So you want to work in policy...Part II

Most common skill to transfer in from past work or school: Strong writing

This is the second part of a series I am writing about what it takes to transition into a policy role. Here is part one. Apolitical.co has recently moved to self-publishing model - all mistakes are my own.

This second article is all about writing in the policy realm. Writing is the most commonly noted skill that transfers well from another discipline or schooling. That said, interviewees also noted that it was humbling to have to adapt already strong writing skills to the policy arena.

The top skill noted for being a policy advisor is often writing - specifically adapted to the audience. Including:

• Writing concise and compelling briefings on complex matters;

• Speaking to delicate matters with diplomacy;

• Writing with clarity on technical topics and understanding how much technical detail is needed (often less is more but not always); and

• Showing appropriate deference to the Minister and their views.

What interviewees said:

From a former journalist:

“I certainly felt that my experience as a journalist would be helpful. In particular, the abilities to write clearly and to go digging for information. It turned out I was right about this. The job ended up being lots of writing and quickly learning about a variety of topics.”

“Another "secret weapon" that I had acquired as a journalist was the ability to take lots of complex information and present it in a concise and compelling way. As I spent more time in government (and subsequently worked in ADM [Assistant Deputy Minister] and DM [Deputy Minister] offices) I better understood the limited time and bandwidth available to senior decision-makers. It is therefore essential to clearly communicate the "so what?" when writing or presenting to these folks.”

From a literature and modern languages major:

“My background is in literature and modern languages, so while I didn’t come into policy work with the same skill sets that my social sciences-educated colleagues have, I have always been a strong writer, which has served me very well. My writing skills definitely got me in the policy door, which I had banked on, although it has taken me many years to learn the nuances of what being a good writer in the policy context means.”

From a former postdoc in health:

“I concluded a postdoctoral fellowship in the health sector [and first worked in a section] that was interested in using data to better understand the behaviours of clients interacting with our services, and to design interventions that could help improve client service. I [then] moved from this Operations position to the policy sector to work on stakeholder engagement activities that support decision-making on key immigration policies and programmes.”

“Good writing skills are valuable whatever position you are in. Being able to identify the key messages you want to pass on, and the core structure that will best support the dissemination and understanding of those key messages is probably the best skill one can have in today’s world where people are inundated. It has certainly served me in policy, where I find there are many more purposes to writing something down and sharing it than in operations, which is more straightforward. Learning to tailor your messaging to the task at hand is even more crucial.

That said, being a good writer wasn’t always sufficient to make the transition smoothly to giving policy advice: Two people mentioned that adapting their already strong writing skills was harder to learn than anticipated:

“Having been told for many years throughout my school and university years that I was a good writer, I was challenged at many stages of my career to translate those skills into the policy context. It took me several years to embrace the “less is more” approach to writing in the policy context, after spending so many years using the more verbose academic approach.”

“I also learned the most from managers or directors who have pushed me to continue to refine my writing skills as a more concise and focused policy writer. This is sometimes a humbling experience, as it is hard for me to take constructive (or sometimes less constructive!) feedback on what I consider to be my strongest professional skill, but ultimately has helped me become a more seasoned and stronger policy advisor.”

Another person who has strong skills also mentioned that the particular style (and jargon) of writing needed in a policy shop took time to acquire. This included being able to distill longer texts into short, strategic material with appropriate touch points and explaining the “so what?”

In conclusion, having strong writing skills is a non-negotiable in a policy world. Though you may have enough strong core skills in this area from schooling or another profession, they may need refinement.

Part three in this series will discuss additional applied skills needed in the policy realm.