Nafisa’s embracing the opportunities
Nafisa Kiani is a Project Support Officer.
Before I worked for the House of Commons, I was a Therapy Assistant. I was delivering exercise and mobility sessions to patients recovering from stroke, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions, prior to undertaking a second undergraduate degree in Speech Therapy.
I also did lots of voluntary work in schools and hospitals, as well as a care home and clinic. In one hospital, I worked in an administrative capacity, ensuring patients’ dietary needs were accommodated. I also did voluntary work as a Translator and Legal Adviser, resolving legal queries.
When I joined the House of Commons, my first role was for the Table Office, where I was inputting oral and written questions, adding MPs names onto early day motions, transferring parliamentary questions to different government departments, and resolving MPs queries via email and phone. I also worked for Hansard (which is the official transcripts for Parliamentary debate), editing ministerial statements.
My role in the Overseas Office involved processing claim forms for delegation visits abroad. I then worked for the Serjeant at Arms office, allocating third-party hire commercial events to events coordinators, as well as processing timesheets, minute-taking, and devising agenda papers. Here, I got involved in three new projects: devising a SharePoint site, so staff independently sign-up to events; creating a handbook on policies and procedures for new starters; and devising covid-19 risk assessment papers for committee meetings.
My advice is to be open to working in different departments, through a secondment or new role. This will equip you with important and valuable new skills and experience. Ask managers to involve you in new projects so you can outline strong examples for future interviews, which can aid your career progression.
Also, always think out of the box and come up with innovative ideas on how a department’s way of working can be improved to benefit the team in general.
Nafisa is making Parliament happen, and so could you.