In his soon-to-be-published political memoir, Politics: Between the Extremes, the former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has admitted that he regrets not having asked for more civil service advice when he took up his post in the coalition government.
“My mistake, at least at first, was to accept the model presented to me,” he writes. “Having negotiated the coalition agreement without the help of civil servants, and with no experience in government myself, I simply didn’t see the need to surround myself with teams of officials.”
Clegg soon realised his mistake. But his misconception about how the civil service works isn’t limited to would-be senior politicians. Many of those who eagerly apply each year for the civil service fast stream – one of the most popular graduate employment schemes in the country – do so without fully realising what it will be like to work for the government.
With this year’s scheme about to open, we asked Guardian readers who successfully applied to the fast stream programme and who now either work for or have previously worked for the civil service what they enjoyed best and least about the work. Here are some of their responses.
The good
Work that matters
“I love working on the key issues facing our country and the world today. Being ‘in the room’ and providing ministers with advice and options to consider is something I am incredibly proud of. It’s always fun to be working on the issues all your friends are talking about in the pub.” Matt, 24*.
“I love knowing that my work has impact, seeing policies I have worked on in newspapers. The civil service gives you real responsibility rather than just feeling like you’re an intern making coffee. The moment I realised I had really made it was when I met the chairman for the company my mum cleans for.”Beth, 25.
Great opportunities
“Sheer diversity. No where else could you go from working in prisons to health to pensions without ever leaving. I have met some of the brightest and most committed people.” Mary, 22.
“I’ve had great opportunities to attend training that has really helped me to develop, and at work I’ve continually been given stretching challenges. It’s also very rewarding to know that you are working for the public good.” Alex, 21.
“I’ve been brought together with an amazing bunch of like-minded people, some of whom I’ve formed real friendships with outside work. The work has been super interesting so far. I work on policy that is incredibly relevant and current and it’s very interesting to work in the engine room of central government.” Anna, 23.
Trust
“Being trusted by my managers is a big draw for me to the public sector. In other, private sector jobs, I felt like a workhorse that my manager wanted to get their money’s worth out of. In the civil service I am trusted to manage my time responsibly and to get tasks done.” Karen, 25.
The bad
Inflexibility
“It can be slow to get things done at times. For good and for bad there is a big focus put on stakeholder engagement, whatever it is you are doing. Most of the time this is great as you get to see what all the different views are on something and it can help you no end. At times though it can be frustrating when you are waiting for so many different people to comment. Different departments can have very different views on something and it can take a long time to come to an agreement.” Matt, 24.
Pay
“The pay is not as attractive as some private sector opportunities, but I would argue that the quality of work and the other benefits (work/life balance, pension, etc) more than outweigh this.” Matt 24.
“Pay is a particular concern. I am paid less in 2016 than I was as a new joiner in 2012 for doing substantially the same job. I am required to live in London but given no London weighting for my salary – half of my take home pay goes on rent alone.” David, 30.
Rigid career paths
“Fast streamers have no career control for four years. Fast streamers are prohibited from applying for other roles within the civil service and this can be extremely frustrating as opportunities pass by. The lack of direct input into jobs is a big concern. Department and role allocations are done in secret and the results announced as a fait accompli. This can be disempowering and some roles are extremely poor quality, whilst others turn out to be unintentionally excellent.” David, 30.
“There is no senior career path for experienced qualified staff unless they are on a scheme such as the fast stream. This discriminates against older staff or those who aren’t graduates.” Maria, 46.
“Too many civil servants have no experience of other workplaces or other ways of doing things and the civil service is not keeping pace with more modern attitudes to careers. I was keen to have a more varied career, with time out on secondment or for study, but the rules are very restrictive in many departments. My only choice was to leave, at which point I was told ‘you know there’s no way back?’ – which is currently true, given the lack of external recruitment in vast majority of roles.” Catherine, 36.
Still too many white men
“I grew up on a council estate and while I went to a good school and university, I did not go to Oxbridge. When I first joined the civil service I lacked confidence and felt I did not belong there or was good enough to be on the fast stream. It is a difficult place to start working when you feel your face does not fit. Eventually I did find that not all of the civil service or the fast stream is comprised of privately-educated white men, but it did take time before I felt like I belonged.” Beth, 25.
Not sure about making a difference
“You can be very remote from the impact of your work. It’s hard to know sometimes the extent of the contribution that you are making.” Alex, 21.
And the ugly
Lack of resources
“The message that in some areas our job was to do as little as we could get away with, because of a lack of resources in areas such as climate change was very disheartening.” Anna, 36.
Lack of diversity
“I do think the civil service struggles with diversity, particularly on the fast stream. It needs to do far more to get more people on the fast stream from working class and ethnic minority backgrounds. Only in the past year have the civil service talked about social mobility and people from ethnic minorities are more likely to drop out of the fast stream,” Beth, 25.
Poor management
“I have had a very poor experience of the fast stream to date. My postings have been of poor quality, my managers have not been particularly good and the support from the fast stream team, while better than it was, is still not good enough. Others in the fast stream have had great postings and are getting a lot out of it, but I am not. If I found a better job I would take it.” Richard, 19.
“I’ve just resigned from the fast stream after two years – it felt like indentured servitude by the end.” Alison, 24.
*Some names have been changed.
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