Tania Kendrick is a civil servant in the UK’s Cabinet Office, working on relations between the UK and the European Union
Tania Kendrik studied physics at the University of Bristol in the UK before joining the Civil Service fast-stream development programme, which saw her have postings at the UK’s Ministry of Defence, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Cabinet Office. After completing the scheme, she decided to stay in the Cabinet Office, where she now works full-time on relations between the UK and the European Union.
What skills do you use every day in your job?
One key skill I use every day is communication. A large part of my job involves taking complex and detailed information, understanding what is most important, and communicating it clearly and concisely to different audiences. This can vary from briefing senior colleagues and ministers, where I need to distil a lot of information into the key points they need to know to make a decision, to producing guidance and written products that need to be clear and accessible to a wide range of stakeholders. Being able to adapt how I communicate depending on the audience, and being able to do this quickly, while making sure the key messages are understood, is vital.
Although a physics degree and a career in policy may not seem to have an obvious connection, I constantly use the analytical skills I developed at university. I need to look at complex information and evidence, identify the key issues, and consider how different factors should feed into decision-making. Then I need to make sure that recommendations and advice are grounded in evidence, while also considering different perspectives, potential risks and the wider context. Being able to analyse information critically – and use it to support informed, evidence-based decision-making – is crucial.
What do you like best and least about your job?
What I love most about working in the Civil Service is that I’m constantly learning something new. Policy covers such a wide range of issues, and I really enjoy the challenge of getting to grips with a new topic, understanding how it works, and gradually seeing the bigger picture. There’s something really satisfying about that moment when everything starts to click and you understand why something is done in a particular way, or realize there are considerations you would never have thought about when you started. I like that no two days are exactly the same and that there is always something new to learn.
What I like least about my job, which is something I’m still getting to grips with, is finding time to properly switch off. Policy development can take time, and it’s easy to find yourself thinking about a problem outside work, such as trying to devise a potential solution or wondering if there is a better way to frame something. It’s really important to build things into your routine that help you switch off. For me, that means setting clear boundaries, exercising straight after work, particularly running and playing hockey, and making time to catch up with friends.
What do you know today, that you wish you knew when you were starting out in your career?
Something I wish I could tell my past self, especially throughout university and coming up to graduation, is not to worry so much about having everything figured out. I focused too much on trying to work out my exact “dream” physics job. But looking back, I realize I didn’t necessarily need a clear plan. As a teacher once said to me, studying physics opens so many doors. You develop skills that can take you into a wide range of careers from finance and technology to consulting and, of course, the Civil Service. So my advice to others would be: you don’t need to know exactly what you want to do straight away. Try things, get some work experience, speak to people in different careers, and be open to opportunities you might not have considered. The world really is your oyster.