Yes Minister - 19 August 2011
It may be a myth that all civil servants spend their days playing out the scripts of the TV show ‘Yes Minister’. But, in my job at least, I certainly say it a lot. For the last four months I have been working as the Assistant Private Secretary (APS) to Stephen O’Brien, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of International Development (DFID). However much old hands may scare you with horror stories about the long hours and ...Read More
DFID – one year in - 05 May 2011
One year into my Fast Stream career at DFID (the Department for International Development), I’m loving it just as much as I thought I would. Firstly, let me dispel the myth that you can’t get into DFID as a generalist Fast Streamer: I am proof that you can! It is true that the intake is small, apparently bit older than the average, and most people have had some experience working in the international sector. But there is an intake. I started at DFID ...Read More