• David’s 3 Keys to Civil Service Career Success

    Careers rarely follow a straight path, especially in the Civil Service. Our conversation with David Francis, former Senior Civil Servant and Director of the West London Alliance, was testament to that. At 18, David started his career as a chartered surveyor and has ended up leading huge national, regional and local programmes, including Help to…


  • Demystifying Civil Service Behaviours: Scott’s 3 Lessons

    Mindset and methodology were at the heart of our career conversation with Scott Fielding, a former Senior Civil Servant working as a consultant at Deloitte. Scott shared a candid account of how he cut through the complex language and process of Civil Service applications to secure new roles & promotions across six government departments. Here…


  • 3 Lessons from a Director General: Justin Russell’s Journey

    Mindset and mission were at the heart of our recent career conversation with Justin Russell, a seasoned public servant with decades of experience across the Civil Service. As the first senior guest in the Unofficial Guides event series, Justin offered a candid and generous account of his journey – from academic beginnings to strategy roles…


  • Mastering Civil Service Applications: Key Insights from Our Workshop

    Earlier this month, we hosted another one of our Application Workshops. This is part of our ongoing mission at Unofficial Guides to level the playing field for anyone trying to break into the Civil Service. With a brilliant group of early and mid-career professionals, we rolled our sleeves and dove deep into the real work…