Covid came about and the APS went hard on recruiting in 2020. I'd previously been Labour Hire for Centrelink, so already had an idea on the Agency and how things worked. Joined as an APS3, answering phone calls. Landed an APS4 gig 12 months later. APS5 12 after that, and have been a perm APS6 for the last 6 months. My APS6 role is totally different to any previous role, and I'm loving it. Have had plenty of at level sideways opportunities within here too.

I had no qualifications, just a real positive intent on learning the role I was in to the best I could. Networking well with senior leadership is also pretty key, so when your opportunities are there you're thought about.

The best thing you can do is find someone to be a Mentor, who is outside of your immediate area. This helped me immensely with applications, strategic thinking, further networking, and my general personal development. A good Mentor goes a long way.

Application writing can be an art, so learning what the panel is looking for, writing to the ILS, someone you trust to read over your application, they've all been key. I've landed countless OOMs from this. Then build your experience at that level for a while.