Career advice from a consultant and policy analyst

What’s the best advice you ever received? What tips did you wish you knew earlier? How did this help you on your career journey?

We’ve spoken to members of the Apolitical community to share their top three pieces of career advice with us. In this article, an anonymous civil servant explains why it’s important to own your mistakes, learn and move forward in their role as a consultant/policy analyst.

Your first piece of advice:

Be respectful despite the other person’s attitude or disrespectful demeanour. Don’t take anything personally. Read assignments, emails and projects carefully, and don’t answer/respond in haste.

Your second piece of advice:

Benefit from the resources and the opportunities available to increase knowledge and connections with other internal and external departments and partners.

Your third piece of advice:

Be always prepared before a meeting. If unclear, ask questions. As a new civil servant, it can be confusing and at times daunting learning about all the layers of government and policies. Take your time. Making mistakes is inevitable - you will make mistakes; own it, learn from it and move forward.

Want to share your own career advice with the Apolitical community? Use this form to let us know!

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