Insider profil

Picture of Abbey

Abbey .

Debt Management Complaints manager

Ask me a question
Customer Services

Keen to receive questions about

Everyday LifeInterview AdvicePeople & DiversityRoleWhy usWork & Life with Us

Top Insider Advice

My one piece of advice is “Be-Honest” If you require any reasonable adjustments or assistance, “be honest” in your job application. “Be honest” in your training. If you don’t understand something, then speak up. If you need something to be explained again, “be honest” and say you didn’t understand. “Be Honest” with your aspirations, aims, goals for your career, there are many opportunities which may be applicable for you. “Be Honest” with yourself and keep your work/life balance right for you. My experience - I have been honest about my dyslexia. I have received additional help and support throughout my entire HMRC experience. I learnt an enormous amount about myself during "Coping strategy sessions" which allowed me to be more honest with myself and my manager. Finally, don’t be scared to question things.

Read more advice

Career path

Debt Management Complaints manager

HMRC

Started 01/2022 to Present

Individual and Small Business Compliance Caseworker Manager

HMRC

From 01/2019 to 01/2022

Personal Tax Operations Advisor

HMRC

From 06/2017 to 01/2019

Company

What do you like about your job and the company?

One of the main motivations is to change my own thinking and my perception of other people thinking that “I am good at my job even though I am dyslexic” to “My dyslexia helps me to be even better at my job”. I have always had a keen eye for noticing things that don’t look right or if something has been changed. Having these skills are very useful when being an investigator and having to appreciate a deep level of detail. I have a strong desire to understand why? Why something has happened? What has caused the result which has led to an error or mistake? Due to my dyslexia, I am a non-linear thinker which allows me to connect the dots that other people don’t see and there-fore solve problems from a different perspective. I really enjoy this role due to the diversity of the cases, as each case expands my knowledge in my area of tax. This allows me to develop and to be able to do a better job.

Greatest achievements

Throughout my life there have been multiple occasions in different context where I have been put into a position of trust. As a young adult I was trusted to run a day’s coaching for over a hundred people. This included managing other coaches, the running of sessions, while considering everyone’s abilities and ensuring everyone had a lunch break. At the time I was one of the youngest coaches within my area. Having this level of experience was new to me and it felt good to be given this level of trust. Due to the success of the day, I was called upon to run this event again for 3 years running. Another achievement is getting to where I am today. When applying for HMRC I thought I would never get the job. I had such a negative relationship with myself and my dyslexia which resulted in me thinking I wasn’t good enough to do “a role like that”. I have since accepted my dyslexia and now know it helps me do my job with a different perspective to others giving HMRC increased diversity of skills and knowledge.

Other insiders

Hayley

Operations and Comm's Lead

Top Insider Advice

You will bring a unique perspective to a role as your experience will have been different from that of others. Don't be afraid to bring that to the fore, it is what makes you, you and brings a valuable contribution to a team. I wish I'd thought this more when I first joined the Civil Service!

Sam C

Top Insider Advice

A job can sound great from the headline, but read the description properly and think carefully if this is a good first job on a ladder of progression or could it be the next one on your way onwards and upwards? Ask yourself what are your strengths? What am I good at? What needs working on? Where do I want to go and how am I going to get there? If you aren't actually too sure where the path may lead, don't overly worry yourself, picking up skills and knowledge in any job is always a good thing. The trick is to know what you have and what you need next. You may have good experience in one area of work, but you need some experience in another to move forward, so sometime a sideways move can work too! I did a sideways temporary move in to VAT import policy as I wanted to understand how it fitted with my litigation work and how policy was developed. I did this for 7 months and it gave me insight in to how things like ministerial submissions were drafted and how communication with stakeholders was so important in this. I used this experience to further my knowledge and it helped me do a better job application for my current role as it demonstrated I was willing to stretch and develop myself. Keep trying and learn from any feedback you are given- it can be very useful ! Good luck!

Sue

Operational Lead

Top Insider Advice

I have been very lucky in that I have almost always been given a role (or applied for one) that I have enjoyed in HMRC (or earlier departments). If you show that you are keen to learn and willing to listen, then you will find that opportunities will present themselves to you and you will progress in your career. When I was told that I would have to undertake taxes training in 2005, I was horrified. Having been trained in National Insurance and done various management roles, I thought that tax would be just too hard for me and that I wouldn't pass the exams. However, I committed wholeheartedly to the training programme. I studied hard and passed all the exams first time - even though my daughter was still a baby so I was constantly exhausted as well as having to travel to London once a week for 18 months for my tutorials!

Discussions with Abbey
Is there one thing you wish you'd known before you applied?
in Career Tips·Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Picture of Jim
Picture of Mustafa
8 responses
2071 views
What support for personal development / training is provided?
in Career progression·Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Picture of Sarah
Picture of Robina
6 responses
1987 views
Please describe the most enjoyable aspects of your day-to-day role?
in Career Tips·Tuesday, June 14, 2022
3 responses
432 views
What does a day look life in Debt Management as AO??
in Career Tips·Tuesday, February 25, 2025
0 responses
14 views
How can I find a remote job quickly with no experience urgently in HMRC
in Career Tips·Friday, March 21, 2025
1 response
6 views