLUS Award. But I still didn’t have a ton of direction. I knew I loved politics though, and my studies until that point had strengthened my interest in various political theories and systems.
I ended up going along to a talk about careers for Humanities graduates and heard from a Civil Servant working in the Department for Education. She talked about working with politicians, researching and drafting advice for Government Ministers and being able to genuinely make a difference. Whilst I had some understanding of how UK Government worked, this was the first time I’d properly learned about the Civil Service. When I got home, I hopped onto Google, where I stumbled across the Civil Service Fast Stream.
The Civil Service Fast Stream is the UK Government’s largest graduate programme, made up of seventeen individual development schemes, with specialisms ranging from policy and project management to finance, human resources and even international diplomacy.
Gaining experience
Policy really appealed to me, in particular the prospect of working alongside politicians to understand the political contexts of how decisions are made. I kept the scheme in the back of my mind and upon finishing up my English degree in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to stick around in Bristol for another year to pursue a Master’s in Public Policy, which was a huge change and very challenging. Nevertheless, I found the subject matter incredibly engaging and that October, I put in my application for the Civil Service Fast Stream.
A tricky application process later, and I was unsuccessful. I was disappointed but prepared – I’d heard it wasn’t uncommon to have to apply more than once for competitive grad schemes and I was up for trying again. Luckily, I managed to score highly enough on the initial tests to be eligible for a place on the Civil Service Summer Internship Programme instead. I spent my summer by the beach working at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, learning more about the workings of the Civil Service, especially on a regional level.
After finishing my Master’s and internship, I started working at my local council. It wasn’t the central government policy role I had dreamed of, but it ended up giving me a huge amount of understanding of government more widely and how impactful local authorities can be. And when the autumn rolled around, armed with a little more experience, I gave the Civil Service Fast Stream another go and was successful.
Taking part in the Civil Service Fast Stream
I’m now in year two of the programme and really enjoying it! I spent my first year in the Cabinet Office, the government’s corporate headquarters which coordinates the work of many other departments. There I had the chance to work on high-profile legislation, brief Cabinet Ministers and attend parliamentary debates.
Now I’ve found myself in HM Prison and Probations Service, part of the Ministry of Justice, working on policy to improve the experiences of the probation workforce. I’ve been working in London and have enjoyed the opportunity to feel ‘close to the action’ of the Houses of Parliament and No.10, but there are exciting Civil Service jobs UK-wide – including in Bristol – and the Fast Stream encourages you to explore these as well.
I think my career journey so far has been a lesson in not giving up, being willing to try out different paths, and taking opportunities as they come. Literature is still a huge part of my life and I’m so thankful to Bristol’s School of Humanities for nurturing my love of reading at that time. Though the work I do isn’t literature-focused, I use the analytical and written communication skills I gained through my degree on a daily basis. The Civil Service welcomes people from all academic backgrounds and in their own words, ‘there is no typical Fast Streamer’ so it’s worth looking into no matter your current path!
Find out more about the Civil Service Fast Stream programme.