Published On: Sat, Nov 5th, 2011

2012 PR Graduate Schemes

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been researching and speaking to industry colleagues in order to create this years list of 2012 PR Graduate Schemes.

Despite growth stalling in the wider economy, it’s great to see the PR industry in rude health (judging by the number of grad schemes that is). The list is broadly the same size as previous years and as we’ve come to expect, it is predominantly made up of the larger, international agencies with London offices.

This years list makes one thing abundantly clear. Whilst final year students will be acclimatising to their most important year at university and thinking about dissertations, the race for a graduate PR job has already begun.

On a personal note, I’ve received some amazing comments over the years thanks to the grad scheme lists and it’s always fantastic to meet somebody who landed a position having read about in on Social Web Thing. I hope this years list proves just as useful for the class of 2012.

I’ve also linked to some posts at the bottom which discuss online reputation management, Personal SEO and employability that students may find useful.

One final thing, feel free to publish the list elsewhere online. But if you do, please can you link back to this page with the anchor text ‘PR Graduate Schemes’. This is for SEO purposes as people are searching for that phrase and it’ll help drive some more traffic to the blog.

2012 PR Graduate Schemes (UPDATED 3 FEBRUARY 2012)

Blue Rubicon
Closed

Burson-Marseller
Does not run a PR graduate scheme, but is open for internships all year round, many of which lead to permanent positions.

Chime Comms
Closed

Diffusion
Closed

Edelman – please note Edelman now run an apprenticeship scheme which welcomes applicants from all backgrounds; both graduates and non-graduates
Closed

EML Wildfire
Open: EML Wildfire take grads on an ongoing basis, starting with a two-month internship with a full time grad scheme position available for successful interns.

Fishburn Hedges
Closed

Fleishman-Hillard
Open
Operates a six month training scheme all year round. On completion of the Graduate Scheme the candidates performance will be reviewed and, if satisfactory, graduates will be considered for a permanent position.

Four Comms 
Closed

Hill & Knowlton 
Closed

Hotwire Group (encompassing Hotwire and Skywrite)
Closed

Ketchum Pleon
Open
Closes: 30 March 2012

Lexis PR 
Open
Closes: 20 February 2012

Speed Comms
Closed

The following posts may also come in useful when applying for a PR Graduate Scheme:

About the Author

- Marketing Manager with a passion for inbound at HubSpot, Founder of Growth Hack Talks, Blogger at Ben-Cotton.com and Chief Quaffer at CraftySwine.org .

Displaying 35 Comments
Have Your Say
  1. I’ve continued to update my list of graduate schemes and internships for 2011/2012 here:

    http://stimsonsarah.com/2010/09/15/pr-graduate-recruitment-schemes/

    The PRCA also has a list of agencies which pays its interns here:

    http://www.prca.org.uk/Default.aspx?PageID=5626118&A=SearchResult&SearchID=125022&ObjectID=5626118&ObjectType=1

  2. Sam Evans says:

    Great to see the list updated for 2012 graduate schemes. Ben, this was so useful last year when I was grad job hunting – I’m now on the Speed Comms grad scheme and absolutely loving it. Grads, do get in touch if you have any questions about applying for PR grad schemes and I’d be happy to help in any way I can.

    • Ben says:

      Hi Sam,

      I’m pleased you found the list helpful last year and that you landed a great job at Speed!

      Good luck with everything and let me know how you get on!

      Thanks,

      Ben

    • Andrei says:

      Hi

      The list is really, really helpful.

      Being from Romania, though, no matter how good my grades are, I have a problem with not having a work permit. Do you know which company would evaluate my CV and, based on it and my hard work and determination, would help me get a work permit, please ?

      Thanks a lot.

      • Ben says:

        Hi Andrei,

        Thanks for commenting.

        To be honest, I’m unsure which agencies would be able to help you with your work permit.

        I would recommend you contact the HR team at each agency who will be able to give you more information and advice.

        Thanks,

        Ben

  3. Lucy Power says:

    Hello Ben,

    I am so glad to see this list up! I have heard from many students how useful this is so thank you.

    Best Wishes,

    Lucy

  4. […] Click here. Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. graduate schemesPR ← Previous post […]

  5. Ruby says:

    Can you apply for these grad schemes if you graduated in July 2011?
    Many thanks,
    Ruby

    • Ben Cotton says:

      Hi Ruby,

      It varies for each scheme, but most allow you to apply providing you have graduated in the last 2-3 years.

      I’d recommend giving the HR team of each agency a call to clarify.

      Thanks,

      Ben

  6. […] ever-awesome Ben Cotton over at Social Web Thing has once again done a fantastic job of compiling a post on PR Graduate Schemes from some of the […]

  7. We don’t have a final list of roles per location for next year as yet. However, we’ve consistently taken marketing and business grads in Brisbane over the past few years, so I’d say it’s likely we’ll be doing the same this year. The changing needs of the business make it difficult to finalise the list of graduate opportunities, but once I know what’s available I’ll publish the full list for everyone.

  8. […] a useful resource for PR students and practitioners alike. Whether you need to know about 2012 PR Graduate Schemes or you want to know his observations of the PR industry, he offers it all. Indeed his blog has […]

  9. […] ease the pain of finding each scheme from the top PR agencies, Ben Cotton of Edelman PR, has listed all the schemes on his personal blog, Social Web Thing. The list is so useful we have decided to republish it in full […]

  10. Serge says:

    Hi Ben!

    Thank you very much for this!

    I started compiling my own list by looking for grad schemes here and there, but mine was by far not as complete as yours!
    Thanks!

    Best Regards,

    Serge

  11. […] good chap!, Ben Cotton, has once again compiled his well-researched and really rather helpful list of PR graduate schemes to give the future talent of the PR industry a much-needed foot […]

  12. […] good chap!, Ben Cotton, has once again compiled his well-researched and really rather helpful list of PR graduate schemes to give the future talent of the PR industry a much-needed foot […]

  13. Amy says:

    Hey Ben,

    Just to let you know the Hotwire group graduate programme (covering Hotwire, Skywrite and 33Digital) for 2012 is now open, and the deadline to get your application form in is 30 Jan 2012.

    Cheers!
    Amy

  14. James says:

    I know Eulogy! PR have a good graduate scheme that the run every year…might be worth checking out if you are looking for an independent agency based graduate scheme

  15. Gemma Harris says:

    Hi Ben
    We (Lineup Media) has a paid and non-paid apprentice scheme. We are working direct with the Bournemouth University PR degree (some say the best PR degree in the UK) to support 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th years, working closely with Head of Course Dan Jackson
    Please could you add us to your list.
    Great work.
    Thanks
    Gemma

  16. Hi Ben,

    Thanks, great post 🙂 I found the 2010 one very useful indeed when I was job hunting!

    Just to let you guys know, Finn PR and the recently launched Finn Digital is looking to immediately hire AMs and AEs following some major new FMCG biz wins.Do get in touch if you’re interested and pass on to friends.

    I’d recommended reading this first http://www.finncomms.com/leeds-student-intern-placements/

    Do drop me an email if you’d like more info etc janelle.hardacre@finncomms.com

    All the best,
    Janelle

  17. Ben Cotton says:

    Hey Janelle,

    I’m pleased you found the original list back in 2010 useful! It’s always nice to meet people who stumbled across the post, found it helpful and landed a job.

    That’s fantastic news about Finn launching a digital division too. I’ve watched Finn grow over the last four years and it’s great to see the Leeds PR industry doing so well.

    I’m sure Finn won’t be short of applicants for the AE and AM roles.

    Thanks,

    Ben

  18. Lucy Hawes says:

    Hey Ben,

    Having read your post just thought I’d let you know that I landed a job at Lexis PR after reading your grad scheme list last year… The lists are a really useful source of information; I hope they’ll encourage the talented new pool of applicants to apply far and wide this year!

    Lucy

    • Ben says:

      Hi Lucy,

      That’s great to hear!

      It’s always nice to find out about people who have read the list and landed a fantastic role.

      Thanks,

      Ben

  19. […] As a student who is only four months away from graduating I have received no contact from the CIPR. Aren’t I meant to be on a CIPR approved course? I would at least expect an email enticing me with networking opportunities and asking me to renew my membership. Nothing though. Hands down, the most useful resource of PR students looking to graduate is Ben Cotton’s list of graduate schemes. […]

  20. […] Ben Cotton maintains a list of PR graduate opportunities […]

  21. […] I made sure that I could answer ‘yes’ to each of these points. Thanks to a superb list of 2012 graduate schemes by Ben Cotton I had somewhere to start. Yet I only applied to organisations who appealed in some way to me. Each […]

  22. Paul says:

    Hi Ben,

    Have you got an update list of companies for summer internship/ graduate schemes?

    Thanks

    • Ben Cotton says:

      Hey Paul,

      Thanks for commenting.

      Unfortunately, I only publish a list of UK based PR graduate schemes and ad-hoc internships when I hear about them.

      Thanks,

      Ben

  23. […] I made sure that I could answer ‘yes’ to each of these points. Thanks to a superb list of 2012 graduate schemes by Ben Cotton I had somewhere to start. Yet I only applied to organisations who appealed in some way to me. Each […]

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