We are delighted to share this blog from Christina Spicer. Christina graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MSc in Nationalism Studies in 2020 and currently works as a Senior Policy Advisor for the UK Government.
Many thanks to Christina who reflects on her career journey and shares some tips she’d give to her younger self before setting off on her career.
Hi Christina, can you tell us a bit about your career in policy work?
Very early on in my career, a mentor asked if I knew the area of government policy in which I wanted to be an expert. I felt uncertain about my response, but sceptically stated that I didn’t want to be an expert in any one policy area. Instead, I wanted to be an expert in how to develop impactful policy, how to influence decisions, and how to bring people together to determine the best outcome for society.
Over the past 7 years in both Canada and the UK, I’ve had the privilege of drafting legislation, creating government policy, and managing stakeholder relationships in a variety of policy areas including emission reduction, procurement reform, professional standards, homelessness, children’s social care, and local economic growth.
What led you to this path?
A mix of education and work experience has been central to building my career. After completing my BA double major in Political Science and History at the University of Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC), I received post-graduate acceptances into 4 of the top 25 universities in the UK, including the University of Edinburgh. Due to a variety of reasons, I decided to start my civil service career instead, with the commitment to myself that I would complete my Masters when the time felt right, both personally and professionally.
After 3 years of working for the BC Public Service, I decided to reapply to Edinburgh to complete my MSc in Nationalism Studies. My time at Edinburgh was invaluable as it refined my research and writing skills, advanced my understanding of the political landscape – specifically in Scotland and the wider UK – and offered me a wide network for opportunities after graduation. Completing my Masters slightly later allowed me to apply my education to real life experiences and contributed to my ability to find a position with the Scottish Government.
What advice would you give to someone starting out on a similar journey?
Upon reflection of my time with the BC Government, Scottish Government, and now UK Government, I can think of 5 main pieces of advice I would give my younger self, or anyone who is considering starting a career in the civil service.
- Speak to someone you don’t know: I go out of my way, around every 8 weeks, to reach out to someone I don’t know to ask whether they would be interested in having an introductory chat. This chat can be about their current role to learn more about a new area, or a previous role they had to discuss their career path. The worst that can happen is they say no, but in my experience, people don’t often pass up on an opportunity to speak about themselves – so capitalise on that!
- Find comfort in discomfort: Try to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable at least once a week. If you don’t feel a little uncomfortable, then you are not being challenged, and you need to be challenged to grow.
- The power of saying yes: If an opportunity becomes available to volunteer, complete a training course, speak at an event – the list goes on – always ask yourself, why not? If you can’t think of a good reason, always say yes to those ‘random’ opportunities – you never know where that experience might lead you.
- Build your skills tool belt: Consider the type of job you would like to have down the road and think about the experience, or ‘tools’, you’ll need for that job. With this in mind, you’ll be able to strategically select positions early in your career which provide you with the tools you need to ‘collect’. I’ve collected various different tools from different jobs to be able to create a baseline ‘set of tools’. This process never stops, and I already have the next couple skills in mind to be collected.
- Use the network around you: I would never be where I am today without the support of the people around me. I cannot count the times I’ve reached out to colleagues or professionals I know had the relevant experience for feedback on my CV and applications. Don’t be precious about other people reading them and ask for help.
I wish you all the best in your career search and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or would like to chat!
Thanks Christina!
You can connect with Christina on LinkedIn if you want to chat to her.
We are hosting several events during our #EdCareersforSocialGood campaign so search #EdCareersforSocialGood on MyCareerHub to see more content related to third sector or public sector careers with social impact.
