Career-ing towards your future job prospects

Lifestyle presents student summaries of work experience and placements guaranteed to excite you!

PR. Most people don’t really know what it stands for (Public Relations, by the way), or what work it involves (honestly, no day is the same!), but having spent a month at a busy London agency I feel more than qualified to fill you in on this incredibly popular graduate pathway.

The agency I worked for dealt mainly with Media and Entertainment clients, which meant day-to-day work might include writing a press release for Dave (the TV channel, not my boss), brainstorming ideas to promote a new season of Honey-Boo-Boo, or ringing up national TV editors to pitch a new Desperate Housewives-style show on TLC.

If you’re not an outgoing person I wouldn’t bother considering PR: at a junior level you need to be able to pick up the phone and sell, sell, sell to sometimes very hostile journalists and other media professionals. Potential downsides include weekend and evening work, a competitive atmosphere and lots of admin. However, perks include incredible clients, invites to exclusive events, brainstorms at the pub, and countless freebies. It’s a tough world to get into without work experience, so start badgering agencies and if you’re confident enough then you’ll have no problems!
Laura Bird

Having a job promoting a cause you believe in is a fantastic opportunity. As a brand manager for Teach First, I get paid to talk to people about education on a daily basis, and spread the word about the huge problem of economic inequality in our schools. This is not only an extremely rewarding experience, but it also means I get paid to talk about something I’m already really passionate about.

I applied for the job in the spring term and had to go through an application process that closely mirrors the process for the Leadership Development Programme. After completing a competency-based application form, I was invited to the Assessment Centre in London. It was great to see that Teach First cared so much about their brand and spreading their social mission that they want to put their Brand Managers through the same selection process that their graduates will go through. This was particularly useful to me as it gave me a practice-run before applying for the graduate scheme. It also means I’m far more confident talking to people openly and honestly about the Leadership Development Programme. There was also a small measure of childlike glee getting to go to London and schmooze with all the businessy types on the South Bank.

I heard back from the Assessment Centre within days of attending and have received a great deal of training and support since. I now work closely with the Graduate Recruitment Officer for Warwick for a few hours a week and spend my time getting students aware of the charity, the graduate scheme we offer, and the major social issue that we’re trying to address. This takes the form of social media promotion, handing out jelly beans and flyers, or even organising pub quizzes. It means that I’m not only gaining some decent marketing and promotion skills, but I’m also having a lot of fun in the process.

Being able to work for a charitable cause also brings a lot of good feelings to work. I’d much rather work to change the fact that only 16 percent of kids eligible for free school meals make it to university, than simply work to increase the numbers on a financial firm’s bank account.

All in all, not a bad way to make your drinks money over the term!
Dan Mountain

Working abroad is an invaluable experience and will always be a talking point on your CV. I completed a two-month journalism and communication internship with a small company organising trips and events for Erasmus students living in Paris.

During my placement I mainly wrote articles in French and English, passing on much of my acquired wisdom about life in Paris. This included everything from how to battle with infamous French bureaucracy and their hoards of paperwork, effective strategies for finding somewhere to live, to my top tourist tips on more unusual sights after you’ve had enough of the Eiffel Tower.

Although I had already been living in France for nine months, working in a close-knit office environment did wonders for my language skills. What was great about working for a smaller company was the amount of responsibility and independence I was given from the word go. My boss had a lot of confidence in my written French which was really encouraging.

I loved working with people of a similar age and spending lunch breaks out and about in Paris. One thing that I did have to acclimatise to very quickly was French workplace etiquette – when the office is on the fourth floor, your boss is not going to go outside for a cigarette. As the French say, tant pis!

My advice for any students considering working abroad is to do your research. You will often find that procedures vary in different countries – a photo is usually expected on a French CV, for instance. Get a native friend to look over your CV and cover letter – this certainly helped me get my foot in the door!
Selina Sykes