Yasmin (centre) and colleagues off to a Todd Lynn fashion show

With seven clients showing – Antonio Berardi, Aquascutum, Christopher Kane, House of Holland, Osman, Richard Nicoll and Todd Lynn – there was so much to be done that I had never expected.

Invitation request lists had to be analysed and reanalysed daily, addresses for invites had to be requested or found, then came the long task of handwriting each invitation for every show.

Particular looks from each designer’s SS12 collection often got requested by celebrities so we had to ensure that every item was in the showroom, regardless of whether it had only just been sent out to New York two days prior to the request.

The stress that came with the lead up to fashion week didn’t seem worth it, until we got to request shows to work at.

The popular choices for interns to choose seemed to be those that would be filled with celebrities to awe over, however that didn’t interest me.

I knew which shows I wanted to work, as I loved the collections of each designer, I was determined to make sure I was at each show. Antonio Berardi, Aquascutum, Richard Nicoll and Todd Lynn – my determination paid off.

It seemed only fair that I had more shows than other interns. I would do anything in order to make sure there were no slip ups, I turned up earlier than requested for every show, I upheld a professionalism that I had never cared to have before and even when I’d been helping backstage as soon as the first model hit the runway I had the same mind-blowing excitement for every show.

Fashion has always been an important aspect of my life. In choosing a university degree I always considered whether a particular course would prohibit me from finding a path in to the fashion industry.

Public relations seemed like a perfect career to be part of the industry without the stigma that working in fashion can often bring. And I was yet to reconsider my career options when I decided to take on a placement in one of the world’s leading fashion PR agencies.

I had stumbled across The Communications Store. I’d heard of other top agencies in London such as Relative MO and Karla Otto from reading fashion week articles in Elle and Vogue, but would always dismiss them as being unrealistic placement choices.

When I came across The Communications Store (TCS) all of those doubts were replaced with determination, I had never felt more passionate about a prospective job opportunity before – and although it was just for a work placement I knew that I would do anything to get it.

Foot in door

I initially emailed Natalia Cassel, a Group Account Director at TCS asking whether I could interview her for my portfolio. Once this was done I enquired about the possibility of doing a summer placement. I quickly worked out how busy the fashion industry was. After two months of emails between Natalia and HR it seemed my persistence had paid off and I was offered a four-month placement from early June until the end of September.

My first day was possibly one of the most exhausting of my life. I obviously arrived early so sat drinking coffee to calm my nerves before actually going in to the building. I hadn’t really thought about what to expect but was stunned to find that everyone was welcoming.

What I also hadn’t anticipated was the amount of work an intern was expected to do. Alongside eight other interns it was our job to do pretty much anything and everything that needed to be done.

The heart of the office is the showroom

A fashion PR agency is unlike a normal PR office environment in almost every way. The standard computers, desks and boardroom remains the same, but in fashion PR the heart of the office is the showroom and it was the interns’ role – under the guidance of the fashion merchandiser – to make sure it was spotless.

It took me only a week to realise that would never happen. It took me only a day to realise that no intern should ever start on a Monday with low work expectations.

A fashion intern’s main role at TCS was to book out send-outs or book in returns. Unlike conventional campaign and press release work, the majority of PR in fashion is sending out clothes for publication or press.

As TCS has such a high-profile client list, including Christopher Kane, Missoni, Nicholas Oakwell, Roland Mouret and Versace, it was imperative that the whereabouts of every item of clothing was known. Stock checks became a regular part of my summer; in fact my work placement began to become my life.

I had never been so passionate about working before. I became so involved with working at TCS that it seemed to be the only thing I did. I struggled to keep on top of the blog I had intended to be a diary for my placement, and the regular tweets I had initially hoped to do were unrealistic in such a busy environment.

Feels like full-time

What I had anticipated to be a regular work placement became what seemed to be a full-time job. Working 9-6 Monday to Friday meant that I was constantly tired, after the commute back home every evening all I wanted to do was sleep. I began to struggle to find any motivation to work and began to cherish my weekends up to Leeds or going back home to Essex.

After a week in Ibiza I knew I had to decide whether I wanted to continue my placement. It wasn’t until my first day back at TCS after my holiday that I realised how much I’d missed the office. It also seemed pointless to even consider leaving my placement early after the effort it had taken to get it. I’d forgotten before how much I loved the family environment, the spontaneous tea breaks – that I usually started – and the random errands I’d always offer to run. It took being away from that environment and actually having downtime to realise how much I loved working at TCS.

Put off fashion PR

I had so many different feelings about the PR industry and which field I hoped to go in to once I finished my degree. After the first couple of months of my placement I had assumed I’d been completely put off fashion PR and that the placement had shown me that I didn’t want to be part of the industry.

However, by the end of fashion week I had fallen completely back in love with fashion. I realised how privileged I was to have worked for such a fantastic company alongside amazing people. I’m still unsure whether fashion PR is definitely for me, but that’s the whole point of work placements, to gain an experience of what you might want to do with your life.  I now know that fashion PR is still very much an option.

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.

Rebecca Hardisty: initially unsure about PR

Unlike fashion, I didn’t know I would fall in love with PR; I didn’t even know what it was until I became a prospective student at the University of Gloucestershire.

It was not until my third year of university, when an unlikely turn of events brought my two passions together when I went to work at We Are Social, a London based ‘conversation agency’ for 6 months as part of the Fashion and Lifestyle team.

I was relatively new to social media at the start of my placement year, but after the three months internship prior to starting at We Are Social, I had the understanding and the enthusiasm to know it was where I wanted to be. It was never the stereotypical fashion PR role people think of, but I loved it.

I didn’t deal with designers or talk to fashion press, nor did it have the bitchy office atmosphere. But I did get to live, breath, read and write blogs about fashion. One of my fondest memories of my work experience was getting to go to London Fashion Week.

Social media has breathed new life into the fashion industry and I feel lucky that I was able to be a part of it for a short time.

Fashion bloggers have become online celebrities for their beautiful photography, ‘Outfits of the Day’ and individual writing styles. It is the rich content that keeps their readers coming back for more, which is what makes a successful blog – influence through a specialised readership.

This new kind of celebrity has taken them behind the scenes, onto the red carpets of high profile fashion events and amongst the fashion fabulous at fashion weeks. They’ve inspired their readers and the brands.

Many fashion brands have realised the potential opportunities that blogger outreach can bring, with many global brands already incorporating this into their social media marketing strategies.

One of my favourite campaigns was Lanvin for H&M. The French fashion house created a collection for the high street favourite and invited bloggers to be some of the first to get their hands on their coveted pieces.

Arguably the biggest fashion blog, Style Bubble, is run by Susanna Lau, who has made a career out of blogging. Her blog, started in 2006, now draws in over 300,000 visitors.

Like with celebrities, having products featured on influential blogs is golden. It’s better than advertising and certainly cheaper. Just look at the success Reiss has had because of Kate Middleton after she was featured twice wearing two of their dresses – the famous blue engagement dress and the bandage dress she wore to meet President Obama and the First Lady.

Both times, the Reiss website crashed due to the high level of traffic to the site.  Imagine the power of a blog with a readership of over 100,000 visitors, who all see their favourite blogger wearing a chosen piece. They are all likely to want to go out and find that item, and most bloggers will usually tell you where it is from.

Brands have certainly cottoned on to this and often send products to bloggers to test and post about.

What all brands need to understand is that bloggers are real people and they are not all the same, there are many different types of fashion blog and blogger. Knowing this is fundamental when outreaching to bloggers.

Bloggers are passionate about what they write about and they want to share that passion. The more original content they have, the more influential they become. If you enable them to blog about something that they and their readers will find of interest, they are likely to respond well.

Through this medium, many bloggers become brand advocates. Like all good PR practitioners know, the aim is to build good relationships and this is true in blog communications.

Yet with the free speech that the internet gives us, it is very easy for bloggers to bad mouth you if you upset them –  and they often will!

I would say to anyone that work experience is invaluable, but it can always be thoroughly enjoyable too. Internships are too commonly highlighted negatively for being unpaid and unfair. Whilst this is an issue in the public relations industry, properly structured and fair internships can provide a way forward.

It is hard to get work without experience but internships give students the chance to shine. If anyone knows, it is me; I had three in one year! Finding a job you love is for many people, a lifelong ambition. Internships give you the opportunity to find what you love, learn along the way and have a little fun.

The Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) campaign now has the support of 25 consultancies, including Burson-Marsteller, Edelman, Grayling, Porter Novelli and Red Consultancy. These firms are committed to paying interns at least the national minimum wage.

The CIPR Work Placement Charter, updated in 2010, is also clear in its guidance on unpaid internships:

“National Minimum Wage legislation requires employers to pay minimum wage or above for all work placements, unless they fall within the following exemptions:

• Students who are studying on higher education courses at UK universities or colleges if placed with an employer as part of their course. This exemption may be applied for a maximum period of one year.
• Students doing voluntary work for a registered charity and those doing work-shadowing.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has supported the campaign in a column in PR Week:

“The fact is, workplaces across Britain desperately need to be opened up, and PR is no exception. Too often it’s who you know – not what you know – that counts.”

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

Two Birds One Stone founders Ged Savva, Becky Edlin and Adam Burns outside their new office in Leeds

Two Birds One Stone, which specialises in the youth market, is looking to recruit five students to work on a part-time basis in paid roles within the agency.

Two Birds One Stone, which was set-up by a current Leeds Metropolitan student and two recent University of Leeds graduates, has experience working with youth brands including Oxford Stationery, Leeds Corn Exchange and a number of universities and colleges across the UK.

Students are being invited to an initial interview process on Monday 17 October, at which they will have two minutes to impress the panel.

Successful candidates will be put into groups of five and given the live brief from King of Shaves. The five groups will pitch their campaign on Friday 28 October to a panel including Paul Adrian, Director of Sales & Marketing UK and EMEA at King of Shaves; Alex Epstein, star of The Apprentice 2011; and Nathan Lane, managing director of Bell Pottinger.

Paul Adrian said: “It’s fantastic to see young people being enterprising and we are looking forward to hearing the ideas the students have for our brand.”

Alex Epstein, star of the BBC Apprentice and former head of communications at Yorkshire-based Masternaut, said: “Unemployment amongst young people is a big problem in Britain, so initiatives like this can really help people develop skills and become more employable.

“Two Birds One Stone is a brilliant concept and I know the team are very keen to offer their peers opportunities, which is great. I am looking forward to sitting on the panel and listening to all the bright ideas.”

As well as staking a claim for a paid job the students will also gain experience in developing a campaign as a team and pitching to industry professionals.

Adam Burns, co-founder of Two Birds One Stone said: “We are looking for creative students who want to succeed in business. Our clients value the youth insight we bring, so having a young team of energetic and innovative students is vitally important.”

“It is a fantastic opportunity for students to gain experience and secure a job, at a time when finding employment is tough.

“Students will only have two minutes to sell themselves at the initial interview stage, so we are encouraging them to be creative and try to catch our eye before the day.”

Students who are interested in attending the initial interview stage should email hello@twobirdsonestone or tweet www.twitter.com/Leeds_TBOS

Or like the Facebook page and add your details to the wall www.facebook.com/TwoBirdsOneStoneLeeds

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.

Northern Lights ran the second year of its paid PR internship for BAME graduates this July 2011. The Harrogate consultancy’s intense three week training programme, which included masterclasses, real life client projects and networking sessions, is based on the flagship Taylor Bennett Foundation internship in London. It was delivered in partnership with client Bradford University School of Management with the help of Northern Lights’ PR and business contacts.

Victoria Tomlinson, chief executive of Northern Lights PR, said: “There is a lot of talk about the lack of diversity in communications, but very little action.  Taylor Bennett were the first to create an outstanding paid internship in London – and with their help we have run a smaller scale programme for the last two years.

“We’ve had tremendous support from individuals in our region but there is only so much we can do. We now need a major partner to deliver the London model in the North – this could be a large employer with a strong communications team or a large PR or media company.”

Heather McGregor, who conceived and set up the Taylor Bennett Foundation’s internship, said: “Our ambition is to change the face of the communications industry, to make it a more representative and meritocratic profession.  We are proud that the work of the Foundation has been replicated by Northern Lights PR in the North of England.  In time, and with the support of our many partners, we hope to expand our programme across the country.”

Northern Lights won the Corporate Social Responsibility category at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ Yorkshire & Lincolnshire Pride Awards for last year’s internship. All of those who completed last year’s internship went on to work in PR, communications, marketing and related roles, including Nafisa Shafiq, who has just landed a job in the digital team at Edelman, the world’s largest independent PR consultancy.

During a packed three weeks, this year’s four Northern Lights’ interns attended masterclasses led by industry experts on team building, social media campaign planning, business blogging, media relations, writing for different audiences, crisis communications, in-house PR, CV writing and interview skills.  Guest speakers included Claire Morley-Jones of HR180, Ian Briggs of thebusinessdesk.com, Justin McKeown of Mission Agency, Gary Taylor of Metro, Karyn Fleeting of Tinderbox, Anne Gregory of Leeds Metropolitan University, Charlotte Renwick of Bradford University and independent consultants Nigel Keenlyside and Jane Hustwit.

Northern Lights PR interns 2011 - Ahmed Riaz, Farrah Khan, Kulbir Sandhu, Naimah Sheikh

The interns also went behind the scenes at BBC Look North and Northern Ballet and were set real life project briefs by Bradford University School of Management on its undergraduate recruitment strategy, the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology on its involvement in the British Science Festival and UK General on farm diversification for the Rural Insurance arm of its business.

The four interns were pharmaceutical management student Farrah Khan, business management graduate Ahmed Riaz, communications officer Kulbir Sandhu and ICT with business graduate Naimah Sheik. They all now hope to go on to work in public relations or a related field.

Commenting on the internship experience, Ahmed Riaz said: “I would never have considered a career in public relations and communications before the Northern Lights internship. Now I really understand its value to business, Government, organisations, communities and life. Being given the opportunity to meet and learn from so many successful people has been invaluable and I’ll use all the skills I’ve developed in whatever I decide to do.”

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has a strategy that aims to tackle the lack of diversity in the profession by raising awareness of PR to people from different backgrounds and addressing recruitment methods.

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Attending university during a tough recession, the savviest graduates are recognising the need to gain real-world experience while still studying, finding opportunities to build their portfolios.

One trend among ambitious students is participation in crowdsourcing programmes, allowing busy but tenacious Millennials a chance to contribute to companies looking to connect with the digital generation.

“When I realised that I might want to work in the public relations field, I joined Mindfire, a crowdsourcing community formed by a leading public relations firm, and as a result, I was recently hired by them for a paid summer fellowship,” says Lauren Campbell, a senior graduating from Yale University this May.

“In addition to working at a local New Haven integrated marketing agency while still a student, I found that contributing my creative ideas to challenges posted on Mindfire gave me a real taste of what a job in PR would entail, plus it gave me an edge in landing a position.”

Ketchum, the public relations firm where Campbell will join two other Mindfire community members who also landed summer jobs in the firm’s New York headquarters office, created its university-based online crowdsourcing platform last year as a new creativity engine for its clients.

Talent pipeline

“An unexpected dividend of our growing community is that it’s proving to be an incredible talent pipeline,” says Karen Strauss, partner and chief innovation officer at Ketchum and a co-developer of Mindfire. “We received nearly 700 applications for less than 10 summer fellowship spots, but the ongoing contributions by Lauren and two other students we hired, Alexandra Tomlinson of Cornell and Melanie Buford of the University of Missouri, provided our hiring committee with evidence of the way these applicants think creatively and work under tight deadlines. Students who have supplied us with a steady stream of original thinking really rise to the top of the applicant pool.”

Mindfire is an open innovation community for college graduate and undergraduate students with demonstrated creativity, communications and digital skills. More than 300 students from 22 leading universities are presented with real creative challenges facing Ketchum and its clients, which they can work on individually or collaboratively during breaks in their academic work.

In addition to getting experience to add to their CVs, students also receive career coaching, training and job alerts from Ketchum, along with prizes provided by the client that issued each challenge. Eager to give students practical work opportunities with large global corporations, professors from universities in North America, Europe and Asia help recruit creative students to join Mindfire in order to advance their knowledge outside the classroom and give them an edge in the marketplace.

How to get hired

Simeon Mellalieu, general manager of Ketchum Hong Kong, recently hired two Mindfire members as interns, and believes that the program helps the agency and, ultimately, its clients. “The open innovation community platform lets me spot individuality, creativity, enthusiasm and drive for a PR career in an instant without having to trawl through the dozens of homogenous résumés I receive each month for internships or full-time positions.”

More than 40 Ketchum clients have used Mindfire for creative inspiration, including Hertz, Wendy’s, Frito-Lay North America and others.

“Great ideas can come from anywhere, so Frito-Lay North America was delighted to tap into a crowdsourcing platform to gather inspiration from fresh-thinking minds,” says Aurora Gonzalez, senior director of public relations at Frito-Lay North America. “As someone who is often on the hunt for smart, innovative talent, Ketchum’s Mindfire is a compelling proving ground for ambitious students.”

Paula R. Rivera, manager of public affairs for the Hertz Corporation, says, “Hertz recognizes the value of tapping into a global community of creative thinkers and we have learned a great deal from Mindfire members.”

Mindfire is a free resource available to all Ketchum clients. Client challenges are confidential, and only registered members of the community can access the password-protected site. As an added incentive for participation, every idea posted on Mindfire results in an agency donation to Room to Read, Ketchum’s philanthropic partner, for the purchase of local-language books for needy children in the developing world.

The current alphabetical list of participating universities includes:

• The Media School, Bournemouth University (UK)
• Boulder Digital Works, University of Colorado at Boulder (USA)
• Boston University (USA)
• Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College (USA)
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong; College of Charleston (USA)
• Cornell University (USA)
• New York University (USA)
• DePaul University (USA)
• Georgetown University (USA)
• Leeds Metropolitan University (UK)
• Marquette University (USA)
• Mudra Institute of Communications (India)
• Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (India)
• Syracuse University (USA)
• Tsinghua University (China)
• University of North Carolina – Charlotte (USA)
• University of Maryland – College Park (USA)
• University of Missouri School of Journalism (USA)
• University of Southern California (USA)
• Washington University, St. Louis (USA)
• Yale University (USA)

The winner of the award will be offered a six-week internship at PRIME’s research centre in Oxford, UK. In addition, there will be a £4,000 stipend and accommodation will be provided.

The competition is open to students on the postgraduate or the final year of undergraduate degree programmes, and to those who graduated in 2010.

Applicants should submit a 1500 word essay on the topic of public relations evaluation. In keeping with the 2011 theme of sustainability, applicants should draw on examples relevant to this theme to illustrate their discussion.

The judges will use the following criteria in assessing submissions:

• Use of a range of credible and referenced sources
• Understanding of key evaluation concepts
• A clear argument supported by evidence from practice – particularly sustainability PR
• Conclusions that demonstrate fresh insight
• Clear, accurate and fluent writing style.

Deadline for submissions is 31 May and further details can be found here.

About the PRIME Research Fellowship

This was inaugurated in the US in 2009 and a winner last year was Vanessa Procter while she was studying for a Master’s Degree in Public Relations at Bournemouth. Vanessa, 23, and originally from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, later joined the company and after training at PRIME’s headquarters in Mainz near Frankfurt currently works at the research centre in Oxford.

Japan fundraising

• PR student Jasmine Bell has started a #makechangeforjapan campaign on Twitter and has already raised almost half of her target of £1000 on JustGiving
• Practitioner Aimee Carmichael is offering free consultancy in return for a donation via JustGiving

Challenge 66 for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity

• A team of students working for Ptarmigan Academy is supporting Andy McMenemy as he attempts 66 marathons in 66 different cities in 66 days. Their ambitious target is to raise over £1,000,000 from donations in the various city marathons. #challenge66

Desert marathon for organ donation charities

• Exhausted? 29-year-old Alexa Torlo from Birmingham is competing in ‘the toughest marathon on earth’ – running 243km in six days in the Sahara Desert carrying her own supplies. Having lost a close friend at a young age, Alexa is raising £4000 for ‘Live Life Then Give Life’ and ‘Donor Family Network’. See her JustGiving page.

International Women’s Day

• Students were among those supporting Action Aid’s Get Lippy campaign by blogging inspirational stories for International Women’s Day earlier this month. Elena Dransfield is one example of this online activism.

We welcome further examples of PR students supporting good causes.

Social media has seen explosive growth over the last few years and some might argue that it is completely altering the nature of public relations and communications. Businesses and organisations from all sectors and backgrounds are being encouraged to build a strong online presence in order to communicate with their key target audiences – and this includes those in the not-for-profit sector.

Social media is ultimately about connecting, interacting and sharing online – so if this is the case, surely it opens up an abundance of opportunities for organisations operating in the sector? Charities and other not-for-profits want to connect and interact with supporters, and more importantly, they need to share the work of their organisation with the rest of the world in order to raise awareness of their cause and build up a strong group of supporters.

The role of social media in the sector

Melanie Rawlings (photo credit: Steve Hobb, Sussex Newspapers)

There has been much debate about the role social media plays in the sector. Is it a customer service tool? Is it purely a way of communicating with supporters and building relationships? Or does it open up new fundraising opportunities?

From my experience of working as PR officer at the Leeds-based national heart charity, Heart Research UK, social media was used as a tool to complement activities and campaigns going on within the organisation.

Facebook was a place to promote fundraising events and get those taking part to create groups and get to know each other; Twitter was a way to raise awareness of and get people talking about heart disease, and a place to promote campaigns and events run by the charity.

If I remember rightly, there was never an instance where we actually asked for donations using social media.

It was more of a relationship building tool; a way to raise awareness of the cause and a means of encouraging supporters to sign up for events – but could all of these characteristics have the potential to encourage fundraising income?

A fundraising potential offered through social media?

Transparency, relationship building and social capital are all words which we regularly hear being used when talking about social media.

An organisation must be ‘transparent’ online to gain the trust of its supporters; an organisation must use the tools available to their full potential in order to succeed in building a strong relationship with its supporters.

By sticking to these cardinal rules, organisations in the sector can build upon their social capital and engage new donors and supporters in the cause – which in turn, can lead to new fundraising opportunities.

Diffusion of information

Fundraisers and donors are often concerned with where the money that they work so hard to raise is actually going. The diffusion of information through social media is a great way to let people know where the funding is being spent and is key to keeping supporters interested and loyal to the cause.  By increasing informative transparency and updating supporters on all of the activity of the organisation, there is a good potential to turn existing followers into donors.

Social media can also be used by supporters of the cause to help them in collecting sponsorship for an event or campaign they are involved in on behalf of a charity.

Platforms such as Justgiving or Virginmoneygiving are great ways for supporters to collect funds as they eliminate the hassle of filling out sponsor forms and trying to contact sponsors after events.

These  pages can be linked to other social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter, and supporters can promote their work through Facebook ‘events’ or ‘causes’ or  simply by tweeting.

But how can organisations help with this? It’s simple! Again, it is just by being there. By re-tweeting a supporter’s tweet, or posting well-wishing comments on their events page/commenting on their status.  By endorsing the supporter, organisations are not only raising more awareness of their challenge which can lead to more sponsorship, but are building a good reputation for the charity by actively engaging with supporters and forming better relationships, and  ultimately, encouraging more support to the cause.

Perspectives from the sector

Stacey Rennard, Communications Manager at Heart Research UK, gives her thoughts on fundraising potential offered through social media:

“Social media is a relatively new way of engaging with our supporters at Heart Research UK. More and more of our fundraisers are using it to keep us updated with their training and fundraising efforts and it’s a great way to stir up a bit of interest. At this stage I see it much more as a way of engaging and building relationships with supporters, and people interested in the charity, rather than purely a fundraising tool. Although, it can be tied in with online giving sites we’ve yet to see it have a major impact on the amount of money people raise for us, but over time this could change.”

Laurier Nicas, Digital Marketing Officer at Dogs Trust tells me how social media is used at the organisation and her views on its fundraising potential:

“Here at Dogs Trust, we mainly use social media for brand awareness, social interaction, as a platform to disseminate information and as a customer service tool. The use of social media is a great way to drive fundraising – whether it’s driving people to events or to promote supporters that are doing events, however, in itself, I find it quite difficult to fundraise with the sole use of social media – it’s a great driver and a great tool, but it cannot stand alone.

“If you’re asking for money and you’ve fostered a genuine community online that’s following you and interacting with you, and you’re interacting with them, supporters would be a lot more responsive and receptive to any efforts than they would be if you just used social media as a loudspeaker – because that’s not what it is about. I think it’s important for organisations in the sector to realise this.”

So although indirect, there is definitely a fundriaising potential offered through using social media and organisations cannot afford to miss out on such opportunities.

Research and studies have shown that the use of social media platforms – such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and YouTube – is being underexploited in the sector. But why are practitioners so reluctant to get involved?

A recent survey by charitycomms suggests that practitioners fear they do not know how to listen and respond online. Personally, I think the biggest problem organisations face is the lack of resources available which are required to maintain the social networking sites.

Many non-for-profits just do not have the staff time or enough money in the pot to employ a digital marketing team to respond to the high volume of comments, posts and online queries. 

Meet our social media volunteer

Perhaps this opens up opportunities for a new type of supporter, a new type of volunteer… the social media volunteer?

Many PR, communications and marketing students are looking for work experience in the industry, and charities could maximise on this by getting them in to manage their social media accounts.  After all, social media can be accessed anywhere (anywhere that has an internet connection that is), so it would not necessarily mean they had to be in the office five days a week in order to meet the needs and demands of an organisation’s online community.

However charities decide to manage it, it is important for them to ‘go social’, to get involved in the many platforms out there and use them as a loudspeaker for their cause – otherwise they might just be missing out on an array of new fundraising opportunities which others are taking advantage of.

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.

Jessica North

I transferred universities for many reasons, but predominantly, I wanted to take part in the placement scheme Bournemouth University offer. Undertaking a minimum of a forty week placement is just the thing missing from many graduates’ CVs. An argument often presented is what use is the degree without the experience to apply it too, and then there’s the vicious circle of finding your first placement with no experience.

So how do you fix that? How do you make yourself the person your ideal organisation wants to hire? James Caan, most popularly known for his appearance on Dragon’s Den has published a book, Get the job you really want. “It’s your attitude not your aptitude that determines your altitude.”

Creating the perfect CV

Often the first impression any company will ever see from you, so it needs to be your absolute best. This is something Bournemouth University are definitely good at; running CV workshops and checking your CV with detailed feedback.

• Your CV should be absolutely no more than two pages in length.
• We’re advised to keep your typeface in size 11.
• Relevant Employment Experience should appear first.
• No colour.
• NO SPELLING MISTAKES OR GRAMMAR – this may be the most important. Particularly with industries like PR, your writing skills need to be to a high quality so this is your chance to impress. Check, double check and check again.
• Research the company’s recruitment process, when I did this for the organisation I want to work for, I found that they’re not a fan of personal statements. Your CV should be presented for the company you want and apply to, not a standard template you resend.

The Interview

• Research the company. Know their clients, their brands, their recent campaigns and recent coverage.
• Remember they may be researching you too. The internet is a wonderful thing, but it does work two ways.
• Preparation – whether the organisation in question has asked you for specific preparation or not, you need to be prepared for anything. In a recent interview, I was given four products and told to write a press release in ten minutes.
• Interview wear – quite simply, it’s better to look too smart than not smart enough. Even if you know they have a smart-casual policy, you haven’t been hired yet – you still need to impress.
• Ask questions; ask how many people they’re interviewing, where the recruitment process goes from here on in, what aspects of their job do they enjoy the most. The interview is not just for their benefit, you need to decide whether this company is right for you. Asking questions will also make you appear more interested in the role and pro-active.
• Practice. With friends, family or online. There are many sites that give example interview questions and questions you should ask back.

Placement Years:

Again, something I can’t fault Bournemouth University for. They organised a Meet the Fourth Years afternoon for us to hear about their placements, applying for placements and ask them questions. This has been extremely beneficial in my applications this year and I’d recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to speak with other students returning from their placement year. The one thing that really stuck was don’t wait for the applications to come through the university, if you know where you want to be, contact them yourself. This will show your enthusiasm and you to be pro-active. This also gives you the edge over any competition from your classmates also wanting to apply but waiting.

And my personal favourite, and possibly the most important:

Getting Experience

Every company and professional you speak to always enforces the fact that work experience will make or break your application. As good as the degree at Bournemouth University is, the sole foundation of my Public Relations knowledge came from completing work experience, firstly at AFC Bournemouth. Witnessing the chaos from behind the scenes of a football club first-hand is certainly something you do not forget and I’m not going to pretend I didn’t take it purely to boost my CV and get an insight to PR in-house, but what I learnt in those five months set me up for the career ahead of me and it even made the theoretical side of my coursework easier to understand.

Why am I glad I got involved in the work experience Bournemouth could offer me?

Every thought I had on my career and lifestyle, every gut reaction I ever had was all confirmed to me in that initial placement. That drive, that passion and that commitment to your brand, client or organisation is what Public Relations is about, and ultimately why it’s an industry I know I want to be involved in. Once you’ve had a taste for that one thing you really want, you learn exactly where you want to be and I now know I’ve never wanted anything more in my life and I will do everything it takes to make sure I succeed. That’s one thing University cannot instil in you.

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.

Richard Bilton presented 'Who Gets The Best Jobs' on BBC2

A recent BBC documentary exposed fashion PR agency Modus Publicity for its use of up to twenty unpaid interns, causing uproar and controversy amongst PR professionals and students alike.

The debate has been raging in the trade press and on social media site, Twitter, with divided opinions.

It’s tough at the bottom

With 70 applicants for every graduate job, students making the transition to the professional world face a tough challenge, and it’s becoming increasingly apparent that work experience is one of the only ways to stand out in a crowded market.

It is standard on most PR job descriptions to ask for experience and students without this will see their applications at the bottom of the pile. Unfortunately a varied, full portfolio and extensive CV is coming at a price – and it’s the students who are out of pocket.

Many students will complete placements whilst at university, giving up essential hours of study to work, usually for free. Whilst it could be argued that they’re not doing the job of a salaried employee, an intern will often be a valuable resource, bringing in new ideas and fresh creativity from a new perspective.

The young people taking the internships are individuals with such drive for their career that they’ll do anything from making the tea and photocopying, just to get their little toe – let alone their foot – in the door.

The legal situation

Although internships benefit the student as well the employer, there are certain grey areas that could mean these internships are breaking employment law. An internship isn’t strictly voluntary work and it is extremely rare that students undertaking unpaid work experience sign a contract outlining their role, working hours and length of employment.

The CIPR’s work placement charter (available to members only) sets out recommendations for employer best practice, and members should adhere to these guidelines, but there is still no concrete law governing the rights of interns.

An issue raised in the TV documentary is the question of the social backgrounds of interns, in particular those on long-term internships after graduation.

Many are young people from wealthy families who have the luxury of financial support whilst they complete unpaid jobs to expand their CV’s and make vital industry contacts.

A spotlight was thrown onto the Conservative party this week, with a fundraising event auctioning a two week placement at Tatler magazine for the princely sum of £4,000, and that’s just one example.

So does this mean that the Average Joe is disadvantaged without handouts from affluent parents? Or do they have to sacrifice their career to work in an unrelated job just so they can afford to live?

Many comments around the subject on Twitter addressed the issue of the costs that interns faced for travel to their place of work. Speaking to PR students, it seems that most wanted to go out and obtain placements but sometimes struggled to commit to more than a day a week because they needed to undertake paid part-time work to support their studies:

@gargiu: Good experience but was out of pocket due to costly train travel into London, about £20 daily peak

@themadancer: unpaid internships are unfair, especially in London where even basic transport is so expensive sadly internships are necessary in PR

It’s a catch-22 situation. Work part-time at a bar or restaurant and get an income but no industry experience. Or work unpaid at an organisation that will give you great experience and networking opportunities but leave you with precarious finances.

Hannah Corkish and Carys Samuel

Weighing up the pros and cons, interns do have some fantastic opportunities. They have the chance to build up important relationships with employers and clients, exposure to real-life projects and the building blocks to forge a successful career. Successful placements can often lead to full time employment if the intern impresses the employer and if nothing else they will leave with a good reference and extensive portfolio.

Our advice

Finally, some advice for fellow PR students: although placements are valuable and will open up new doors it’s important not to jeopardise your studies and/or financial situation.

If you have concerns, speak to your university or employer – there may be financial support available to help you continue your placement or internship. If travel is a problem, look for opportunities that you can do from your home. Write to publications, websites and agencies to ask about freelance work, start a blog, increase your online presence with sites like Twitter and LinkedIn. There are many opportunities if you look carefully enough.

Perseverance is key. Always show enthusiasm in whatever you do, ask questions and aim to talk to as many people as possible, but most importantly find something you enjoy.

For more information on CIPR recommendations regarding unpaid internships visit the CIPR website at www.cipr.co.uk

Fashion gets headlines

One of the most celebrated figures in fashion, Coco Chanel, was named as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20^th Century. Responsible for the fashion staple, the little black dress, Coco Chanel is still the talk of the town and idolised thirty years after her death.

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

It’s hard to argue with that, even if you don’t consciously follow the fashion trends, you’ll be aware of the issues surrounding size zero and no doubt, blame the health of young women aspiring to it, on the fashion industry and their models. Everyone has an opinion on it. People are even cashing in on it.

Take Kenneth Tong as an example, the ex Big Brother contestant who developed a pro-anorexia campaign on Twitter. Whether or not you choose to believe his reasons for endorsing such an issue – it’s still an issue. It caused a stir provoking reactions from superstars like Rihanna: “Girls are dying all over the world because of ignorant individuals like this.”

So how does PR work in the industry today?

Fashion PR is notoriously one of the most competitive sectors of PR. The lifestyle the essence of public relations that people strive for: parties, celebrities, alcohol, freebies, sample sales and the use of Red Pages (the celebrity database).

Is that strictly the case?

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FASHION INTERN

So what can you expect in the average day of a fashion PR?

• Starting the day at around 9 the first port of call is to check and respond to any messages.
• You then trawl through all the daily newspapers, the weekend newspapers and magazines for the current trends and any coverage etc. All coverage needs to be filed in press portfolios.
• Meetings run throughout the day, for which the press portfolios need to be up-to-date and refreshments need to be ready and waiting.
• Samples are in and out of the office all day and need chasing up for return from magazines.
• Releases need to be pitched to journalists, sent out and chased up on.
• And if you have enough hours left in the day, the showroom has to be kept up to date at all times with the latest magazines, trends and samples from clients.
• All with the aim to leaving the office at around 6pm and fitting in an hour for lunch somewhere along the line.

Still interested?

GETTING INTO FASHION PR

So how can you make yourself the one the top fashion PR agencies and organisations want to hire? Experience.

Hannah Dick from Push PR, London explains that: “the most important thing you can do for your career is work experience. We look for people with at least one year of experience before hiring them. A lot of interns get offered a permanent job, so it’s definitely worth making that extra effort.”

There’s been a lot of negativity recently around unpaid work experience so how should you act? As much as you’re there for your CV and to learn the trade, you’re there to make their lives easier. Don’t ever lose sight of that.

Many agencies aren’t in the position to offer wages at the moment, but will offer to pay travel and lunch expenses.

TOP TIPS

• Prepare for the best and worst in people. You’re entering PR and fashion combined, you won’t get along with everyone. Don’t let it put you off.
• Quite simply, be polite! Your telephone manner could strongly influence whether they wish to interview you or not. Speaking rudely could get your email deleted – even with the best CV in the world.
• When completing your work experience, there’s always more work to be done. Don’t assume when you’ve finished that particular task that your time is your own, ask for MORE to do.
• Don’t take everything as the be all and end all; the fashion industry is about people wanting to LOOK nice.
• Use social media. Social media is becoming an everyday part of campaigns, if you can’t use it to represent yourself, how do you expect to use it to represent a brand? This doesn’t just include Facebook – use Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs etc.
• Enjoy the experiences given to you.

There are two types of client in the fashion industry, the clients that appeal to niche markets and are almost unheard of in the high street. When working with clients like these, you need to gain as much coverage as possible to increase awareness, association with the brand and generally boost sales. The other type of client is already established and more often wants coverage as a luxury and part of a portfolio than a necessity.

“When you think of the blur of all the brands that are out there, the ones you believe in and the ones you remember, like Chanel and Armani, are the ones that stand for something. Fashion is about establishing an image that consumers can adapt to their own individuality. And it’s an image that can change, that can evolve. It doesn’t reinvent itself every two years.” Ralph Lauren

With either type of client, the goal is simple: Your brand needs to be the one people think of in that sector.

PushPR are currently recruiting interns, if you’re interested please email Hannah: Hannah@pushpr.co.uk