A good PR move

Kate Lowe studied a BA (hons) sandwich degree on Public Relations at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, graduating in 2006. She explains how valuable her placement was to her career.

As part of the degree I was required to complete a 12 month placement with either a PR consultancy or in house team. I was lucky enough to have a great placements office at UCLAN that acted as a job centre for placement opportunities. I checked this on a daily basis for new vacancies and applied for the ones that interested me. Another good place to look is on the CIPR’s website as they advertise jobs that are available all over the country.

The consultancy I worked for specialised in property PR and I got to work on a number of demanding and challenging high profile accounts. As PR Assistant I was responsible for answering all calls, making me the first point of call for all our clients. I was also allowed to develop my press release writing skills and had a number of releases published in local and national publications.

Throughout the placement I was involved in a lot of event management, something which I think I excelled in. It was at this time that I realised this was something I wanted to pursue on the future.

Learning curve

I have to say that participating in this placement was the best career decision I have ever made. During my time there I was fortunate enough to participate in some great projects and it really helped to confirm my enthusiasm for working in PR. My colleagues taught me valuable skills and qualities that were not only relevant to PR, but also day-to-day office work.

The projects I most enjoyed working on were three North West film premieres held at Red Cinema in conjunction with Sky Movies.

I can honestly say that if I hadn’t have done the work experience I wouldn’t be where I am today. PR is an industry where experience counts for everything. It’s a constant learning curve and to be able to say you already have the knowledge of how the industry works, no matter how small that maybe, is a great asset. Your degree is a great base for your career, but if you have the experience as well then you will go a lot further. I am now in a position where people send me their CVs and I am more likely to lean towards someone who has work experience and has proven they can do the job.

The placement definitely helped me build confidence in my abilities. I still speak to colleagues I did my work experience with and we laugh when we recall my first few weeks there. I was so terrified I wouldn’t even answer the phone!

FunkyFish

I currently work for Manchester based agency FunkyFish PR and we specialise in event management for both corporate and private clients. It’s hard to define what we do on a daily bases, as no day is ever the same. We are a small team who do big things and I assist in the management of all accounts. This involves me liaising with clients, brain storming ideas, research, media relations, press release writing and managing budgets.

My biggest highlight so far was organising a private party for my client’s fortieth birthday. The event was themed on legendary Manchester nightclub, The Hacienda and held in the arch of a disused warehouse. With the help of set designers and lighting and sound crews we turned it into a replica of the club. This was very challenging as we had to hire in everything for the event, including toilets, catering, a bar and staff, security and an electricity supply. It was a very long and tiring process, but the outcome was amazing and more importantly my client was very pleased!

Further information:

• Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)
• Jenna Goldsmith on placement at IBM. Extreme experience
• Work experience community

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