Tom Hunt

Current Employer/Organisation Name

HMRC, UK Government

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

I’ve been part of the UK central government civil service with experience in 5 departments in Westminster, the latest being HMRC HQ.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

The breadth and flexibility within the civil service. Like geography, I like the variety of subjects, skills, themes/professions, and the civil service (as a generalist) has allowed me to progress a varied career.

Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?

Kayaking.

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

The variety of modules and range of transferrable professional skills you learnt, as opposed to purely essay writing for example.

What did you most enjoy about studying here?

The integration with and proximity to the city.

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

The locality – vibrant city and beautiful part of the world.

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

Variety of transferrable professional skills, including soft skills of presenting and people engagement. Encouragement to diversify university life beyond pure academics, e.g. societies and alternative modules.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

For entry: take a broad view of relevant and transferable experience that can be useful to the public sector (hard or soft skills).

For a career in the civil service: take responsibility and pride in deepening and professionalising your skillset. Civil Service roles are no longer seen as jobs for life, so need to be more mobile and sellable.

What are your plans for the future?

Continue to look for existing new roles and keep myself busy.