Future Talent Intern Review

It gave me a fantastic insight into what it would be like to work in the FCO, and I had a huge level of exposure to diplomatic relations. From this point of view I very much enjoyed my placement.

I felt like a useful spare pair of hands to my team, and bonded with them quickly, especially as there was a crisis situation during my placement. I was able to get fully involved in this.

I was not given a huge amount of support by my line manager, as the placement was in the summer and they had booked annual leave for several weeks. However, other members of my team were able to guide me instead, meaning that this was not a huge issue.

Varied dramatically from bored to very busy. This was because the team I was in was very reactive to global events and not able to determine their own workload to an extent.

I feel like I was capable of taking on quite a bit more than I was given, but then the team was dealing with diplomatically sensitive issues which, in hindsight, an intern should not be responsible for.

It assisted me massively - I went on do study for a masters and am now a Fast Streamer. I am not sure I would have passed the Fast Stream tests if it was not for the insight to the civil service that I gained from this placement.

The general atmosphere was very friendly, with a relatively flat structure, e.g. I found the Director of the region (many, many levels above me) very approachable. There were regular team drinks and picnic's in the park - I definitely felt included.

In terms of recruitment and the induction, it was very well organised. However, the actual placement was not - little thought had been given as to what I would actually be doing on a day-to-day basis from an HR perspective. More thought needs to be given to this.

Some level of investment, but not significant. We did have some practice in fast stream assessments, but I would have appreciated more of this, and access to general training.

Having an internship does not short cut the fast stream assessments, and the Diplomatic Service is the most competitive of these. Many people do not pass the assessments straight from University (which is the level of most interns), so on the whole, expect to keep applying.

Yes - the other interns were highly sociable, there were a lots of lunches/dinners/drinks/nights out that were organised by fellow interns.

It is central London - so high!

Central London nightlife if great - there is plenty to do in every direction, with Embankment/Waterloo across the river, and a 5 minute walk to Liecester Square, Covent Garden and Soho. In Westminster itself, there is no shortage of pubs.

Yes - there are a couple opportunities to get involved in half day or single whole day projects, e.g. events hosting.