7.20 AM
I get ready to the sound of the news in the background. It's one of the habits I picked up in my grad year that helps me get into the routine of a workday.
8.30 AM
I hear that the weather is nice and decide to walk to work. On my walk, I think about what I want to achieve for the day.
9.00 AM
I check my emails and scan the daily news summary. I pull out any articles that catch my eye. It is helpful to know the hot issues that may affect the agency. This allows me to better cater my research and report to the needs of the senior executive. I have some more urgent tasks this morning so save the longer news stories for later.
9.30 AM
I request content submissions from all the divisions in the agency. This becomes the basis for a weekly report to inform the senior executive on what is happening across the agency. I am careful to check the email for any typos and ensure I am contacting the correct people. When I am certain it is correct, I send the draft up for clearance. I am always grateful for the extra set of eyes!
10.00 AM
I scroll through the team’s shared email inbox to check for any updates. A stakeholder has provided feedback on a training product that will help staff more effectively communicate with the Minister through Ministerial briefs. We have feedback from multiple stakeholders, so I begin to group the feedback into themes to help us evaluate our training product.
10.50 AM
As I am catching up on the news from this morning, a reminder flashes onto my screen. It’s for our upcoming team check-in meeting. I print off the meeting paper, a training evaluation document, and head down to the meeting room. This is the perfect time to flag the training product feedback with my manager and get guidance on how to move forward.
11.40 AM
During the meeting, my manager suggests I let the training production team know there is feedback coming. I ask my manager if they would like to make some tweaks before the product is finalised. I start putting together the requested changes to send at the end of the week.
12.15 PM
I type a message to some of the graduates in my building to see who might be free to meet for lunch. It is always fun when a few of us can get together and catch up. It’s nice to be able to share the graduate experience. It’s helpful to have the support and understanding from others who are going through the same things as I am.
12.45 PM
After I get back from lunch, I finish off compiling the requested feedback changes. My manager suggests I remind our stakeholders that all feedback needs to be in by the end of the week. My manager gives me some advice on how to approach this.
1.30 PM
I dip back into the team email inbox and notice our Parliamentary area has sent out an update. It highlights an upcoming parliamentary committee inquiry that the agency has been asked to attend and provide a submission for. I research the committee on the Australian Parliament House website. I also start mapping out which content will help the relevant business areas prepare for the upcoming committee. I share my ideas with my team, which are well received, and we discuss the best way to approach the upcoming task.
3.00 PM
My teammate is working on content for the monthly branch newsletter. I help write a submission for the ‘Wellness Corner’ section. I hope it will help my colleagues to take a break and de-stress.
4.00 PM
I check to see if the agency has received any new Questions on Notice (QoNs) this week. This task is helpful in understanding the different areas of interest politicians have in our agency. Quite a few QoNs have come through. I end my afternoon documenting the details of the questions and categorising the topics into themes.
5.00 PM
The afternoon has gone quickly today and it is already time to head home. I wish the team a good night and thank them for all their help before I go. It has been another great day to be a graduate!