So what drew me to do here is probably two things. One is making a social impact, the second is probably the culture.
I'm comfortable in testing out my ideas and also like, you know, starting my career with like a lot of support around people who went to my university before or like who study economics just like me.
So in researching the program, I was able to learn about the wide range of areas that DTF works in, whether it's social policy, housing policy, even, an involvement in foreign investment and trade to an extent.
So really, depending on what your interest is, there is an opportunity really to work across a wide range of areas. So that really was a key part of my interest in applying for the program.
There’s only one intern per team, so your team's really able to focus on you and you get to be involved in a whole lot more work
I think it's very eye opening and also like I really enjoyed working with other interns. They have really great ideas, I’m working with very capable people.
I feel like I've just had a head start in working in an office space. Being able to learn how to build connections with people. And I improved my presenting skills, being able to manage stakeholders, understand different policy issues quickly enough so that you can have influence and be able to change policy into the direction.
The most rewarding aspect of the internship program I found were the learning and development opportunities throughout, and that was both through formal training opportunities around public service style writing guidelines and so forth, but also the more informal fireside chats and conversations that we were able to have throughout the program with senior members of the DTF staff. Building a network of both experienced and senior professionals, but also fellow early career interns and graduates, which I expect will last throughout my working caree has really helped me understand where I'd like to go with my graduate career.
The advice would give to people applying for the internship is definitely don't hesitate. Just be yourself and also be confident with your own skills.
Be really enthusiastic, I think, in approaching the application. Getting a good understanding of the kind of work that DTF does, the kind of roles that you'd like to work in, tailor your responses to where you'd like to go in the program, that can really allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and demonstrate your interest in applying to the program.
If you're really keen on policy and working in this space, just apply. Even if you think you won't get it, just put your head in the ring. Just be yourself.
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