My first experience of the Civil Service was my placement year at NHS England when I was at university. I really enjoyed working in government, so I applied for the Social Research Fast Stream and was offered a job at the Home Office after graduation. The Home Office was interesting to me because it was at the heart of government decision-making, and I wanted to work somewhere I’d have plenty of opportunities to make real impacts.
I’ve now been here for almost three years, and I get to use my social research and people skills every day.
My day-to-day work varies a lot; I work in migration research so it’s very fast-paced and high-profile. My projects follow Ministerial priorities, which for the past few years has been on evaluating the UK’s new immigration system. My favourite projects are those where I get to collaborate with my team. On difficult projects there’s a real sense of camaraderie which makes challenges a lot easier to overcome.
One of the things I really like about the Home Office is the availability of learning opportunities and the support from colleagues to achieve my goals. I like that personal development is not only encouraged but prioritised and modelled by senior colleagues.
If you were considering a career in the Home Office, I’d say ‘Go for it’ because you never know what you’ll get out of the experience. I never thought I’d be where I am today, but it’s given me countless opportunities and really shaped who I am as a person.
