Career Resources

On these pages we have curated a range of resources, blogs and interviews to help those both wanting to start a career in think tanks or policy or who are already working in the sector but would like to develop their knowledge and expertise.

Think Tank FAQs

We answer some of the most commonly asked questions about think tanks including what they are, what ...

How to write a policy CV

From understanding the basics of how to produce a winning CV to how to tailor it for the policy sect...

How to improve your writing

Improving your writing skills will help increase your chances of securing an interview and also as y...

Interview with a Director of Communications

After a long career at the BBC where he edited The World Tonight for 10 years, Alistair Burnett is currently the interim MD of Communi-cations and Publishing at leading international think tank Chatha ...

Salary Benchmarking Across the Sector

Over the past two years Smart Thinking has hosted many hundreds of job adverts ranging from internships all the way up to director-level. One of the main considerations for people looking for a new jo ...

Roles in the Policy Sector

While think tanks often grab the policy headlines there is a vast array of jobs and organisations out there that are both looking for similar skills and experience as well as helping to drive the poli ...

Interview with a Parliamentary Researcher

Adam Lehodey has been a parliamentary researcher for a Conservative MP in the House of Commons, since January 2020. Alongside this role, he is pursuing his studies and writing on his blog in his free ...

Skills Checklist

Often students and graduates ask how they can gain that crucial first bit of experience that will help them secure a job or internship. Aside from direct experience, there are a number of other skills ...

Results from the Think Tank Employee Survey 2021

For two years now Smart Thinking has surveyed UK think tank employees to get an understanding of what is happening in the sector and provide some overall analysis of the general working environment fo ...

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