PR work placement girl, Fran Trotman, tells it like it is.
10th June 2013
For the past three weeks, Eden have been delighted to have Fran Trotman, a first year PR student, undertaking a work placement. Here, she describes her experiences, with no holds barred!
The last three weeks have flown by!
This was my very first PR work placement and I was really unsure what was in store for me. I was told from the start that this is a work placement that is very hands on and that I wouldn’t be shadowing or making cups of tea. However, I didn’t realise the amount of valuable hands on experience I was truly going to gain.
I thought that I may be just making/taking calls, filing and planning press releases. To my surprise, on the very first day I was thrown in at the deep end as I was asked to have a go at writing a press release!
Luckily the team was happy to give guidance and were very professional, which was great as I definitely needed more mentoring at the start of my placement. They do also like a good laugh and are a bit crazy with one addicted to energy drinks and another who sings Carly Rae Jepsen in random bursts. The senior staff were also welcoming and I did not feel afraid to ask for their help. (Although, I did wait until they had their morning coffee!).
I have dealt with a variety of different clients and tasks at Eden PR such as; monitoring media coverage, researching media opportunities, phoning regional/national journalists, producing social media schedules, creating a mood board and collating reports. The fast paced world of agency PR is a juggling act in which you need to prioritise tasks and multitask. At first I found those aspects very stressful and daunting, however, once I settled in this became the exact aspects I enjoyed.
The team works all together in an attractive open plan office which made it easy for me to interact with everyone and feel part of it all. As much as it was not compulsory for me to make the occasional cup of tea (and buy loo roll) I did it anyway as I realised everyone chips in and does their bit around the office.
I have learnt a great deal these last three weeks not only about PR but general life skills. The main thing I have learnt is not to stress because we all make mistakes and they can be fixed. I have also learnt that I should brush up on my IT skills as they could be more efficient in order for me to progress within PR. I have even learnt how I like my coffee! (Skinny cappuccino with a vanilla shot if anyone wants to by me one)!
In the future I plan to go on a study exchange for a semester to Melbourne, graduate with a good degree and have a great career within the PR industry.
My placement has definitely confirmed that PR is for me and I will miss everyone and everything at Eden PR (except my alarm at 6am!)