Annie Oasgood, 24, joined the Met in 2021 and provides administrative support to officers and staff working in police stations across south London. Here she explains why she loves working in the Met and gives her advice to others who are thinking of joining the policing family.
Why did you want to join the Met?
I wanted to join the Met because it’s a reputable organisation with a good cause and great values at its core. I also have family who have worked for the Met for many years and who told me great things about how nice it is working within the organisation and the different roles that are available. I thought that seems good, I’ll give it a go and here I am!
What do you love about working in the Met?
I love the diversity of the Met – you have people from different backgrounds, some people are starting their career and others are ending theirs. It’s really nice to build relationships not only with them but also with officers of all different ranks and seeing how we’re all working towards the same goal. Our roles are very different but we’re all an integral piece to that puzzle. I love the variety of work you can do, the availability of different roles and how we all work together to keep London safe.
What have you learnt since working in the Met?
I’ve learnt so many new skills - from adopting a reactive and proactive approach and anticipating problems that might come my way, as well as time management and organisational skills to ensure my variety of tasks are dealt with accordingly. I’ve learnt how to use a lot of IT systems and I’ve really improved my skills there too. I’ve learnt a little bit of personnel management but above all I would say it is communication and how you communicate differently depending on your audience.
What advice would you give to other young people starting their careers in the Met?
I would say go for it and grab every opportunity you can to learn something new or develop skills you already have. You’re young, you’ve got plenty of time to see what works for you and stick with what you like most! Working in the Met is a great place to start your career – you can develop skills that you need to move on or you can stay and have a long career in the Met. The possibilities are endless!
As Annie says, the Met has a wide range of different jobs available and you don’t need to have a degree to join. Find out more on the Met’s careers website and find the right job for you!
