Advice for a trainee bureaucrat.

October 1, 2007 11:10 AM

What advice would you give a new civil servant/public administrator? Tell me what I need to learn!

So I have a job starting with the British Civil service in just over six months (details here). It will be a management/policy analysis role, though I have no idea in which department.
I have half a year to prepare, and I want to spend it learning as much as I possibly can: what should I be studying? Are there any books that a public administrator just has to have read? Any relevant blogs? Perhaps you have a recommendation for a management book, or some political tome that you think anyone who hopes to understand the world can't do without. A focus on the UK would be ideal, but isn't essential.
And, of course, if there is anyone who has experience in this field, any general advice would be extremely well appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

posted by greytape to work & money (5 comments total)

Read this site, which encompasses most of a book called How To Be A Civil Servant by a former senior civil servant at the DTI - it's an excellent places to start for the nuts and bolts of how it works. This guide (PDF) shows you a more satirical side...

But mostly, relax - your skills will stand you in good stead and you'll get relevant training. If you've got any other questions I'm a civil servant of some 5 years, e-mail is in profile if you want to ask specific questions.
posted by greycap at 12:07 PM on October 1, 2007 [2 favorites]

I'd second greycap's advice about not worrying too much. If you made it through the selection process you are obviously capable and you will get loads of training - both job specific and developmental - when you start.
posted by ninebelow at 12:56 PM on October 1, 2007

Hadn't noticed you were a prospective Fast Streamer. The training point is particularly the case as a Fast Streamer - you get dedicated training days at the National School of Government which has courses ranging from management skills to hardcore government finance. Probably within 6 months of you starting you will go on PGCS as it's known or Parliament, Government and Civil Service in full - this is a week of intensive introduction to how the civil service works, your role, Ministers' role, how legislation works, etc. You'll meet lots of people from other departments there, try to book a week which is at Sunningdale (the residential week down near Ascot) rather than the London venue because Sunningdale is far more fun and you can get drunk with your coursemates each night.

Anyway the long and the short of it is that if you've made it through the rigours of selection for the Fast Stream you've got the skills to do well. Specific knowledge is not required until you get there, particularly given you don't know which department you'll be posted to. (I went through the Fast Stream and had exactly the same worries, all I read before I started was the book I reference above which is now free online at the site I mention, and I did fine).
posted by greycap at 1:35 PM on October 1, 2007

Buy, "How to be a minister" by Gerald Kaufman (it's on Amazon) It's written from his point of view as a Labour minister in the late 70's, but much of it is still accurate.

And seconding PGCS: it's excellent. Take advantage of as much training as your department lets you: if you're lucky you'll get 15 days or so in the first year, reducing after that.

Oh and read through your department's strategic plans, read the Hansards for your departments monthly oral questions in the House and generally learn as much as you can about the department before you start.

Best of luck!
posted by tonylord at 7:31 PM on October 1, 2007

You should learn the soft skills to be good at the job. The job specific stuff will come when you're in at the deep end.

Most civil servants are hopeless at organisation, IT, doing presentations, etc. Spend some time boning up on GTD, Microsoft Office and Outlook (especially keyboard shortcuts), and Beyond Bullets to make you life easy (and your boss impressed).

If you're really keen and don't mind paying, you could think about doing a course in management skills too.
posted by TrashyRambo at 6:44 PM on October 3, 2007