We recently caught up with Anna about how she secured a spot on the Civil Service Fast Stream, how she built her commercial awareness before the interview and her top tips for Bright Network members looking to follow in her footsteps.
What stood out to you about the Civil Service Fast Stream?
It's always been really important to me that the work I ended up doing was meaningful and worked for the public good, so the Civil Service seemed like the best space to do that. It also seemed like a great opportunity to directly apply what I'd learned at university to a career. The inclusive culture of the organisation was also very appealing to me, particularly as I have a learning difficulty.
How did you build your commercial awareness before the interview?
I completed an online course on the importance of commercial awareness in the civil service. It's less clear how commercial awareness fits into the public sector, so the course was very useful as it discussed commercial awareness in the context of the civil service. Keeping up with the news has also been very useful, given that government contracts and procurement are particularly hot topics at the moment.
What would be your top tip to members going through the application process?
The civil service is very transparent about its recruitment criteria. All applicants are assessed in line with Civil Service Behaviour profiles, which you can find online. I can't stress enough how important it is to look over these behaviours. You can even plan competency-based questions around these behaviours. There's also example assessments online for specific streams. In my case, I was able to practice a social research knowledge test, which was so useful.
How did Bright Network help you secure this role?
It was a huge help for me to see examples of success stories. I think hearing other people discuss their experience of the application process makes it far less scary and gives you the confidence to apply for competitive schemes. I have a learning difficulty so it's really reassuring to see people from such diverse backgrounds go on to be successful.
What’s been the toughest interview question you've faced and how did you tackle it?
I was asked a really niche knowledge question on qualitative methodologies when I'd mostly prepared for quantitative research questions. I didn't let not knowing the answer set me back. Instead, I deduced an answer from what I thought the question could refer to. You aren't expected to know every single piece of knowledge either, it's a development program, after all, so don't be worried if you make a small mistake.
What top three tips would you give Bright Network members looking to follow in your footsteps?
- Do your research and use all the resources available. You can prepare for the exercises so make sure you do!
- Try to do a practice assessment centre if you get the chance. I attended one and the feedback I received really helped me to prepare for the real one.
- Network with current fast streamers. Everyone I spoke to was really open to giving you tips and advice on the assessment process, so don't be afraid to ask!
Let us know where you've secured your work experience, internship or graduate role. We want to celebrate your success with a gift from us and exclusive invitations to evening networking drinks throughout the year.
