Rosie Jones, Graduate Planning Officer in Development Management at Bristol City Council, outlines a typical working day
What does a typical working day look like for you?
I don’t have a very fixed schedule, but my day tends to look like:
7.10 ish – I wake up to Hey Ya! By Outkast to get me up and moving and try to get out the door as soon as possible.
8.30am start– eat some porridge oats and have a coffee while I go through my applications list. There’s usually 25-29 applications that I’m dealing with at any one time. I also open Teams and Outlook to see if there are any important emails.
9.00am-11.00am – Close all apps except for OneNote and Word, turn do not disturb on, and write a report draft for one application that is due in the next 1-2 weeks. I find this easier to get out of the way earlier in the day before all the meetings start!
11.00am-12:30pm – I will often be preparing for afternoon meetings in this time for after lunch. That usually means noting down a list of final questions to ask a consultee or specialist, reading through some policy documents like the NPPF for clarification, and probably editing any report drafts I’ve had and adding ‘I DON’T KNOW’ (I tend to write and highlight comments in capital letters in my reports so I don’t forget to fill them in later). If nothing else, it’s quite amusing to reread at a later time.
12.30pm-1.30pm – lunch in the Cash Hall downstairs or sit outside on College Green if it’s sunny! I like to try and take a full lunch break to make sure I get to chat to everyone I want to and fully switch off from work.
1.30pm-4.00pm – either researching and report writing, or meetings.
On Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, I usually go through new cases more in depth and write more reports. That means searching up an address for an application site on the very sophisticated satellite software called ‘Google Maps’ if you’ve heard of it, and then using BCC’s various planning websites for more information e.g. Pinpoint, Know Your Place.
After work - I have far too many hobbies for my own good. So I may be songwriting, or playing ultimate frisbee, or popping to Cardiff to see family, or meeting friends in Bristol City Centre for… I don’t know, mini golf or axe throwing or going for drinks along Harbourside or something?
The benefit of this role is we have flexi time, so it’s incredibly easy to manoeuvre my day around plans I have, and then you can work overtime and take off 2 days extra a month. So, I usually take Friday afternoons off or finish a little early on some days. It’s great for my passion projects on the side (I like making music and writing novels). Hopefully it’s the same for you at your council!
What do you enjoy most about working in planning within local government?
I think the most important aspect for me is planning gives you a tangible way to give back to your local community. It’s one of the only jobs that exists where you can directly see the benefit of your work – and that’s incredibly rare! Many people have jobs where everything they work on is very much behind the scenes – whereas I will be able to walk around Bristol in a couple of years and say ‘I made that look like that!’ and ‘That exists because of me!’
There is a lot of problem solving, a lot of independent thinking and weighing up key issues from biodiversity to the quality of life for residents to retaining the history and heritage of a treasured building. You often need to deal with complex emotions as well and real people who are highly invested in what they’re building. It’s very rare to have an entry-level job with that much responsibility – it’s very much something to celebrate and you progress more quickly in your role and in your professional confidence because of it. I have not done a single day of ‘gradmin’ since I started which many friends in graduate roles in other fields sadly deal with!
The biggest positive for me is you get to meet a really wide variety of highly specialised professionals and learn a vast range of knowledge.
What did you find most challenging when you first started your career in planning, and how did you navigate that?
I’d say it’s still the problem I struggle with most – time management! I’m still refining how I like to organise myself e.g. some weeks it’s by using a physical notebook of to do list tasks, other weeks it’s using Microsoft To Do… but the most important lesson I’ve learned is setting workplace boundaries and reasonable targets for yourself. You’re not a robot. It is actually okay if your applications run out of time and you need an extension of time – if it’s happening a lot, it’s usually because there’s just a high intake of applications at that time, or you were scheduled multiple cases that were due on the same day, or because you’re likely tackling something completely new. Just be kind to yourself, communicate with your line manager and team, and find a fair goal for yourself that you can hit with a little bit of a challenge, but without running yourself into the ground. For me, that looks like sending out roughly 1 application a day, or 4-5 a week, which is honestly good going! My manager is happy with that; therefore, so am I, even if Uniform and various numbers targets say otherwise and list the many things that are due or overdue!
I also try to keep a very light reflective monthly journal to look at why I end up with lots of overdue cases at one time and what I learned from it – but sometimes there is no reason, just bad luck, and if you ask others in your office, you’ll find that everyone’s found themselves snowballed with deadlines at some point too and they can offer support!
What advice would you give to fellow Pathways to Planning Graduates?
Say hello to everyone you meet or pass by. Just putting a face to a name makes working together so much nicer and you never know when someone can help you out, or you them. And it makes working in the office or online that much more friendly. I think everyone secretly does want connection despite the hot desking culture in the vast majority of workplaces now, but some people struggle to chat to new faces more than others – so be the glue!
Also, just ask for opportunities! I spent a day with our Transport Development Management team just by asking the head of their department. People respond well to eagerness and enthusiasm so whatever it is you’re interested in, going and chatting to the people that do it will only help you, not hinder you! Of course, get your line manager’s permission before you adventure off somewhere for the day or week.
Finally, I actually think writing this blog has been a lovely check-in for me to reflect on how I’m doing in the role 10 months in. Do keep a little professional work diary and note down the little wins. Planning is a really important sector but we can often get painted as the bad guys or beaten down by high application numbers – so make sure you weigh that out with whatever makes you proud or pleased in your job (even if it’s ‘I remembered to make packed lunch last night!’) and keep it in a notebook or Word document or fun post-it note somewhere. I also keep a little inbox folder called ‘Nice people’ when applicants have emailed me saying thank you.