Information Specialists: meet the team - Martin

"I had been looking for a new challenge when I saw the advertisement. I was immediately hooked by the nature and diversity of work that was on offer.

With a degree in Librarianship and Information Studies and a fascination for the law, I had worked for a number of years in legal libraries. Then came the dramatic move and I joined GCHQ 8 months ago. As well as the nature and diversity of the work, I liked the idea of working as part of a large team, the benefits, plus I quite liked the idea of being a civil servant!

None of those first impressions have changed. The whole process of coming for the interview, going through the recruitment process to finally starting the job took over 6 months. The longest time I have ever had to wait to start a job! Initially, it was a bit mind-boggling. I came from a job where I knew everything and nothing phased me, and suddenly the whole way of working that I had known was so different.

However, I was also struck by the professionalism of this organisation and just how friendly and helpful everyone seemed to be, particularly in the Library. I was sure that there was a catch at first (working for law firms and reading too many John Grisham novels convinced me that there had to be a catch), but no it is a relaxed, friendly place to work. It's a large team but we all work well together to ensure the customers get the best possible service. And it's a sociable team with frequent trips to the restaurant for lunch, or evening trips to the cinema and local restaurants.

So what is my role? I look after the electronic resources on GCHQ's intranet. These resources, which include CD-ROMs, electronic journals, and Internet downloads, support our core business and provide "open source" material, which essentially means information which is in the public domain. I have to ensure that we adhere to copyright and software licences (and of course coming from a legal background I enjoy all of this!) and I also ensure that these resources are readable and presentable for all users. It has really improved my IT and knowledge management skills. In the past I usually shied away from dealing with "techie" issues but am now quite enjoying dealing with HTML and metadata! Something I never thought I would admit to!

As to the future, there is enough diversity to ensure I have a number of paths I could follow. You are also actively encouraged to attend training courses, which will benefit your work or help with your professional development. Achieving Chartership is also encouraged and supported.

Finally, another bonus of working for GCHQ is the location. Not only the fine town of Cheltenham but also the office, which is pretty impressive. I have never worked anywhere which offers the facilities, and surroundings, which I am currently working in.

I really enjoy working here. It did feel a scary move initially, however the work, people, location and benefits have more than lived up to my expectations and I am certainly glad I took up the challenge."

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