The delightful Marylebone Hotel in London was the venue for our latest SHSK Society Professional Networking event focusing on careers in government and the public sector.
Our guest speakers were alumnae Claire Lawrence (Class of 1997), Deputy Geopolitical Director in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (and formerly Ambassador to Lithuania), and Annabelle Green (2015), Senior Policy Advisor at the Home Office.
Both Annabelle and Claire started by talking about their early careers. Before she joined the civil service, Annabelle was advised she needed to get on the Fast Stream, but she has since discovered this is not the case. For some, this works, for others alternative paths in are just as successful. In her case, the entry level route worked perfectly, and she has moved through several different departments via ‘level transfer’ (through which you change jobs but retain the same employment status).
Claire did come in through the Fast Stream but agreed with Annabelle that you certainly do not need to. Claire said she had had a ‘traditional Foreign Office career’. That is, it had great variety. Her first posting was to Guangzhou in South China. After this she went to Freetown in Sierra Leone, then she was posted to Brussels and then London. After London came one of the highlights of her career as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Lithuania, which, she joked, almost came about by accident. She applied for the job to get the interview experience, not thinking she would succeed, and so was pleasantly surprised when she was, describing it as ‘the greatest job in the Foreign Office.’
She was particularly proud of her letter of credence, the official document which states that she is the trusted ambassador of The Queen and speaks on her behalf.
Claire explained that her role as Ambassador to Lithuania involved both the formal – meeting with the President of Lithuania, leading negotiations with Lithuania when the UK left the EU, and working with 13 different government departments – and also the less formal, including hosting the premiere of the latest James Bond film and also Paddington!
Regarding the qualities one needs for working in government, Annabelle said that trust and relationship building were vital as you tend to progress with those around you, making long term relationships likely, so you have to make them work. Claire agreed and added the closely-related ability to negotiate, especially if you needed to convince a colleague to do something they might not want to do. You have to see things from their perspective and work towards a common goal.
They both also stressed the importance of being open to new things, learning to say ‘yes’ to something even if you don’t know what it may involve.
Resilience was another quality both our speakers emphasised. Annabelle said her job could be fast paced with long hours. Claire agreed, stating that you need to understand you will sometimes work under very stressful conditions. But doing more is not always better, she warned; you need to be able to step back sometimes.
But resilience could also be a challenge one faced. As an Ambassador, Claire said she was always on duty and all the previous Ambassadors to Lithuania had been men, which could make you question whether, as a woman, you should be there. Annabelle said she had been warned the civil service was a boys’ club, but that had not been her experience, which she put down to the women who had gone before her.
There were specific challenges to international postings, Claire said. You may be posted to a country whose infrastructure can seem quite primitive compared to what we are used to. Living abroad for years on end can be very hard on your relationships with family and friends.
What came over most strongly during the evening, was the tremendous satisfaction and fulfilment that both Annabelle and Claire got from their careers. After the formal part of the event came to an end, the evening continued over canapes and wine, and both of our excellent speakers continued to discuss their careers more informally with members of our audience.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our speakers and our guests for engaging so wonderfully at this Professional Networking Event and we hope to see you again at future gatherings. If you would like to speak at one of our events, please do contact us by email at alumnae@shsk.org.uk
