A Day in the Life of in the Civil Service Fast Stream

We recently caught up with Bright Network member Paige to chat about her career progression since getting a job. Paige previously wrote a Success Story with us where she shared her experience of the Civil Service Fast Stream application process. You can read her insights here. Since then, Paige has established herself well in the Fast Stream, progressing between roles and presenting her work to her colleagues. Luckily for us, Paige is back to tell us about her experience of the Fast Stream and what a day in the life in the Civil Service is really like. Read on to learn what working in the Civil Service involves and whether it’s the career path for you.

What do you do in the Civil Service Fast Stream?

The Civil Service is the agency that helps the government implement the policies it makes. Because of this the scope of what you could be working on in the Civil Service is vast. You might be in a research-heavy role looking into how policies could impact the general population and the impact an existing policy has had on the general population. This research helps the government to understand what’s going well and what they can change to improve quality of life for everyone. Or, like Paige, you might be in a more commercial team working to understand the market. As such, working in the Civil Service means having great research skills, an analytical mind and confidence to speak with members of your team and present your findings.

The Fast Stream is a programme for people entering the Civil Service where they can learn about the options available to them by moving around in different departments and doing different jobs.

We started by asking Paige to reflect on working as in the Civil Service.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned since starting?

Be authentic. I’m on a leadership scheme and I work in industries where there are people from very different backgrounds to me. Lots of them are quite privileged, so have different day-to-day experiences. The key thing I’ve learned from different mentors is to be true to yourself and help other people learn where you can.

The working conditions of in the Fast Stream

The type of work you’re doing dictates your working environment within the Civil Service. Your work could be office-based and conducting your research through looking into statistics. Alternatively, you could be speaking directly with members of the public and businesses to understand their thoughts and opinions on a subject. In the Fast Stream, you may have your own projects that you’re working on, but you may also support your colleagues by helping them with their projects.

Being a training programme, the Fast Stream involves keeping a record of the hours you work and a log of the tasks you’ve done. This is so you can demonstrate the impact your work has had when you have performance reviews. Additionally, you may have exams to complete throughout your time in the Fast Stream to show what you’ve taken onboard.

We asked Paige about what it’s like working for the Civil Service in the Fast Stream.

What has been the highlight of being in the Fast Stream so far?

I’ve been working on two big commercial projects over the last few months, and I had a full learning and development session which included a big presentation on what I’d been working on telling the team about what my projects were. I was able to help my colleagues out by writing up documents and leaving a bit of a legacy.

What’s one thing you didn’t expect?

I didn’t expect to be thrown into the deep end as much as I have been! Overall, it’s really paid off because your hand isn’t held as much and from day one you have to figure out what your job is and go from there. You decide what your daily plan is like because the scheme is about leadership. I didn’t expect to be given so much autonomy from day one.

A typical day in the life in the Civil Service Fast Stream

In the Fast Stream, since you rotate the departments you’re working in, your working day may change between teams you’re working with. Many departments in the Civil Service include flexible working hours where you’re trusted to complete your tasks and projects within the working day, but you can set the specific hours based on your commitments outside of work and preferences. Generally, you work 37 hours a week in the Fast Stream, but this may increase around the end of projects where your workload gets heavier.

Paige took us through a typical day in the Civil Service Fast Stream.

What is the first thing you do when you start working?

Working from home most of the time, so I get my coffee and my smoothie and open my laptop to start my day! I’ll check my emails and make a to-do list. In the strategy role I’ve just finished, I gather a lot of evidence like stakeholder engagement which involves booking in meetings with teams I’m working with. I was working in the commercial team, but to do my project I needed to speak to people in the marketing team, finance team, and others around the business. It was a lot of figuring out who I needed to speak to to move forward in the project.

What do you do throughout the day?

Lots of email and lots of meetings! I typically work with a manager who wants a task done, so I take on the task and create a project brief. If it comes out of the project brief that I need to speak to someone in the finance department, I draft an email and send it to them, then have a meeting with them to get all the information I need.

Some of my work is research-based. I worked in a commercial strategy team, and I needed to figure out what our competitors were doing, what our partners were doing and what are the sustainability strategies. Lots of it was researching what’s current at that time and how can we get a competitive edge over companies in the same industry. I’d then write this up into a report and make a presentation to feedback to the team.

How you could work in the Civil Service Fast Stream

Working in the Fast Stream involves having great research skills and a willingness to unpick the cause of a problem and help the public. To start your career in the Fast Stream, you typically need an undergraduate degree in any subject at 2:2 grade or above. Learn more about the skills, qualifications and experience you need by reading our job profile on the Civil Service.

We asked Paige for her advice on how you can get into the Civil Service Fast Stream.

What top tips would you give Bright Network members wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Try everything even if you think it isn’t suited to you. I know what I want to do now because I’ve taken the time to try things, so I know what I like and what I don’t like. The best way I’ve figured this out is by trying things and eliminating what I haven’t enjoyed. When you’re applying for jobs, be open and don’t get in a cycle of thinking you can’t apply for new things. Put yourself out there and don’t be shy or afraid!

Have you been inspired by Paige? Are you considering working life in the Civil Service? Read more about the Civil Service and view the current public sector and government jobs available now.