Meet Shyam Pillai

I have been in the Civil Service for 22 years across four departments, including the Home Office in an enforcement role, Ofsted as a data and policy analyst, Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government in various policy roles and currently at HM Revenue & Customs in policy/strategy roles. The opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives remains the reason I’m motivated.

Before the Civil Service

I have an academic background in Economics and Accountancy, and joined Ernest & Young’s graduate scheme for 6 months before leaving due to the work/life balance. As with many people leaving education, I was unsure what to do next and had little unconditional support except from my mum. Although I had a part-time weekend job, I was searching for a full-time job for nearly 2 years. It was a very depressing time and a period that still resonates with me. I applied for the Civil Service Fast Stream and didn’t get through at the interview stage,e and although I had career advice from siblings who were established Civil Servants at the time, I was keen to identify my own career path. I applied for a number of Civil Service jobs at EO-HEO but had no luck and no feedback to improve myself.

Breaking Into the Civil Service

While searching for a full-time job, I visited my local library weekly (which has now closed) just to get a break from the daily routine, and would read the daily newspapers (a thing of the past now!), which once included a Home Office mass AO recruitment campaign. My mental health was suffering at the time with anxiety alongside low confidence based on my previous failed job applications, which led me to make excuses not to attend interviews and even travel to some interviews but not enter the building. The process was difficult and was at a time of patchy dial-up internet connectivity and no social media as additional information for support. I don’t remember much of the application process other than it was based on competencies rather than behaviours. I was interviewed by a 2 person panel from an external agency and the rest is history! My interview technique involved using basic STAR but memorised examples from university, voluntary work from school, my part time job and an administrative summer job that I had at Department for Work & Pensions. I had the chance to select between two roles at the Home Office – The one I opted for was an enforcement role around issuing licenses for the international movement of pharmaceuticals drugs.

Life in His Current Role

I currently work as a Strategy Lead in the Customer Compliance Directorate at HMRC looking at strategy/policy matters within the Customs regime. I work in a small team of 6 and my work involves looking at areas of the Customs regime ecosystem that could be improved aligned to the strategic direction of HMRC and government. For instance, I’m currently looking at what more could be done under upstream compliance within the Customs regime. By upstream I mean, seeking to deal with non-compliance before it occurs. Upstream a big priority for HMRC as if done correctly brings together improvements to the Customs ecosystem and seeks out efficiency savings in the process.

My work also involves briefing senior leaders for Customs-related meetings with other government departments, such as Border Force,e or responding to a National Audit Office Customs report that may receive scrutiny at a Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee meeting. No two days are the same, which is an exciting challenge for me!

I have mentored colleagues from different departments over the past 15 years and currently mentor two people at HMRC, which brings personal satisfaction that I’m able to support others to develop and progress.

Career-Changing Moments

While I don’t have any career-changing moments, I initially pursued my career based on testing myself in different types of roles and different departments to help me evaluate compatibility. I have been increasingly resilient to the many setbacks that I have had in my career journey, including learning from failed job applications and dealing with the stresses of having to apply for my own job when there were mass Civil Service job cuts, given the economic downturn following the 2008 global financial crisis.

The most memorable and insightful role that I had was working in the Private Office for 6 months for the late Lord Bob Kerslake when he was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and prior to his appointment as Head of the Civil Service. The role provided me a better understanding of how senior leaders operated, how they prioritised, what was important to them professionally and how they ingested briefing material, sometimes on the way to a meeting. This opportunity was not planned as I was covering for someone on maternity leave,e but it reflected how going out of my comfort zone helped broaden my knowledge and challenged some of my assumptions.

Advice for Future Civil Servants

In the age of social media, AI and greater support compared to over 20 years ago, my advice would be to find a suitable mentor to help you consider whether a Civil Service career is suitable for your profile and how best to enter the Civil Service and which departments could be suitable. Undertaking any voluntary or shadowing in a suitable government department could provide valuable insight into a Profession, department or grade. Success in job applications is subjective, and I would advise investing time in understanding and drawing out how your skills/experience stack up against the core behaviours applicable to most Civil Service jobs in order to develop a robust set of adaptable skills, enhanced by any appropriate training, that you can rely on in any successful job that you land.