3 things I learnt as a Citizens Advice intern

Before this placement, my political career was confined to the classroom. After being fluent in A-level Politics mark schemes, to drowning in a sea of University reading lists, what was once my favourite subject became the bane of my existence.

Though the study of politics had lost its lustre, I was still passionate about pursuing policy. I joined Citizens Advice as an intern through the 10,000 black interns programme and was allocated to the Public Affairs team based on my interests and current degree in Politics and Sociology. This team works closely with policy teams to get the charities’ insights heard by key decision makers, including the government, parliamentarians and regulators.

Being amongst the youngest of the 5 interns, I thought I was out of my depth. But this was a good thing as it meant there was so much for me to learn! Here’s some of the key things I learnt.

1. Policy is bigger than Parliament

During this internship, I understood just how much outside thought goes into policy making. From its daily engagement with members of the public, Citizens Advice has the insight to create policy solutions that will positively impact the people who come to them for help. It was surreal to learn that policy ideas, such as tackling the ‘loyalty penalty’ (where companies charge loyal customers excessively more than new ones of the same services) was brought into the parliamentary sphere due to the work of Citizens Advice.

Organisations who work directly with the public have valuable knowledge about problems with policy that can be shared with the government to provide crucial frontline insight. The ‘wins’ in the policy sector are not as glamorous as mainstream politics. There’s no incentive to be in power and there’s no opposition. Instead the battle is to ensure the perspectives of people facing the problems are listened to and acted upon. This creates a collaborative and creative environment where workable ideas are produced. Ultimately, policy is bigger than parliament and void without it.

2. There’s no advocacy without advice

The advocacy function of Citizens Advice is one that I knew very little about. During my time here, I learnt that the charity is so much more than that.

In June 2022, Citizens Advice volunteers received more calls that month than we did for the entirety of lockdown in 2020.

Learning this put into perspective the scale of the cost-of-living crisis and how charities work on the frontlines of national issues. This is just one of the many statistics that highlight the realities of many clients. This means they have a huge database of real experiences which helps shape campaigns and influence the government. Such a blend of advice and advocacy was important for me as it highlighted the dynamism of the non-profit sector and how the two functions work with each other.

3. An intern by name, not by nature

One of the best things about this internship was how it was structured. The first 2 weeks consisted of training sessions and introductory meetings with other interns. This helped ease our way into the world of work whilst forming relationships with other colleagues. The last 4 weeks were full of individual tasks and larger projects which required us to apply the knowledge we learnt in the first 2 weeks.

It’s sometimes the case that interns are given a passive role during internships, and are mainly there to observe the way organisations work. However, at Citizens Advice I was given the responsibility to carry out activities on behalf of the organisation and was given ownership over my own projects. This included drafting reports for trustees, writing emails for MPs, shadowing meetings with MPs and delivering a presentation to my department. My experience at Citizens Advice challenged me and my perception of office culture; with very little enforcement of hierarchy or performance but emphasis on collaboration and community.

Internships can sometimes give you ‘imposter syndrome’ — where you doubt your abilities, lack confidence and ultimately feel like you don’t belong. But this wasn’t my fate. Whilst a new environment was nerve-racking, it was an opportunity to restore my love and faith in politics — through advocacy, advice and charity.