Early Diversity Intern Review

I really enjoyed the insight as it was a good taster experience to what it's like to be working for the civil service. Also, it was good to be based in London so that you are able to see all the buildings and see the history of the civil service.

I felt quite valued, the time there is what you make it. Plenty of opportunities to ask questions and build relationships with senior workers, so you can feel very valued if you build that connection.

There was a lot of guidance and support on how to apply for their graduate schemes, and general help when applying. There was a lot of opportunities to ask questions to a range of people to get their insight. You also get the chance to ask a lot of people who are Fast Streamers, so you don't just get one perspective. Most views on how the grad scheme works were quite consistent.

It helped quite a lot as I think the workshop on networking and applying for grad schemes was really useful as it gave us all real life skills that we could apply straight away. Also, it was clear on how to apply for the grad scheme and how to apply for the SDIP.

it was quite well structured, as expected most events started later than suggested.

It was quite a good atmosphere as the team were quite keen on all of the interns to get to know one another and build some connections. It was very friendly and relaxed, there wasn't many formalities.

Not much for personal training, as there wasn't many opportunities to individually say your concerns/areas of development. For example, I felt confident on the situational judgement tests, but not so in how to conduct yourself in interviews, which i thought could be quite useful. Also, maybe they could have offered some help on the academic tests that most graduate companies put in their application.

It helped quite a lot because we shadowed our fast streamer on 3 days of the week so you were able to get a feel of what it's like to work there day to day. The department I was in was quite chilled out and seemed that people just worked the 7 hrs every day and didn't feel the need to take work home. This was quite surprising as I thought it would be quite intense, but seems to be a good work/life balance.

It helped me understand that there was a good life/work balance. There didn't seem to be much of a 'just get on with it' work-place. Constant meetings were made and constant changes throughout the week for the project they were working on. This all seemed to be expected and understood by the civil servants because of the nature of the job. However, there was a lot of support available.

It was very valuable as being able to listen to the different opinions of a range of people from different backgrounds, and how they felt the transition was from university to the civil service. Also, many of fast streamers didn't come straight from university so it was interesting to see what they did before and why they have now changed career paths.

I haven't yet claimed for my expenses yet, but I do feel that they don't give clear details about what can be re-claimed back and what cannot. For example, it stated that 'the first £10 would be expected to be paid by you' - generally, most interns thought this meant the first £10 spent, however apparently it means the first £10 spent EACH DAY. This seems really unfair as i spent around £20 travelling to and from work for 5 days.. This programme was meant to be aimed at people from low-socio backgrounds, so it doesn't seem to fit the people they were targeting that we have to pay for travel expenses.

Yes, there were many opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the firm. Every day that I spent shadowing I was involved in meetings, therefore able to network with other employers such as managers etc. Also, there was quite a few pre-set up meetings of the fast streamers in that department who were happy to answer questions and tell us about their experience.

There were many networking/social event opportunities, every time the interns met up (3 times) there was allocated 'network' time to get to know others, which was good and I have made some good friends. Also, you get the opportunity to speak and work with people who you wouldn't usually speak to so it helps to get you out of your comfort zone.

nope, this wasn't really explained or brought up as a topic when I was shadowing. It seemed to be that most of them just got together after work for a drink in the local pub/bar and headed home. They all seemed to be very friendly and wanted to spend time together in a casual setting.

Yes, I would. This experience was good just to get a insight into how working in London would be, with the government. It was interesting and entertaining and worth the time in my opinion. Also, most of the interns only had part-time retail jobs therefore being able to be in a different sector and see how they work is really valuable for you to get an idea of what sector you would like to work in.