Katherine Shenton

During her first year as a PR student, Katherine Shenton wrote a blog post called “So you want to work in sexy, star studded PR?” (It’s still one of the most popular posts on my PR Studies blog, ed). That was back in 2004.

Is PR as glamorous as it’s often made out to be?

“PR may have the reputation of being glamorous, but it is not the case. You need to be hard-working, prepared to work long-hours, start from the bottom and work your way up and continue your learning as the industry and channels available are ever changing,” she tells me.

Katherine graduated in 2006 with a First Class Honours degree from Leeds Metropolitan University. She has since won “CIPR PRide North East Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year 2010” and “CIPR PRide North East Best Freelance Practitioner of the Year 2011”.

During her time at Leeds Met Katherine undertook a number of regular placements with agencies such as Citigate Smarts, Golley Slater and Ketchum.

She also took it upon herself to approach small businesses and offer to do PR for them on an unpaid basis; this experience helped her gain plenty of portfolio items to choose from during her time at university. A combination of Katherine’s First Class degree and large amount of ‘real’ client experience has led her to amazing success during the six years that she has been working in the industry.

The bottom line

I asked for her favourite thing about working in the PR industry:

“As you work your way up in the industry you discover that in PR you really can make a difference to the bottom line – this has been my biggest incentive as it’s not just about page views, likes, followers or number of cuttings it is about what difference you have made for that brand and how you have helped generate new business enquiries or sales.”

I asked Katherine for any advice she could provide for success in the industry, she told me, it’s about hard work and understanding everything before looking for promotion. She also said to keep current (checking Twitter etc.) and to remember that “the PR industry is smaller than you think and you never know when you’ll need to rely on someone or need their help so treat everybody with respect and be helpful, even if you’re busy or stressed as this will be remembered.”

Katherine has seen first hand the changes that have occurred working in the PR industry, “especially the development and importance of social media channels such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Tumblr etc.”

There have also been changes that have occurred because of  the recession. “Clients and agencies are a lot more lean and conscious of costs. As a result budgets are smaller so you have to be smarter and more efficient, this is also a reason why I think social media channels have grown as they are relatively cheap to manage compared to large scale events.”

Geordie Shore, a ratings success

Currently Katherine is working freelance as a publicist for MTV’s ‘Geordie Shore’, a campaign she is proud of.

“I worked with the team to promote the show and the cast to drive people to watch the show. This paid off as it is MTV UK’s highest ratings show…ever!”

Katherine also told me about her favourite campaign to date. She described transforming brand Maddi Alexander from a candle brand sold solely online to an expansion to an entire body collection, which is now being sold in Fortnum & Mason as well as being featured in ‘Stylist’s Hot Picks’!

Freelance ups and downs

I asked about the pros and cons of working freelance, as she herself had left an agency to start her own consultancy. She told me: “Working freelance is great is some respects, you have complete control of your day, what hours you work… You also feel closer to companies than you do in an agency as you really are viewed as working for them in a different location. However there are some negatives such as the difficultly in taking holiday, you have to be extremely disciplined to get things done and on time and you have to be able to work by yourself.”

Finally I asked Katherine if when starting her degree she ever envisioned her success to be so great so soon, her answer was so humble, and just reminded me of how much the little things really do matter in PR…

“I think if you just put in the hard work the rest will follow. You can’t be too focused on success or winning awards as you then take your eye off the ball and your job, which is detrimental. I always had a rough idea of where I wanted to be when, and of course I hoped I might pick up an award along the way. I feel exceptionally lucky to be where I am and to be doing what I’m doing, but I know I have got here by putting the hours in and doing the best I can.”

After all people will always remember you for the relationship you have built with them and the impression you have left them with.

So how do you obtain a full-time position in PR today? Certainly, the age-old adage: “It’s not what you know, but who you know” still stands. But there’s much more to it than simply networking to land the job of your dreams. A bit more homework goes a long way too.

Getting a foot in the door

The first thing to recognize when seeking your first full-time job is the importance of internships.  Internships can open doors that interviews for full-time positions cannot. Despite the dearth of companies hiring for permanent staff at the moment, most still have internships available and, hopefully, paid ones at that!

My time at Aspectus PR began as an internship and subsequently flourished into a full-time position.

Experience shows that internships not only provide the perfect opportunity to get a feel for the industry in which you want to work, but come with a real possibility of a permanent position. You will then have had both the experience of working in your chosen field and the opportunity to get to know your fellow team members and office culture.

The other great thing about searching for an internship or full-time position is that job sites typically allow you to search for either. If you’re a soon-to-be graduate, start with your school’s career services centre. Most offer CV boot camps and interview workshops and should also have a job site for your use. A few of the best commercial sites to search for jobs or internships however, are Reed, jobsite.co.uk and Monster.

Getting your CV in shape

Once you’ve found a vacancy that’s right for you, it’s time to get your CV in shape.  Relevant and appropriate contact information is a must, as are accurate grammar and spelling: ensure the email address listed is one you check frequently (and sounds professional – not hotpants@hotmail.com for example).

Proof the entire document and then proof it again. Ideally, you should then have someone else you trust to give it a final onceover.

It is also important to tailor your experience such that your key attributes best meet the skills-set sought by your potential employer. Although job specs vary, management experience and team-work are always valued, so be sure to highlight how you have demonstrated these.

When applying for a PR position, you will also need to showcase any experience in communications – and writing in particular. Be sure to include any past internships or previous positions you’ve held. And keep it to one page, unless you are extremely experienced in your field or have held a number of relevant positions previous.

Be prepared

Once you’ve secured your interview, the next step is to prepare for it. Begin with reading relevant publications. PR Week and Marketing Week are excellent sources for those looking to break into marketing, advertising and PR. In addition, read the papers and magazines closest to the industry sector you are targeting. Some of the news sites we read daily are The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and Bloomberg Businessweek. It is also critical to take time to conduct some research on the company to which you are applying.

Once all the written work and research has been completed, CVs sent and interviews secured, networking is the final task – specifically social networking. Similar to your CV, your social networking profiles will tell any potential employer a lot about you. It is therefore advisable to Google yourself, because your employer almost certainly will.

Also, don’t forget to check the privacy settings on your Facebook and Twitter pages to ensure that your information available for public consumption is just that! Lastly, keep your LinkedIn profile current. Employers scour LinkedIn for new hires and frequently advertise open positions on their company pages, as well as checking regularly on Twitter and Facebook for potential candidates.

Stay visible

'Stay visible' says Joe Richards

Finally, just as it’s important for brands to remain top-of-mind, it’s equally important for job seekers to remain visible to potential employers and those who might be able to help connect you with the right people: stay connected with former employers and lecturers while maintaining conversations with others who might be helpful.

The great news about learning to network properly and presenting yourself in the best way possible, both in person and on paper, is that it will set you up for success wherever you go.

You’ll be able to interact well with your coworkers, clients and business prospects and, if you change companies down the road, you’ll be ready to market yourself again.

Here at Aspectus, we are always looking for talented interns and professionals, so please don’t be shy and reach out to us at: internships@aspectuspr.com or info@aspectuspr.com

I’ve cheated!!!

I’m confused and upset and really don‘t know what to do about it – or even if I want to stop. I am confessing this to you because I have been carrying this around for such a long time now and I really have to get it off my chest.

It is time to say it out load: I have cheated on YOU! But it was not my fault… or yours .. I guess it just happened. I was drunk… I was seduced… I WAS WEAK! I am so sorry … :O(

You and me, we went through thick and thin together. We got closer than ever throughout my undergraduate programme. You taught me all I needed to know about communication, media channels, relationships, networking – and even persuasion.

You introduced me to celebrities, Gorkana and red pages. We had this very close and intimate committed relationship and nothing else mattered. I became more and more confident, loquacious and creative. Just a better me.

Do you remember our night in crisis management or the other time when we dived into internal communications? Hahaha – oh man, we spent endless nights on that one report but it was worth it. You were my first love.

I remember the first time I met you. I was still in school and I had this two weeks of work experience at a national telecommunications company. That was when I saw you working for the first time. I was still young and didn’t know much about the industry but I fell in love and knew you were the one. And I knew we belonged together.

I met someone else: marketing communications

When I graduated we both knew that changes were coming. Either we move in together, probably in-house, or carry on with a long-distance relationship. Us being young, I thought we’d still have all our life so why the rush to move in? But the distance changed us and I met someone else: marketing communications.

The first thing that came into my mind when i met him was a Destiny’s Child lyric:

Had my man on my mind, turn my head, what did I see
The fellas lookin’ fly, there was one that caught my eye
So I bit my lip, switched my hips as I walked by
Sayin’ “Sexy boy, you so fly
I just might give you a try
I’m a write yo’ number in the palm of my hand
Oops, I forgot I got a man”

Sweet talk about integration

He came out of nowhere and just swept me off my feet and changed my perspective. He kept going on about “integration” – all the time! I did not quite understand what he meant. He said you were not a discipline of your own but a part of the whole marketing mix. I felt like I had to stay true to us and defend us and our views and our importance in the industry. I did not think we were part of that – we were us! And one day, it just happened. I became unfaithful.

He takes me to all these fancy trips like shopping on Advertising Boulevard. And we just got back from our ski trip in St. Branding Management. I know this sounds all very shallow but with him its more than just calling editors and sending out press releases. Do you think I am blinded by the fancy names and the money?

Jeannyfar: just good friends

I received your letter the other day, asking me to renew my CIPR membership. I ignored it because I was ashamed. I am living a lie.

PR, I love you and do not want to lose you. I appreciate all you did for me and will constantly carry you in my heart.

I never would have wanted to hurt you but I can see my unfaithfulness killing you inside.

You deserve so much more, someone who loves you the way you deserve to be loved. I do not want to be lying any more. With this letter I am reaching out to you – not as a lover but as a good friend. I hope you can forgive me.

Love
J

I spent the majority of my first year trying to hunt down someone willing to take me on for a placement. I tried all the usual agencies unsuccessfully, before finally catching a break. I’ve been on placement at Leeds-based homeless and disadvantaged charity St George’s Crypt on one-day-a-week placement since around April, and have loved every second. Whilst I’m there, I really feel like part of the team, and like my ideas are heard.

One advantage of working at a charity is that they’re often quite small. This meant that I got to know everyone who worked there really well, and also had a variety of different tasks to get stuck into. These ranged from the typical intern tasks such as proof reading, to writing copy for the website and newsletters, designing invitations and programmes and giving my input to different things.

I’ve been involved in some exciting fundraising events, such as fairs and even a music festival where I helped organise the bands and steward on the day.  The chance to see first-hand how an event unfolds from start to finish was a great experience, and something I know will be useful for years to come.  I even had the opportunity to go with the Crypt to Leeds Festival, and meet the Lord Mayor of Leeds at our end of campaign party.

Danielle (far left) with St George's Crypt at Leeds Festival

‘Crypt Fest’ took place early October, after weeks of planning and organising. The aim was to provide a full day out to raise money for the Crypt.

We had over 10 acts playing on the day, mainly young local bands, but X factor contestant Basil Simons who made it through to bootcamp also made an appearance.

As we wanted to give the event a festival-like feel, we had various stands, including local milkshake company shake-a-holic’s, as well as a bar, BBQ, cakes and games.

This event was a great opportunity not just to raise money, but also to raise awareness of the charity by generating as much coverage for the event as possible. There is now the opportunity to build on this, by possibly running it as an annual event, and trying to make it bigger and better.

Being at Leeds Festival was a great opportunity for the Crypt, as it yet again helped to get our name out there. We had first pick of any food left over which generated almost two vans full of food, and even had a video on the big screen (in which I embarrassingly made my acting debut!) between bands, encouraging people to donate any unused food to us. This was fantastic, especially as it was shown between Pulp and The Strokes, two off the biggest bands at the festival.

Working at a charity not only gives valuable work experience, but also leaves you with a  feeling you’re doing something good. Before working at the Crypt, I never thought of charity PR as a career option, but now it’s definitely something I would consider in the future and would never rule anything out before trying it.

With everything you learn at university, you never know what really happens in PR until you’ve had some experience, which is why placements are so important.

If you’re looking for a placement to get you started in the world of PR, I would definitely recommend trying charities as a different way to get into this sometimes daunting industry.

Seeking work experience: Adele Roberts

Over the last year I have spoken to so many students (and graduates too) about the difficulties of getting a placement; they have told me stories of sending countless emails that have sadly had a tone of desperation as prospective interns try to sell themselves to a PR company or consultant in the hope they would be considered for a period of unpaid work experience (how strange that we have to work for free in order to later get work that we will hopefully be paid for).

Unfortunately we rarely heard back from these emails, which in itself is slightly demoralising.

Even on the odd occasion when a reply is received the consultancy will often ask for a CV. Yet at the beginning of your career you won’t have much PR experience on it, so you try a covering letter describing your personality and work ethic in a few paragraphs.

I can imagine the recipients of the emails receive countless requests to do a work placement, many from people with more experience in the PR industry then we beginners currently have, but we all have to start somewhere.

As aspiring PR professionals we need to begin building relationships and networking in order to be successful in the world of public relations.

However, researching PR consultancies and emailing them begging for the chance to work for them for free in order to better educate ourselves doesn’t seem to be a successful trend when it comes to actually getting the work… So what’s the next resort?

We all know somebody who knows somebody; so we need to use these previously made contacts in order to get forward in this competitive world. This past summer I had managed to make some contacts that helped land me a placement through recommendations. After being recommended I received two placement offers at two different consultancies in London.

After speaking to a number of students at different levels I heard mixed experiences of what it is like trying to get work experience or a placement, some good, some bad. However, they have all come out feeling like it would have been a lot easier if they had known someone who could help them get their ‘foot in the door’.

This leads me to the conclusion that no matter what you know, if someone isn’t willing to give you the chance you can’t advance in this industry. It’s difficult for a potential employer to identify who is and who isn’t worthy of a placement (especially as the competition is so fierce) as they don’t know the person behind the application.

It’s not a case of what you know, but who you know.

Something armor-plated and hard to kill.

No one else has my combination of wit, insight and modesty.

Continuing to build what I hope will be a successful career.

Strengths: Loyalty, dedication, commitment to professional development and improvement

Weaknesses: Personal admin. Tendency to work long hours/weekends, steak and kidney pie

Me: loyal, able and reliable

My Boss: loyal, able and reliable

My Best friend: Useless prop forward

Books, Radio, the internet, Television

The CIPR Conversation (indispensible), BBC News, The Guardian

During a 5 year stint as chairman of my rugby club, I established a mini and youth rugby section. This was a major effort involving recruiting and training volunteer coaches and administrators and was part of a long term, ongoing strategy of club renewal, which I also developed and lead and which saw the club moving to new grounds. The process drew on work related skills including lobbying the local authority, gaining wider stakeholder support, media relations and fund raising. In my final year as Chairman I won the “Pro-Active London Volunteer of the Year” Award and was presented with a certificate in recognition of the achievement by the Mayor of London. The youth section continues to flourish, with well over 100 children aged 5-15 playing rugby for the club every Sunday during the season. I developed my love of the game playing minis and youth and I am very pleased to have been able give young people the chance to play rugby.

Among my greatest challenges has also been my greatest achievement. See above. My general advice for answering this question is to suggest remembering two quotes – “Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” (Winston Churchill, 1941) and “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” (Samuel Beckett, 1983) – Don’t quit, keep trying, keep going, keep learning from your mistakes and your experiences and show that you are always willing to do so.

I am often asked for advice on a career in the PR industry. Here are just five thoughts…

Pay your dues. When you are first starting off in a career in PR, you really need to ring fence a few years just for gaining good, hardworking, unglamorous experience. Get your head down and slog, rather than thinking about the glory. If you get genuine experience early on, you’ll have a solid foundation to build on when the bigger, more exciting opportunities come along.

Be nice to people. It is the right thing to do. And people will remember you later in your career. PR is obviously about managing relationships. Build relationships with journalists – not just for the story you are currently working on but for longer term benefits. Same goes for clients and colleagues – and not just the marketing director. Where will the most junior member of staff that you deal be in five years’ time?

Take a risk! In PR, if you risk nothing, you win nothing. Don’t be afraid of big ideas, however new you are to the industry. Back your own thoughts and beliefs and you will get noticed. Big, crazy, outlandish ideas often pave the way to killer concepts that are more realistic.

In PR, if you risk nothing, you win nothing.

Read… a lot! Read PR text books and industry publications, read biographies for media and PR people and borrow ideas that you can put in your own words. You are not expected to know everything when you first join the profession but your proactive ideas are what will set you apart. Consider studying PR at undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Do work you are proud of, at the highest level you are allowed to. If it is writing a press release, make it your best. As soon as you can, enter PR industry awards. People who are negative about awards have never won any! Be healthily cynical about them but the process of entering them will help you evaluate what you are proud of and how to communicate this to other people.

And, one final bonus point… make sure you keep checking careers websites.

Good luck!

Quirky

Pretty fridge

So in June last year I started work at a PR agency called PrettyGreen. Initially, what really struck me was the quirky nature of the office; they had a big Union Jack fridge, a great open plan layout and the meeting room was furnished with a ping-pong table! So I knew that I’d be in for a great year.

During my first three-weeks I shadowed the previous placement student: Coco. She took me through all the workings of the office and really helped me to hit the ground running. So three-weeks later, I was ready to go it alone.

Selling-in

A typical day for me involved a lot of ‘selling-in’. By this I mean contacting journalists and persuading them to write about our client and their campaign. So between the hours of 10 and 12 then 2 and 4 I would be on the phone, writing emails and chasing leads trying to confirm coverage for our clients.

To do this, you need to be thick-skinned. A lot of journalists will simply not be interested in what you have to say – some might never get back to you – but in the words of Don Lucchesi ‘it’s not personal, it’s only business.’ What makes it all worthwhile is when you see that article, video or picture and knowing you’re the man who facilitated its publishing. It’s seeing it come to fruition that’s what spurs you on.

In between selling-in, I would be organising coverage; that is scanning & screengrabbing, making presentations and filing in Excel. This may sound rather mundane, and at times it is, but these are documents that get sent to the client. It’s tangible proof of what the agency has been doing for them and ultimately why everyone gets paid, so you know it’s vital work. I’d also be attending brainstorms, which were great because you know that if you come up with that golden idea it may get used.

I was also lucky enough to work at some events including Cadbury Spots v Stripes ‘Big City Tours’. This involved getting people to register at the event so that they could take part in the games we had set up in the busy town centres. It was fantastic to travel up to cities like Glasgow and Leeds, not only get a feel how these things run, but also to bond with the team over evening meals, which were really good fun. As was looking after media personnel at Red Bull X-Fighters.

Busy, busy

Alex Judd

What I really loved about my placement was the buzz in the office. As campaigns gained momentum and the briefs came rolling in, the excitement became contagious. Across the year I was there the size of the agency nearly doubled and it was great to be a part of it.

The downside was just how busy it can be; we’d be working well over our set hours for long periods of time, but it’s just a test of how much you want it; and if working in the creative industries is really what you want, then you’ll ride through the hard times because you know that it’s worth it.

The two pieces of advice I would give to those of you looking to get into the business would be:

First, make your CV stand out. It’s perhaps a little clichéd but nevertheless true. Not only do you need to get as much experience as you can on your CV, you also need to jazz it up to show how enthusiastic you are about the job whilst expressing your personality.

Second, when you get into PR, know how to manage your time. You’ve got to find out how long a task will take and who it’s for so that you can plan your day effectively and utilise your time to the fullest.

Oh and don’t order a strawberry daiquiri in front of the head of marketing for Kraft UK, but that’s another story!

So after a year’s experience in the busy world of PR, would I want to get back into it? Absolutely and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Alex Judd is a final year PR student at Bournemouth University

Charlotte Giver living it up in LA

It is funny how I ended up working in the industry. Once upon a time, I was one of those people that thought that anyone involved in the fashion industry was shallow and superficial. At the same time though, I was wearing the latest designers and rocking my studded stilettos.

However, it was not until one of my friends over in the US introduced me to the world of fashion and entertainment PR by giving me the contact information to a well-known PR agency in Los Angeles that I actually fell in love with the profession. At the time, I was in the process of landing an internship for my third year of university; also known as the placement year (I don’t believe you can graduate without any work experience listed in CV…)

After a skype-interview (gotta love the new technology!) I got the internship and arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in June 2011, wearing a sundress, straw-hat and a big smile on my lips.

So how was it like to work in one of the most dynamic professions, in one of the world’s most dynamic cities?

Footsore and fancy free

I can only speak for fashion PR but interning in America is often unpaid and working in fashion is pretty much a slave job!  If you have watched Andy Sachs in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, you know what I am talking about. My feet went on strike after the first two weeks. All of the running around to Starbucks, Staples, FedEx, Copymat and the newsstand, I wanted to pretend that heels did not exist.

It didn’t matter how many shoes I got to pick out of the shoe-closet as a reward for my hard work, my feet refused to step into any shoe with a heel. But do you know what? It was all worth it!

Yes, all of that running around was exactly what I needed in order to do to prove just how much I wanted to do a good job at Red Light PR. I learned that what might be seen as a hierarchy will only work in your advantage! Unpaid or not, you are working yourself up! And a little PR101: don’t whine!

By knowing exactly how to work the word reputation management in the world of PR, you will make yourself, your boss and your company look good. I am talking about keeping a good relationship with the clients, stylists, editors and entertainment managers.

Keep on wearing that big smile of yours and with a little hard work, blood, sweat and tears, your internship will pay off!

Needless to say, as an intern, it is very important to create a good relationship with your boss, manager and colleagues. The first day of my internship, I went around the office and introduced myself. I got along great with the other interns and spent a lot of time with them after work and during the weekends. When I was assigned to the Fashion Director and the Account Executive of the women’s department, I made sure that I went to see them every morning in order to show interest and create a good relationship. I asked them if they wanted some coffee, if there was anything in particular that they needed me to do and how the day looked like.

My year of internship has now come to and end but if I could, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! Yes, it has been a whirlwind at times and working unpaid for an entire year is something many people think is insane. But I tell you one thing: the people I have met, the places I’ve seen and everything that I have learned and experienced make it all worthwhile!

I mean, hey, I even lived in the same apartment complex as Heidi Montag and Lauren Conrad in the first episodes of the Hills!

Charlotte Giver is a final year student at Bournemouth University

Steven Woodgate

Stepping-stones are often hard to come by. The next one may be in sight but difficult to jump on to. It’s important to bridge that gap.

Recently, after graduating with top marks in Sports Journalism, the opportunities weren’t there – the stepping-stone often requires a leap of faith.

That leap of faith – for me – was Winchester City Football Club.

We all know about experience is key and all that nonsense but after many tough weeks writing copy at local newspapers, countless websites and student publications and making tea, the chance to work for a semi-professional football club seemed a smart one.

Leaving university with a degree in Journalism is just not enough. Many old hacks solely believe in the NTCJ qualifications and will discredit university education, insisting that experience is more useful.

After graduating with that piece of paper, thoughts materialized that I wanted more from my degree, after all journalism is not the most lucrative paid profession. This led me to public relations and thoughts of becoming a media officer.

From there an opportunity arose and I grabbed it with both hands and progressed to that next step.

Now, with my involvement, Winchester City are up-to-date with social media platforms, have a brand new website to boast about and are getting regular, and full, coverage in the Hampshire Chronicle and Daily Echo.

After five months, the manager, ex-Portsmouth and Brighton defender Guy Butters, speaks openly to me after games; the players are often bantering me about this or other and the owner trusts me to make my own impact.

These are valuable experiences. In five months, I have mingled and spoken with Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier, ex-Portsmouth Paul Walsh and ex-Liverpool Phil Babb. You never know who you would meet at your local Non-League ground.

And even on special occasions you can see ex-QPR and Southampton defender Mark Dennis flip burgers at the Denplan City Ground – an ex-Premier League footballer flipping burgers!

Fortunately, drawing on previous experience with other jobs, these interactions went rather smoothly, it’s all about making links and networking.

However, some of these skills are still lacking amongst more recent graduates, as many are spoon-fed and don’t take the initiative.

Non-League football is always looking for help, promotion and publicity and any aspiring sporting professionals should get involved, you never know who you have the chance of meeting.

Since my time with the ‘Citizens’, I watch and report on games for the local papers, maintain the current website and try to increase viewership.

I raise awareness of the club, the venue and its community through liaising with the local and national sporting media, website management and development, creation and management of the club’s social media platforms and creation of a range of e-communications, match-day programmes and other literature.

My aim is to encouraging more people to come to the venue more often to support the players or host their events, driving ticket sales, merchandise sales and raise the profile of the club and the league.

Sports Journalism students from the University of Winchester are involved filming games and students come up from Southampton Solent University to write up match reports. It’s all about experience.

It’s easy to report on a Manchester United or Arsenal game as you have all the information ready, you have instant replays, and detailed programmes. At non-league level, you have no replays, very little detail and no names on shirts. This level you have to really watch the game and it is a real research exercise.

I learned by talking to fans, speak to other local journalists, and speak in detail with the manager and his coaches.

This is all going on my CV and portfolio and the one thing I would argue in an interview: I’m doing all this for free and proving a great success, imagine how good I would be if I was paid for it?

Isabella Oliver was founded in 2003 and first concentrated on supplying stylish maternity clothes for women who weren’t prepared to compromise their style during their pregnancy. At the request of customers, they then created a 365 Collection range offering non-maternity fashion.

Based in London, they’re a well known company with many pregnant celebrity fans as well as an extremely loyal customer base. I first came across them in 2009 when I was introduced to the opportunity to do some work experience in the PR and marketing team whist studying for my A-levels. Two years later and I was delighted when I was offered the chance to rejoin the team for a summer placement with Michelle, the fantastic PR manager. After communicating with her about the various logistics of the placement I was ready and raring to get started.

As a massive fashion fanatic I really enjoyed my work experience week with the company the first time round, but I had no idea how much I would embrace and appreciate this new experience with them. Michelle and all of the team work very closely and I admire the respect and appreciation everyone shows each other in the office. Every morning I could be sure that I would be looked after and praised as well as kept busy and active allowing me to get a fabulous range of experience.

Some of my daily duties included helping out with the management of the showroom and all the samples. I was responsible for sending out a lot of samples to magazines and dealing with the press for shoots, features and online articles. I also contacted bloggers and online press with releases and other opportunities such as reviews and competitions, which taught me a lot about communication. I also got the chance to do some research on various topics such as trade shows, wholesalers and media contacts in Australia and America.

As well as my day to day duties I was able to help out on shoots for new collections, both on location and in the studio. This offered me a wider range of understanding for what the company does. Part of working with the PR team is sending out ‘Look Books’ to relevant press and so it was great to witness the process of how these are created.

On these shoots I was able to work with Ania, the Fashion Editor and also founder Baukjen, who both taught me a lot about having an eye for fashion. One of the best things about working with Isabella Oliver is the kind and patient nature of the employees, even when things get stressful, and this was evident on the shoots.

If this experience has taught me anything, its how invaluable work experience really is. It was that experience in 2009 that encouraged me to look into PR and the fashion industry, and coming back made me sure I had made the right choice for the right reasons. I even found myself looking back over the knowledge I learnt in my first year at university and gaining a new understanding for all the terms and theories we learnt. Working with Isabella Oliver has confirmed all of my reasons for getting into PR.

There’s never a dull day, it’s vital for any business and most importantly, no two days are ever the same. The thrill and excitement you get from working in a fast-paced industry supplies you with all the satisfaction you could wish for from a career.

I urge anyone studying PR, or even thinking about studying PR, to get out there and find out what it’s all about. It will help you gain a well-rounded view of the career opportunities you have in this industry. Although this was fashion PR I have also worked in retail and property PR. The great thing about PR is that there are so many paths you can take, so go out there and experience them. Apart from anything else, pushing for these experiences and finding and contacting people in the industry is also a great way to practice the important skills of persuasion and communication, vital for working in PR.

I started early, choosing to apply for a number of graduate schemes. I reasoned that I may as well give it a go, although I knew that the schemes attracted a huge number of applications and that the marketing schemes often didn’t involve PR tasks. The chance to work within large businesses and gain experience in a marketing role would mean I could work my way into their press office department, so I applied for four: BT, Sky, Marks and Spencer, and Sainsburys.

It takes time

Ellie Stokes

Applying for graduate schemes is a long process, with a number of application questions to complete before their personality, numerical and verbal tests. All of this takes place before they will consider you for an interview, which makes the process all the more difficult. The time taken to complete the application is a waste if you don’t really want to secure the position, so think carefully before starting your application.

Unfortunately, I failed to secure any interviews from the graduate schemes and although I was disappointed, I wasn’t worried – there were plenty more opportunities to get an entry-level position.

A couple of months before I finished my degree, I began looking for potential jobs which I could apply for. Employers are expecting you to have to give notice before you can start so choosing to apply a couple of months before I would be available matched up with other applicants who may have been moving jobs rather than seeking their first position.

From about 30 job applications, I gained six interviews. Securing an interview from one in five of your applications is a pretty positive statistic, so I was optimistic about my prospects. I think the scariest part of an interview is when your interviewer has a list of questions and sits making notes about you as you speak. This happened in the majority of my interviews, and was reminiscent of the time I took my driving test when you knew that the examiner making a note was a mark towards or against your success – very nerve-wracking to say the least!

It’s tough to be rejected

The worst thing about the whole job-hunting process was the rejection. I understood that I was not always going to be the right person for the job, in my interviewer’s eyes, even if I didn’t agree with their decision. But it’s still tough to hear. Being rejected from a job you have already secured in your mind is difficult and the feedback is not always helpful.

A couple of my rejections went along the lines of: “We thought you were great and you would have fitted in but we found someone with more relevant experience”. That’s hard because there’s nothing I could have done differently. Although I have a year’s PR experience, when it came down to it, the experience only seemed to help if it matched with the industry I was being interviewed for. The world of PR is competitive and employers have to separate you somehow but I wish that they would see that solid PR experience can translate to any industry if you have the enthusiasm to learn, especially at the beginning of your career.

The moral of the story is not to get disheartened and to embrace the constructive criticism to improve in your next interview.

I think the best advice someone has given me about an interview is that it is a chance for me to ask questions too. It may sound obvious, but it is important to research the background of the company, any recent PR activity they have carried out and any future events coming up which you could ask insightful questions about. An interest and knowledge about the company is key for your potential employer to understand how enthusiastic you are about the job.

This is a tip I will always use in my future career because it is a simple but effective way to impress your interviewer and something they will remember about you when they come to decide their perfect candidate.

It’s online

Social media was extremely useful in my job hunt. There are a number of Twitter accounts with the sole purpose of providing a stream of PR job opportunities (see below).

It is also a great place to network. I used Twitter to ask agencies I liked the look of about potential employment and received positive feedback from this approach. It shows initiative to try something a little different.

Gemma Diaper, a Bournemouth PR graduate also used Twitter in her job hunt, commenting: “Using Twitter, I sent an e-version of my CV out to all my PR contacts, and they provided me with some great feedback – this was invaluable, as you can never be sure what people in the industry want from a CV.”

It’s best to go direct

One thing I would warn against (if you can help it) is recruitment agencies. To me, they were more hassle than help. I always found it easier and got more responses if I applied for jobs directly advertised by the employer, and at least that way, you can rest assured your CV is seen by someone working within the company.

Thankfully, I have found the perfect job, which is a step up from my previous experience and involves a number of responsibilities I am really excited about. Although the time between finishing my degree and finding a job was only about 6 weeks, it felt like a lot longer! Perhaps because the graduate scheme applications started in November.

There was nothing I could do after applying for a job except wait and hope that something came from it. As a person who likes to be busy and to have a plan, the uncertainty about where I was heading was sometimes hard to handle. For a while, I was worried I may have to compromise on what I was looking for and bide my time before seeking the perfect position.

James Hall, a PR graduate from Leeds Metropolitan University recommends waiting for that perfect job: “My advice to graduates still looking for a job would be not to give up! I think it is important for people to find the right job that suits them and one they truly feel they can do. Take some time out to really go over your options, don’t worry about what your friends or peers are doing, just go for what you think is best for you.”

My quest for a graduate job is complete, but for those still looking, patience, passion and persistence is key. Confidence in your ability will carry you well on your way to your dream job. I wish you every success in your search!

Recommended resources:

Twitter:
@VoxpopPRCareers
@UKYoungPR

Resources for Graduate Schemes:
www.Milkround.com
The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers (a guide book printed annually)

Websites for PR Jobs:
www.PRWeekJobs.com
www.Jobs.Guardian.com

Employer: The Student Happiness Movement
Job Posted: 23^rd June 2011
Location: UK wide
Hours: Flexible

Background

With increased student debt, record high youth unemployment and general down in the dumpness, there has never been a worse time to be a student. To reverse this, The Student Happiness Movement is looking to appoint a number of Lord Protectors of Happiness to make university and college campuses happier and more productive places to be, so that students can flourish.

The lucky candidates who are appointed Lord Protectors will have the chance to compete with other universities and colleges in exciting Happiness Missions set by The Student Happiness Movement.  Those appointed Lord Protectors will become a key figure at their university our college and will work to make positive changes by running campaigns and holding events.

By actively working to make positive changes for your fellow students you will no doubt achieve a huge sense of fulfilment, however there will also be some fantastic prizes on offer for the Lord Protectors who complete the Happiness Missions. The job title is also something that will really stand out on your CV and will give you an interesting talking point at future job interviews.

Experience

The most important aspect of the campaign is that no experience is required, all you need is a motivated attitude to create changes within your university or college. You will be given support by The Student Happiness Movement as to how to go about the following points:

• Organise events at your university and college that will promote happiness and help students to flourish academically and socially.
• Run campaigns and start groups that solve problems in universities and campuses.
• Help students to adapt to student life and the pressures of living away from home.
• Work with already established groups and organisations to promote the happiness message.
• Link with local businesses to run initiative that help students prosper by securing work

The Successful Candidate should:

• Be a full or part-time student studying in the United Kingdom
• Be motivated to make a positive impact on your university or college campus
• Be creative, hard working and have the desire to be hold a position of authority amongst your peers.
• Be well networked amongst your peers and be able to start campaigns than can make a difference to your fellow students.

These positions are highly sought after so please apply as soon as you can. The application deadline is 31^st of July.

How to apply

Twitter

To apply simply on Twitter just tweet why you think should become a Lord Protector of Happiness at your college or university to @LordProtector2.

www.twitter.com/LordProtector2

Facebook

To apply on Facebook just add a comment on our wall and tell us why you think you should become Lord Protector of Happiness at your university or college in no more than 140 characters.

www.Facebook.com/LordProtectorofHappiness

Email

If you are amongst the 3% of 16-25 year olds that is not on either Twitter or Facebook just email becomelordprotector@gmail.com and tell us why you think you should become Lord Protector of Happiness at your university or college in no more than 140 characters.

Laura on a road trip across America

The travelling bug normally hits students the hardest before they start university, while others see the long summer holidays during their degrees as the perfect opportunity for a spot of globe trekking. More and more, however, graduates are finding themselves booking those once-in-a-lifetime flights once they’ve already begun establishing a career.

As it does with almost everything these days, the economy has its part to play in the reasons for this. The last time I went travelling in 2009, the recession was in full swing and many of the people I met during my trip claimed that redundancy (and the payout that came with it) was what motivated their trip. With no other job prospects to turn to, exploring the world seemed a better option that sitting at home, checking ever-shrinking job listings each day.

This is one way of meeting the financial costs of travelling. If a redundancy package isn’t what will fund your trip however, it’s more likely that a long period of strict saving will be the secret to your backpacking adventure. I saved the money from every part time job, birthday and Christmas for a few years before setting off on a road trip across the United States. Working while abroad wasn’t for me; I wanted to experience as many destinations as possible during my trip, and fitting in a job tied to one area wasn’t going to work.

The finances do depend on the type of trip you’re planning however; a few months of rapid moving around will take a lump sum to fund it, while a longer trip to a concentrated area, such as the ever-popular Australia could be easier to fit in with some casual work, though a friend of mine did revert back to the first of these options after a few days of working on a farm and discovering the existence of jumping spiders (the name, teamed with the size of an Australian spider, is fairly self-explanatory I feel).

Going solo

As well as dumping the career to pick up the backpack, another trend I am noticing is the rise in solo travellers. This is often the easiest option: travelling alone means you have total control over the destinations you visit and for how long, without giving in to someone else’s itinerary. A sudden redundancy notice can also leave you in a different position to working friends who don’t have the indefinite time to commit to a life-changing trip, though having someone to share your experiences with and provide support in difficult situations is worth some compromises.

Many graduates will recognise the opportunities that diving into something new presents from when they moved to a new city for university. This is one of the best aspects of travelling: putting yourself out of your comfort zone forces you to meet people quickly! Whether it’s locals in the area you’re visiting, or other travellers who may have established a good feel of the area, meeting new people abroad is the best way to explore a country, and my personal favourite part of travelling. While in the US I discovered Couch Surfing (www.couchsurfing.org), an organisation that allows travellers to stay with locals for free. Doing this meant I got a personal guide of the area as well as plenty of sight-seeing recommendations the main guidebooks left out.

Travel bug or homesickness?

Meeting people from the same country as yourself often helps to alleviate any homesickness you may be experiencing, especially in parts of the world that have offered large culture shocks upon arrival.

Full Moon parties in Thailand are fast becoming known for their western dominance. However, many ‘hardcore travellers’ are now describing it as ‘too English’ to visit for a true cultural experience, likening it to the beaches of Ibiza and Malia, full English breakfasts included.

This leads to the big question of the backpacking trend: is it independent travel or a new variant on the package holiday?

Of course, the details of this largely come down to whether you researched your trip using a Thomas Cook brochure or the advice of a local fruit seller you ended up talking all night to, sat outside a beach hut. Only one of these options will leave you sitting at the edge of a chlorine-filled swimming pool, brimming with dive-bombing children and 18-30 members, surrounded by mass-produced lounge furniture and tower block-style hotels.

Travelling is ultimately a lifestyle, and it’s difficult to lose the bug once you’ve caught it, whereas holiday-makers are often the more settled type, preferring a fortnight-long holiday with a clear return date attached.

But this is where the problem lies: are graduates who are leaving their careers behind simply individuals incapable of unpacking their belongings into something bigger than what they can carry on their back? Never going travelling again in favour of a career can be hard to accept, and this is often the fear many people have. Who can expect their employer to allow indefinite leave every time they feel the need for a break?

Beach or mountains: what's your dream?

It’s a hard scenario to comprehend, and one which few employers will understan if you’re lucky enough to have a secure position in an unstable economy, but sometimes the timing may be dependent on you rather than the job market. Perhaps you are the type able to plan years ahead, and in this plan you see a move in your career, location or company. Instances like these provide ample opportunity to leave the working world behind for a while and return to a fresh start.

For Caroline Gibson, travelling was always part of her plan for life after university and Cow PR opening new offices in the north offered an ideal solution to her need for a short term contract:

“I already had a year’s PR experience before finishing university from my placement year and I was lucky enough to be asked back by the same company to help open a northern office. They had already spoken to me about returning to London which I said I was unable to do as I was saving to go travelling, however when they got in touch with me about the northern office it was ideal. I could stay in Leeds, do something really exciting, get some great experience and they already knew I would be leaving in a years and a half’s time”.

Not everyone will have the same luck in this respect, and will have to take a leap of faith in leaving their job to travel. However, you should never assume your employer won’t be happy with your plans and that giving up work is your only option.

David Sutherland approached his bosses with a suggestion that worked for them both:

“The company I work for has its quiet time during the summer months and they wanted to save money wherever possible during the economic downturn. Allowing me a few months off while the work-load was low meant they saved paying me a salary for a while and I was able to return to work as things picked up again later in the year”.

Finding yourself settling into a career after university can often cause the unexpected alarm bells that tell you that now is the time to do something different. A PR exec with two or three years experience may find returning to work easier than someone further into their career looking for a specific management role – so getting out before you get too involved is the slightly pessimistic way of looking at it. The way Caroline Gibson sees it is that travelling can be an advantage for your career:

“Nothing has been set in stone for my return, I don’t have a guaranteed job to go back to but I have some fantastic experience on my CV and travelling has made me more focussed on the future. I wouldn’t change what I am doing for the world and it has even made me tempted to come and work abroad for a year in a PR agency – so who knows what will happen when I return”.

Asking for advice

Whatever view you have, asking the advice of others is always the key thing to do. Advice from some may have a philosophical edge, “It’s now or never, don’t think about it, just go for it”, but I’ll conclude with a few practical tips for planning a journey:

• Work out a budget, and add 50%. This may prevent you running out of cash too early or allow you to relax a little more when it comes to spending; finding a hostel which has suddenly put its prices up a significant amount due to a busy weekend will seem much less stressful if you’re not worrying about money.

• Take a pay-as-you-go mobile phone and buy a local sim card for the country you’re in. You may not need to use it much, but when you’re stuck in a bus station at 3am and need to get hold of your accommodation you’ll be thankful for it. If you can afford to take a small laptop or netbook too this will save you an incredible amount on Internet café charges ($3 per hour every day adds up when you’re constantly booking accommodation).

• Buy a travel towel. They fold up unimaginably small and dry amazingly fast. It’s a must. Concentrated washing detergent you can use in a sink is also unexplainably helpful.

• Most of all, have fun! Don’t spend your trip worrying about unemployment – there’s always more travelling to fill a recruitment gap and you’ll have plenty to talk about when those interviews start lining up again.

Oana Baetica, of Stone Junction, believes the CIPR should do more to support graduates

You fervently believe that you can make a positive impact on the communications business and hope to one day manage a portfolio of accounts.

Because you are passionate and want to get ahead in your career you would also like to be part of a professional body and are thinking about joining the Charted Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

The CIPR is the most respected membership body in PR and communications. It acts as ‘the voice of the public relations profession and a champion of professional interests’ and advocates honesty, integrity, professionalism, collaboration and sustainability.

It’s evident then that being a member is an acknowledgement of one’s professional abilities and level of expertise.

Furthermore, being part of this particular association is also an indicator of the individual’s determination to help raise standards in the industry and contribute to his or her own personal development.

Just like a Facebook ‘like’

However, the options the CIPR offers to young executives have no more benefits than the ‘like’ function on Facebook. Having a student, affiliate or associate status with the CIPR will not necessarily support the above mentioned professional development and it will leave you a few hundred pounds lighter as well. Only upon completing professional courses such as the CIPR Advanced Certificate or Diploma in Public Relations, which cost up to around £2500-2700 each, can one aspire to becoming an actual member of the awarding body sometime in next three years.

If one doesn’t have the finances to do one of the courses, the only option remaining is to wait… and wait. According to the CIPR membership grades page, the earliest a PR professional can obtain full membership on time served is after at least six years of continuous employment in the sector. During all this time, the only alternative you are presented with is to become a ‘fan’ (i.e. student, affiliate or associate status). This kind of fandom comes at a considerable annual fee as well.

The need to belong to a group

There are multiple issues to be considered here. First of all, in an industry with a speckled reputation, whose practitioners are referred to as ‘spin doctors’, can we really afford to leave young account executives outside the professional standards system? Restricting access to guidance and mentoring, when graduates and first-jobbers need it the most is not a viable solution. Additionally, industry juniors can be left feeling let down and not considered worthy to adhere to CIPR codes of practice because of their job title.

The need to belong to a group, which is inherent in all of us, is perhaps more stringent when it comes to occupational structures. As a 23-year old MA graduate I can appreciate firsthand how crucial this is for one’s professional development.

Furthermore, I believe that the reputation of PR practitioners could be greatly improved by opening CIPR membership up to appropriately qualified younger people or making associate membership worthwhile. Welcoming the young and relatively inexperienced in a professional body is perhaps a good way of healing the ills of the trade and improving the enforcement of a set of values. Providing a free magazine, discounts on training and a plastic membership card in exchange for a couple of hundred pounds a year is a bit like offering membership of the Desperate Dan fan club.

But maybe hope isn’t lost? Maybe the CIPR is already doing something about the problem?

Year of the student and teacher

The organisation has recently announced that 2011 will be a year of change with regard to entry-level consultants and graduates. A new scheme, which run from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012, aims to boost the prospects of PR professionals in the early stages of their career by providing academic and practical support. Under the Year of the Student and Teacher badge, the institute promises to reach out and help students widen their horizons and broaden their knowledge. However, the concrete facts of this plan are yet to be detailed.

Will this mean that we can now hope to receive relevant benefits such as lower course and training fees, career advice and networking opportunites? Perhaps the CIPR is thinking of also addressing the issue of membership levels.

Counterproductive membership system

As things stand, I consider that the exclusive membership system the CIPR currently uses is not only detrimental to the development of aspiring professionals, but counterproductive as well. Without an incentive to join a professional body and its values, best practice and ethics how can one expect responsible professionals providing a high standard of services?

The CIPR needs to realise that the people who cannot afford to become members today are on the road to becoming tomorrow’s account directors. As the leading body in the field, surely it is in its best interests to have a say in shaping these new-comers and turn them into reliable professionals?

I think the CIPR bears some responsibility for creating an environment where young execs can feel a part of something bigger. It is this feeling of belonging, of aspiring to a higher position that helps us move forward. Bettering oneself should not be limited to those who can pay, but encouraged and nurtured.

At the moment, the road ahead for the great majority of graduates is not an easy one. Prohibitive course and subscription prices, that very few can afford, corroborated with demanding membership criteria are not the best way to create tomorrow’s heads of communications. If anything, they tend to alienate fresh faces and leave them to fend for themselves, without informing and offering significant guidance.

My firm belief remains that graduates and entry level practitioners are to be encouraged and supported by the CIPR and not charged enormous fees to become humble ‘fans’ of this august body.

Laura Smith: graduate job seeker

We’ve had the tough news, now it’s time to do something about it. It’s no longer about saving money individually but collectively instead, in what David Cameron likes to term the ‘Big Society’.

The internet has seen a boom in websites offering money-saving tips and ways to make our salaries go further, but what about those who don’t yet have a secure income, and further still, aren’t looking at gaining one in the near future?

This year will see yet another large number of students graduating with fantastic results, but what use are hard-earned degrees if the country has no jobs to offer?

Not all doom and gloom

How bad is the graduate jobs market? Obviously this varies depending on the field you’re graduating into, and it may not be all doom and gloom, especially when it comes to PR and the creative industries.

Failure and a lack of prospects sells newspapers, but as with all newspaper copy we should take what we read with a pinch of salt.

Companies still need employees. Our degrees aren’t pointless after all. I must reiterate I cannot speak for every industry out there, but in the grand scheme of things there are still jobs to be done and seeing as we haven’t quite caught up with our space-age predictions prior to the 21^st century of robots taking over every human function, there are still jobs for us to do.

The jobs are there, but the ads have gone

What I believe we are seeing is not a slow down in recruitment as the media reports, but that companies are looking to save money. They’re saving it by spending less on advertising rather than halting recruitment altogether.

I’ll use myself as an example. Scouring The Guardian’s website for jobs does seem to lead to the conclusion that if I don’t want to work in sales and marketing then I may as well give up now.

However, an alternative job search via contacts on Twitter tells me differently. By cutting out the middle man I have secured myself two interviews. Both of these came from a ‘I’ll pass your CV on’ scenario, costing the company absolutely nothing in advertising.

The difficulty for companies is that they may not receive a wider range of applications as in conventional job advertising. But it costs them nothing and if they don’t find the applicant they’re looking for then a quick tweet or notice on their website will soon alter that. I believe it’s not only due to the recession, but also a sign of where we’re heading.

Being a media student and taking a close look at trends in PR and social media has told me this is generally the way things are going, spending cuts or not.

The problem is not the recession, but competition

So now we can look at applications in a different way, the problem is not recession, but competition. Many students in the last few years have opted to study what I like to think of as ‘open degrees’; degrees which don’t specifically lead into only one career. Not only do we have to fight off other graduates from different subjects, but those who are still scouring the market from last year.

Professionals are all offering the same advice to students hoping to begin a career during these financially unstable times: promote yourself. By blogging, tweeting and networking you are more likely to succeed if companies recognise your name, no matter how unstable the economy may be.

Stephen Nunes, Events

Working for Macmillan Cancer Support as an Events Assistant is my fifth internship since graduating in 2009. It is probably my most ‘hands-on’ internship yet and what I consider a fantastic opportunity to gain an insight into the organisation of a large scale fundraising event for a high profile charity.

My role has proven to be a challenging but exciting one as I juggle a number of ongoing tasks and learn more about working for a major organisation. On my first few days at Macmillan I began to realise just how big a charity it is. With over a 1000 paid staff and volunteers working at offices around the UK it is a major player within a competitive sector.

I’m working on ‘The Big Mix’ a one day festival in East London that has taken place over the last two years. This year the ambitions are high as we’re aiming to include fashion, comedy, cabaret and art alongside a diverse music line-up.

My average day starts with checking my diary for any meetings I may have with the various departments in-house who are helping with organising the festival and then mainly chasing people via phone or e-mail. Lunch gives me a chance to scan through any music news and festival news and of course the mandatory Facebook check up! I’m supported by the Event Manager who I work alongside with on a daily basis and who I have weekly meetings with to discuss my progress and any problems I might be having.

I also have regular chances to meet with other departments and find out more about the work that they do and gain a better understanding of the various departments within Macmillan. The experience is definitely beneficial for my CV and the charity is really supportive of professional and personal development, allowing people the chance to get stuck in and have a go.

While I must admit that sometimes I do struggle to crawl out of bed in the mornings and start the commute in to London, I am motivated by knowing that the work I’m doing is playing a part in helping to improve the lives of people affected by cancer in the UK. This knowledge that we are all working for a very worthy cause is something which drives everyone at Macmillan and inspires pride in our work.

Ed Thornton, PR

To start with, working in the PR department of a large charity like Macmillan does not seem too different from working for any other national organisation, but if you look hard enough the differences start to appear.

Let’s start with the similarities. Even though Macmillan’s product comes in the form of support, as opposed to a tangible object that is for sale, the overall aim of our public relations activities is the same as anywhere else: to convince the public that our product, our organisation and our brand are wonderful things that they should be involved with. On a project like the Big Mix the way we will ultimately measure our success isn’t too different either. If the festival is a sold-out money spinner that raises funds for the charity and promotes the brand among young people, who will support us in the future, then we have done our job.

However, being a charity, there are some pretty fundamental differences too. Firstly, the budgets are pretty tight. Every extra penny that is spent on PR could be spent on providing nurses for those suffering from cancer so the department runs a pretty tight ship. This does not mean that having a PR department is a waste of money. In fact, Macmillan only survives because of the support it receives from the public, both through monetary donations and through volunteering. PR is the means by which the charity can stay engaged with the people who ultimately fund its work and in this sense it is very important that we get it just right.

Another stark difference is that there is little question among the public that our organisation has some serious social worth. People respect charities and, while many PR teams must fight a constant uphill battle to persuade the public that their organisation has a heart, Macmillan already has wide support. When Macmillan put it in their press releases that they exist to provide valuable support for those with cancer it is not just a strapline, it is the truth.

Because of the importance of public image, and because of the tight budgets, the interns here are well appreciated. My day to day jobs include compiling press lists, writing press releases and controlling the festival’s social media channels. I am not overloaded with work but if I ask for more responsibility then they are happy to get me more involved. Being given important work to do makes the job much more engaging but it is also great for my CV.  This means that working at a charity is good for my professional development as well as for my job satisfaction.

On top of my work in PR I am also given the opportunity to branch out to help with other jobs. The interns play an active role in the festival’s committee and our decisions help to shape the entire event. In the last few weeks I have been helping the whole festival take shape by approaching bands and by thinking of new ways to make it an amazing day. Unlike many other organisations, charities work with volunteers all the time and so they know that making their jobs worthwhile is really important.

The Bright One Management Team try to match volunteers with projects that fit their interests and passions; and I was quite lucky that almost straight away after applying, I was given a project that I could work on.  A few months on, I am currently working on my second project called iDance.  The iDance team are planning a hip-hop dance competition, with the finals being held later this year at Thorpe Park.  The Bright One team consists of Ben Matthews (the Gaffa), Ali Paul (the multi-tasker) and myself.  We had our kick-off meeting early this year, now March, the hip-hop ball is most certainly rolling along nicely.

I graduated last year in English, and must admit that when I applied to Bright One, I did not have much (if any) PR or marketing experience.  I just thought Bright One was original and something I haven’t come across before, but that is one of the many great things about an enterprise like this; I’ve been able to gain so much invaluable experience.  I never thought about PR as a career, mainly due to the fact that I didn’t realise there was a PR industry but after working on a few projects, I realised that PR is a mixture of all the things I have always had an interest in.

As well as the iDance project, I help as much as I can internally for Bright One also, and now I get to see even more of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.  Bright One is something I definitely want to be involved in for many years to come, the work they do is so vast and brilliant.

This is not only due to the recent recession and an increase in people attending university, but also the sheer number of students wishing to progress in a professional career such as PR.

Media, and specifically PR, are popular career destinations for today’s graduates. Public relations and media careers are known for being relatively glamorous and, crucially, these professions accept unrelated degrees such as Media Studies and English Literature. So as a result, once the graduation ceremony and ball are over, a huge number of graduates begin clamouring for that elusive PR job.

This desperate rush for the “easy” careers (as some undergraduates deem them) has serious consequences. It’s a simple matter of supply and demand. At a graduate level, there is a massive supply of labour, all clambering for a limited number of PR jobs.

So what can students and graduates do to differentiate themselves from their rivals?

From grads to riches

Sarah Murray: glad to have a good job in PR

Sarah Murray, account executive at PR and marketing agency MCC International, describes her route into PR:

“I graduated in 2009, slap bang in the middle of the recession.  The job market was in such a dismal state that our lecturers and tutors were encouraging us to go travelling for a year or apply for jobs in supermarkets and coffee houses in order to ride out the recession.

“Many of my fellow students followed this advice and saved up quickly, working in pill-packing factories to buy their plane tickets to adventure. I, however, wanted to hit the ground running. I feared that all I had learnt would just disappear, not to mention that sleeping in hostels in malaria-ridden countries just wasn’t for me!

“In order to tackle what seemed to be the biggest shock of my life, I jumped in at the deep end. I moved straight into a flat in Southampton, a city which seemed to have plenty of small retail jobs that would tide me over and got a full-time job in Pret A Manger. This paid the bills, but was rather disheartening work, so I applied for every job possible.

“I signed on with all the recruitment agencies in the local area and registered with jobs websites, setting the goal of applying for five positions every day. This was a heartless task and a discouraging one, following my fun days at university. However, I kept trying and managed to get a temporary job in Southampton Solent University in the finance department. This was a real breakthrough and allowed me a better wage and a chance to keep applying for jobs in the industry that I studied in.

Lucky break

“Throughout an internship, networking is key. I kept in touch with all my old PR work-placement contacts and tried to gain as much experience as possible. I’m not going to lie and say it was a breeze working and studying full-time, but it was definitely worth it in the end.

“As I came to the end of both my course and internship, I decided it was again time to look for a job in PR. I had done as my tutors and lecturers suggested and filled my year after graduating with work experience and learning, so hoped that all my hard work would pay off in the form of a job in PR.

“Sure enough, the first one I applied to hired me and now I am working as an account executive at the international PR and marketing agency, MCC International.

Adventure junkies

“Many of my classmates did not have such luck. The majority decided to delay working full-time by going travelling for a year or two. Many of them haven’t returned yet, hooked on sunshine and adventure. One friend came back and managed to get a job at Champion Communications in London, which saw her land on her feet – she was one of the lucky ones. Another went on to secure a job as a PR and marketing assistant in Southampton, until the recession caused mass redundancies in the company. The good news is after a shaky start she is now working for a PR agency in London.

“One of my close friends found getting a job in PR impossible so started applying anywhere in a sporadic fashion with no success. So she decided to work in an estate agency showing properties. She has recently been head hunted and is now moving to London as an estate agent.

“Another friend now works in Tesco on the tills and has resigned herself to the fact that there are no graduate jobs out there. She is saving up to move abroad and hopes that she will find something overseas.

“The job market has shrunk with all the recession cutbacks and the majority of jobs are now found in big cities such as London and Manchester. PR graduates are having to look into alternative jobs until a preferred position opens up in a company or settle for a completely different career. I’m just glad that I managed to differentiate myself from others and stand out when it comes to the job application process.  With the change in tuition fees, the job market will change again and hopefully, make it easier eventually for graduates to get jobs in their chosen profession.”

Ben Smith is managing director of PR commentary and careers site PR Moment.

Jeannyfar: running late with cupcakes

8:00 am: Damn it! I didn’t hear my alarm ringing – or did he switch it off again? No time to think. Quick shower, no make-up and an apple on the  way out.

8:15am: Dilemma! I don‘t know what to wear! Lucky we don‘t have a formal dress code like at Emma’s office, but my favourite blouse is in the laundry and I have already worn that skirt twice in a row. Ok, ok the white dress and black over-knee boots it is.

8:36am: ARRGH! Missed my train. Hate taking the bus.

8:42am: Tweeting how stupid Birmingham buses are and blessing our flexitime office hours. Lucky me.

8:59am: Rushing to the office and trying not to sweat to much. Told Ceri (Managing Director) I‘ll be in from 9am today – bloody alarm. I‘ll stop and get some cupcakes for everyone. Who will then notice my late arrival. Smart me.

09:11am: Ceri has been here since 8am. Feeling guilty. I need a cupcake and tea. Getting tea – does anyone else want?

9:30am: Catching up with everyone. Tweeting from my intern Twitter that I‘m at work and bribing everyone with sweet handmade cupcakes. Fly over my emails, grab a croissant from our free breakfast buffet and get ready to go down to the “Zen Den“ for our morning team briefing.

9:45am: Ceri will be meeting three new potential clients today. One of them does not want social media coverage. Odd. Wow she has amazing tights on. Smexy! That’s smart and sexy. I‘ll start with my diet today. I am serious this time. Phil is so cute.

10:18am: Brief catch up with Ceri. She likes the press release I showed her yesterday. Her edited version is so much better. I feel stupid. Why am I not that good? Barns (CEO and Owner) is coming in from Dubai today. She wants to show him my work before sending it out. Nervous.

10:59am: I love being the only intern. Get all the credits for good work. Re-doing the PR schedule according to new PR release dates. Tori from Sales is giving me amazing ideas for my birthday party next week. I want to pitch her some of my PR ideas before going to Ceri.

11:18am: Just had a massive Google session. I had to put together the business and local journalist list for Brainy Marketing release. Ceri is on the phone all morning. Will just email her my findings.

12 noon: Why is Josie not on MSN? Maybe she is in a meeting. Hope she did not forget our lunch date. I‘ll pop down to her desk and see where she is. I have to tell her about last night. Kinky.

12:22pm: Email back from Ceri telling me to write a draft press release to promote our client’s charity climb and fundraising event. I don‘t know what to write. New clients. Huge project. I can‘t do it. Ok – I‘ll just try my best.

01:14pm: Waiting in ground floor launch to grab lunch with Josie. 30mins break are never enough. Damn it, I forgot to tweet.

Brainy Marketing in action

01:47pm: Receiving reminder email on office night out today. How could I forget? It’s every two months. Tonight it’s going to be Mexican. I love free food. Makes a little up for the unpaid internship.  A little.

2:34pm: Still collating details of local radio, print media and TV to promote other events planed. Barns is back. I can see Ceri in his office. She wants me to start blogging for the company.

4:19pm: Oli comes down to show me Basecamp (online project management software). I like how Ceri involves me in all projects. Taking journalist inquires on the phone was rough earlier. They are mean.

5:10pm: Everyone in the foyer excited about mexican night. Glad I chose this dress and wasn‘t dressed too casual.

6:03pm: No! Last one to arrive at the restaurant. Just could not find it. Blushing.

Jeannyfar's placement is with Brainy Marketing

6:20pm: So much food. My eyes are glowing. Asking Tori if it is really all for free. I am so broke. Barns thanking everyone for their hard work. He looks nothing like a Ferrari driver.

8:17pm: Everyone heading to ‘All Bar One‘ for drinks. Some suggest going to this new club.

9:57pm: Running to catch my train. Want to be at my desk before Ceri tomorrow.

What a lucky PR girl I am.