Tell us a bit about you?

I am 32 years old, from Motherwell originally but living in Edinburgh since 2017. I did my undergraduate degree in French and Spanish at the University of Glasgow, followed by a MSc in Applied Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh. I’m currently in the final stages of my PhD at Edinburgh, which I’ve been putting the finishing touches to while working at the Scottish Government.

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What subject did you study after leaving school?

I studied French and Spanish as the main subjects of my undergraduate degree, and I also studied varying amounts of Catalan, Italian, German and Scottish Gaelic — I’m a bit of a languages geek!

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What attracted you to apply for the graduate development scheme?

I had the opportunity to do a 3-month internship with the Scottish Government as part of my studies. I had an amazing time on my internship and discovered I really like working in government — especially how varied, challenging and creative it can be.

I found out about the GDP through the internship, and was most attracted to the possibility of rotating through different areas of government, which I thought would help give me a flavour of all the things that the Scottish Government does, and what I might like to do in the future.

The accelerated nature of the programme — aiming to prepare you for a leadership position in a relatively quick period of time — felt like an excellent challenge for my development.

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What is your current post, and what does it involve?

I’m currently in my third post, working in the Corporate Finance Division within the Financial Management Directorate.

Our role is basically to analyse how the budget is being deployed throughout the organisation on a monthly basis, with a view to providing the right information to senior leaders in order for them to make good strategic financial decisions.

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What does a typical working day look like for you?

Spreadsheets — it’s a lot of spreadsheets!

We commission different areas around the Scottish Government to send us their most up to date reports on their budget use and allocations, and these trickle in over the month.

My job is usually to interrogate the figures that come in (and challenge areas on them when appropriate), process them, and create monthly reports that provide an overview of each area’s financial position.

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What has been your key highlight or achievement so far?

I was so anxious about being out of my depth in this post as I had absolutely no finance experience (I’m not even good at maths!).

However, I’ve really surprised myself in how quickly I’ve been able to pick things up. My memorable achievement was being able to spot quite a complex problem with data we had received, and raising this with my manager, and then having my recommendations for resolving it taken forward.

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What are your ambitions for the future?

I’m keeping my mind open, and trying out new things and finding out what I enjoy as I go along the programme.

At some point in my career, I would love to work within the Scottish Government’s network of international offices.

I would also love the chance to work within the Gaelic Policy team, as this is another area I’m passionate about.

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What do you think is the main benefit of participating in the graduate programme?

There are many benefits, but for me the main advantage is being able to experience so many areas of government in such a small space of time. If you’re anything like me, you won’t even have realised how many different policy areas the Scottish Government covers!

The variety keeps things interesting, and helps you realise how the key issues facing the country are dealt with from all different perspectives.

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What do you think is the best thing about working in the public sector?

Working in the public sector gives you a sense of doing something meaningful and worthwhile — your work is literally geared towards making your country a better place to live, and helping people in need.

Beyond this, the flexibility in the Scottish public sector is unmatched, in terms of where you work, when you work, and how you work. Compressed working, ample opportunity for mobility around different jobs – as well as training and progression opportunities — and a focus on maintaining wellbeing are huge draws for me, and I’m sure for many people.

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Would you recommend the programme to graduates thinking of applying?

Absolutely. Applying may seem a bit intimidating at first, but if you enjoy learning new things and working with like-minded people to help make the country a better place, you won’t regret it.

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What career advice would you give your younger self?

It sounds a bit cliché, but I’d tell myself to be less anxious and more curious.

Sometimes the stuff you wouldn’t even imagine doing, or thought yourself incapable of, can be just the right fit. As long as you stay true to your values, you can’t go wrong.