The handover...

So this week I took over formally from my predecessor. One thing that has immediately struck me is how busy I am! Fortunately everyone around me, despite being hectic themselves, have really made time to explain things, and have been hugely patient with me.

Someone asked about the responsibilities I have as a new entrant. Well, thats something that has really surprised me - I have been given a lot of responsibility and a lot of freedom early on. Whilst that can be a bit scary, it has been great - I'm learning fast (I think!) and its great to be challenged from Day One. I am now a point of contact for key stakeholders outside of the office, such as NGOs and also work closely with other government departments, particularly DFID. I'm also doing a lot of liaison with the EU, which I am finding really interesting, if still a little confusing! I also work on briefings for Ministers and officials, which are often team projects. These can be really fascinating - learning to pitch briefings at the right level and thinking more about what information would really need to be included in a brief.

So, in essence, you really hit the ground running. You have to get over the grand building pretty fast (and learn your way round it, which I am still having issues with), and start getting stuck into meaningful work early on. Initially, I felt (and still do a bit really) that confidence was the biggest problem. I'm sure this isn't the case for everyone, but I was extremely nervous of putting a foot wrong, or not knowing enough about the detail of the issues to speak or write confidently about them. But as you work closely on the issues day in and day out, and get good exposure to all sorts of work early on, you really do learn fast, and slowly slowly that new-person-in-the-office feeling is starting to wear off!

Posted at 16:48 16 November 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[4]

End Of An Induction

Here is a photo of some of the other new Policy Entrants on our last day of training yesterday. In the morning we covered the FCO's Language Policy, as well as taking a closer look at the Professional Skills in Government (PSG) framework. The PSG focuses on skills that all government employees should work on improving and developing.

In the afternoon, our line managers joined us on the training course to start looking at our Development Plans - highlighting areas that we want to improve on and ways that we can go about doing this. It was actually a great opportunity to get our line managers out of the (very busy) office environment and spend some time getting to know them a little more and really highlighting areas that you, as a new entrant, might not be confident in.

Formal Induction Training is now over, which is scary, and we are now being let loose in our departments properly. However, we do still have training updates throughout the year (to my huge relief!) and a good support network that we can turn to if we start feeling a little swamped in any areas.

Posted at 13:21 07 November 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[1]

Our Halloween Fun...

...Thought people might enjoy this - its a few of my intake on Halloween at one of the guys' houses. Our costumes were much better at the beginning of the night, before we did apple-bobbing (which sounded like it would be a lot more fun than it was)! Thank you to Andrew for hosting the party!

Posted at 14:09 06 November 2007 by Sarah Russell  | 

Back in the Department

This week I have mainly been back in my department, taking over from my predecessor Dave, who is incredibly helpful. People in the FCO seem to be really welcoming and patient with new starters, possibly a consequence of the fact that people move from role to role within the organisation relatively frequently, so remember that new person feeling rather keenly.


So far, I've been sitting in on quite a few meetings to try to get more of a feel for my role and responsibilities, as well as working on briefings . I'm starting to get a better understanding of the subject matter now, and slowly slowly I'm starting to understand the acronyms!

Posted at 08:11 06 November 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[1]

National School of Government Query

I just got an email back from the National School of Government, and I understand that their programmes are open to non-civil servants. However, I think you would need to approach them direct to see which courses would be appropriate - there is a link to their customer services email address on their website. Hope that helps!

Posted at 08:10 06 November 2007 by Sarah Russell  | 

Numerical Reasoning

In response to the comment about numerical reasoning...

I really hated that part of the tests - the last time I'd done basically anything involving numbers was Maths GCSE! However, it is much more looking at the practical application of mathematical skills. I'm not sure if it is the same now - but when I was doing it, there were a lot of percentages questions. I sat down with a friend who was really good at maths and worked through some example questions, which really helped build confidence. Also there are a lot of websites out there where you can sit relatively similar numerical reasoning tests (I think there are a couple of these sites listed on the Fast Stream webpage, but if not you could always try googling it).

Basically practice is the best way to improve at these I think, so I would find as many practice tests as possible to do. Also (I should probably confess that I didn't do this, but a lot of people do find it really helps), you can just try and do more numerical stuff generally, like working out your change exactly, or looking at graphs or charts of figures in the newspaper and working out percentages from them. Get yourself more familiar with working with numbers and remember that it is about analysing numbers and being able to use them as an aid for your work, rather than being some sort of maths genius!

Posted at 07:41 06 November 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[1]

Friday

Today was the last day at the National School of Government, which I was actually quite sad to leave! Our trainers - Zoe, Edward, John and Darryl - were fantastic and really committed to helping us get the most out of the 9 days. We covered a lot, including the Parliamentary process; writing official documents; scenario-planning (some people call it gaming - where you sit down and think about the knock-on implications of events as widely as possible); and negotiating.

In reference to some of the comments I've had - I know that the National School of Government is open to all civil servants, but I'm afraid I don't know if it is open to NGOs or companies (but I have just contacted them in order to find out, I'll keep you posted). The particular course that I was on was catered particularly to new Policy Entrants to the FCO, but I know that they offer a really wide range of very high quality courses.

I agree that it isn't very helpful that there aren't any Diplomatic Service profiles on the Fast Stream website. Every government department is different, and it would be great if people thinking of applying could get a better feel of the office beforehand. Having said that, the level of responsibility and opportunities that are presented to new entrants are really great across all of Whitehall, so all the profiles can help give you a taster of the type of things that will be expected of you.

In terms of the other people on my intake - its a really big mix of people. The one common factor is that they all appear to be really enthusiastic and very driven. Its fantastic to be working with people who all feel really passionate about their job, but it is also slightly terrifying to think about how I measure up to the other new entrants who are so talented!

People come from a range of backgrounds, and a lot of people have worked for a time in different industries (ranging from banking and finance to PR to NGOs). I am one of the youngest of my intake, and I think it is getting increasingly unusual for people to join fresh out of university. Work experience is vital in developing a lot of the skills that you need, but that could of course be experience that you gained whilst at university.

In terms of preparation for the Assessment Days, in truth I did a lot - because I really wanted the job. Not necessarily very useful preparation though - more like panic preparation! Its really important to think about the competencies that assessors might be looking for. That helps you to calm down, and focus your thinking on concrete examples of times when you have displayed those skills. You may well have the abilities, but you need to be able to prove it to an interviewer by using tangible examples. Doesn't matter how off-the-wall, or small, they might seem, every example is worthwhile so remember to think of quite a few.

Also make sure you think really hard about why you want to work in government. And why the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in particular? Find out as much as you can about the organisation - both positive and negative impressions that are out there. If you have come across some negative perspectives, I personally would suggest thinking about why that view may exist, and what the FCO could do differently in situations to combat that. As far as I understand it, they are looking for bright people who can come up with imaginative and innovative responses to situations, and who want to work to make the organisation the best that it can be.

I know it sounds stupid, but being yourself and letting your natural personality come out is really important. Even just on my intake, there are so many different personalities, and our training has really emphasised that we should find our own styles of working (for example in things like negotiations) and it becomes really clear once you start that a diversity of skills and styles is really necessary for any team to work well together. To be honest, I thought I'd messed up my Final Selection Board interview when I flounced in and shrilled "Hiya, y'alriiiight?" and was met with a few blank faces and a rather stately "Welcome, Miss Russell". I had in my mind an image of what they were looking for, and when I overanalysed the interview after I left I was convinced that I hadn't lived up to that image. But, of course, there isn't one type of person that they are looking for.

Posted at 20:06 05 November 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[1]

This Week...

Last week and this week I am spending at the National School of Government, doing a course entitled Modern Diplomacy. It has actually been quite challenging so far, but it has also been a lot of fun, which is always nice! Our trainers are great, and the course itself is really interesting, and covers a really wide range of issues. I've also found it really helpful in teaching me more about the parliamentary process, and how my work fits in with this.


My internet at home has been on the blink this week, and as I haven't been in the office this week, I have yet to respond to the couple of comments that people have posted about the recruitment process for Policy Entrants. I can only run through my experiences, but am happy to do this to give a bit of a picture of what it feels like to go through the (rather lengthy) process. I will post something soon about this! I would recommend checking out the application website - which you can access either through the FCO careers website, or direct at www.faststream.gov.uk. On that site, you can also find a lot of information about previous new entrants (including university background, ethnicity and gender) - I know this year's report isn't up yet, but it might help to give a picture.

Posted at 22:49 29 October 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[4]

Week 2...

Have been very lax and not posted regularly over the last week so lots to catch up on!

At the end of last week, after our 'Introduction to the EU' course, we had a two more days of training. Covered quite a range of things - everything from another simulation exercise to an introduction to HR. It did also involve a slightly dull IT training session possibly designed for those who had never seen a computer before (not necessarily a bad thing, but not the most interesting aspect of our training).

Week 2 has been mainly based in our new departments (apart from another riveting day training on one of our IT systems - sorry, IT seems to have taken a bit of a battering in today's blog!). It has actually been fantastic to see how the department works and get to meet the teams (who have all been very friendly) and to start getting my hands on some work and going to meetings. The main problem this week has been trying to decipher the weird acronym language that every speaks/writes/emails in, but from what I hear that's not a problem unique to the FCO (or indeed unique to government).

And to cap off the week, the other new starters and I went out on Friday night with some of last year's intake. Whilst it was great to meet loads of people who have been doing Policy Officer jobs for almost a year now, it did also involve the mortifying experience of being recognised by people I had never met thanks to this blog! And trying to think of something interesting to say about my first few weeks when people have already read about my experiences on here was actually surprisingly difficult! Actually, I meant to say something about this in response to a comment last week about how I ended up doing this blog - its not something that is in my job spec at all. I was asked if I would mind participating in the new blog venture before I started, as I think they were keen to give an insight into the initial impressions of the FCO on a new starter. That was actually slightly terrifying, as not only was I still getting to grips with the idea of actually having been given this job, but I was now also writing about getting to grips with it on the internet! But I did want to do it - I remember how I felt when I was considering applying (and even once I had started the application procedure) and how much I would have appreciated being able to read about someone else's experiences and indeed have a forum to ask questions about the Diplomatic Service as a career. I know that the Policy Entrant application process is open at the moment (you can find the link for this on the FCO website in the careers section, or just google it), so please feel free to post any questions you might have and I can try to answer them as best I can.

Next week and the week after, we will be undertaking more training - this time at the National School of Government doing a course in Modern Diplomacy. The course looks great - really interesting programme and a chance to hone some of the skills that my week in the department has shown me that I need.

Just a quick note to say good luck to the next batch of new entrants, who start today! It really is a lot of fun, despite how terrified you are the night before!

Posted at 07:56 22 October 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[1]

So far so good....

Today was Day 3 - a training day entitled 'Introduction to the EU'. Perhaps unfairly, I wasn't expecting this to be as interesting as it was. To be completely honest, my knowledge of the workings of the EU was rather superficial, so I was a little panicked when our trainer announced that we were going to be doing some activities and simulations based around the EU. It felt a little like those (rare - honestly!) days at uni when I'd stumble into a class having failed to do any kind of preparation only to find my tutor's knowing eyes on me - "And Sarah, why don't you tell the class what you think about this.....?". Those were stressful times that I thought I had left behind me! However, fortunately for me, those days are long gone and this turned out to be a rather less embarrassing situation. In fact, we spent the morning learning about the different bodies within the union, and the remit of each, which I found particularly helpful to get everything clear in my head. Thankfully, our trainer was really open to questions (as were lots of the other, better-informed, new starters who I pestered all day with questions!), so I felt mildly more prepared for the impending simulation.

Written Transcript.

Hi. I am opening the first video up-link for my blog. I'm in the first week. Currently on day three and today we're on an introduction to the EU course. At the moment we're actually about to go and do a simulation of an EU meeting and each person is representing a separate country. So at the moment everyone's sort of building alliances. They have all been given a spec to work on about what their interests are for their country and how they can best serve those in the meeting and we all have an agenda of things we need to go through. It is quite good because it gives, only one person here is obviously going to be the UK and it gives people a really great chance to actually literally put themselves in the shoes of another country and see the kind of issues and interests that would affect that country.

We were given a scenario of an inter-governmental conference with specific issues to address, and we were each given a country to represent. We were also given a very short briefing pack about that country to give us some ideas about key interests and how the issues raised in this conference would impact upon each country within the EU framework. Some hasty alliance-building followed and you can see everyone negotiating in the background on the video uplink I've put on here! Despite these valiant attempts to build consensus before the conference even started, we found some serious sticking points as people really thought long and hard about what would be important to the country they were 'representing'. The drawn out negotiations were, in the end, fruitful (possibly hastened by the fact that it was edging towards the end of the day!) and gave us all a great insight into the value of fresh ideas in negotiating. So, as it turns out, I now feel substantially more informed about the workings of the EU, and the simulation managed to really develop my interest in working with the EU, as well as giving all of us the chance to spend some time looking at a particular situation in detail from another country's perspective.

Right, off now to eat some of the Ferrero Rocher from the pyramid that my flatmates built for me in celebration of the new job. I think they are still laughing about this....

Posted at 08:09 11 October 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[1]

First Impressions

Having woken up stupidly early on Monday morning, paranoid that I was going to sleep in, I then arrived stupidly early at the office. Thankfully recognising a few faces in Reception made things slightly easier, and broke the ice a little! The first day was really tiring for me, loads to take in and loads of names to remember. However, we were given a great introduction to the FCO and the FCO's strategic priorities by our fantastic trainer, who definitely put us all at our ease. One thing that I found particularly encouraging was that we were given a talk about diversity within the organisation on our first day. Although it may not be as diverse yet as it might hope to be, I personally thought that this showed the FCO is taking this as seriously as it should be and seemed to be demonstrating an ongoing commitment to this. I was also impressed that we were very much encouraged to challenge our speaker on this, and encouraged to approach them with suggestions and ideas.


I also received my brown envelope - very exciting! I am going to be working in the Middle East and North Africa Directorate, which I am really pleased about. I chose to focus my studies a little on the Middle East and have travelled in the region, so I'm excited to be able to work with some of the issues that I have spent so long learning about!

Posted at 07:21 11 October 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[2]

Not long now...

Now only a few days to go until I start. Obviously I am now wracked with nerves (despite being somewhat reassured that the job is really mine by the fact that they have plastered my photo all over the web), and getting a little apprehensive about what life will actually be like, day-to-day, as an FCO employee.


As far as I understand, pretty much the whole of the first month will be taken up by training (rather vague I know!), and then I will start my first official post. In response to Ethel's comment - unfortunately I don't have a clue what area I will be working on! Apparently, I find out my post on my first day when I am given a brown paper envelope with it in. I can't decide if this is for dramatic effect or if they really haven't made up their mind where to put me yet. It is a bit of a shame I think, as it would be a lot easier to feel excited about the new job if I knew exactly what it was! However, I do have the month of training to get my head round the new role, and to acquaint myself with the team I will be working with.


A few days ago, I met up with my graduate buddy for a quick coffee and a chat. I have met him once before, but it was good to pop in again and familiarise myself with the office. I think that this sort of mentoring scheme is a great idea, it really gives you the chance to ask the type of questions that you would be far too embarrassed to ask HR, and of course it gives you a snapshot of the type of people who work there. The same day I also met up with some of the other new starters. Kindly organised by one of us, it was really useful to meet up with other people in the same situation, and to know that all the faces I see on Monday won't be totally unfamiliar!

Posted at 11:12 04 October 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[4]

Starting out in the FCO

I am part of this year’s intake on to the Diplomatic Service Fast Stream at the FCO, and I start in the first week of October. The application process has, in all, taken about a year, and so it still feels rather shocking that I will actually be starting soon. In fact, it still comes as a constant, but pleasant, surprise that I have  indeed been offered the job (the fact that I check my offer letter a good few times a week – just to be sure -  doesn’t seem to change this!).

I only graduated from university in July this year, having studied War Studies and History Joint Honours at King’s College London, and only began to even consider a career in the FCO during my last two years at university. Whilst I am wholeheartedly enthusiastic about contributing to the work that the FCO does around the globe, I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about whether the atmosphere and culture of the FCO would be somewhere that I could feel at home. In truth, the stereotypical image of an FCO Fast Streamer did put me off somewhat. However, in reality, I have met a really wide range of people through the application process alone, and have come to feel that the FCO is in fact a very different organisation to the one I imagined. That process did much to dispel my preconceptions of what the FCO would be like and reassured me that it is a very vibrant and modernising organisation.  I can only look forward to this being confirmed once I start work!

Posted at 17:16 26 September 2007 by Sarah Russell  |  Comments[9]