Reflecting on Five Years of Blogging & Working: Learning From the Best [PART 2]

So off I went to join Edelman, the world’s largest PR agency.

I remember my first day well, walking into the firm’s plush Victoria offices, somewhat overdressed (compared to my new colleagues) and being struck by the atmosphere of 400 PRs at the top of their game. It really was an eye-opener and like no other workplace I had experienced.

But I loved it. I worked hard and got stuck in — working until 2am on a project in my second week. The clients were industry leading, the work challenging and my colleagues outstanding, but if I’m completely honest, balancing many conflicting priorities, was new to me and a challenge, which thankfully I overcame. I don’t think anything could have quite prepared me for the level of organisation I would need to develop.

Those first few months at Edelman were fast-paced and exciting. And during this time I also met someone who would change my life forever. In fact, we’re now engaged and set to be married later this month. I also picked up and award for my blog, and a few more nominations soon followed. SWT continued to gather some momentum (I’m not sure how), and I found myself up against industry leaders and journalists that were household names. It was a lovely surprise.

Around this time lots of people, in particular PR students would get in touch or connect on social media, telling me that they read the blog and had found it useful. Many of them had followed tips, seen a graduate scheme  published or asked my advice and managed to get jobs as a result. Thinking about these stories is truly inspiring, and it is crazy to think that my blog could impact people’s lives in this way. Little did I know that later on in my career I would work for a company that helps millions of find a job each day.

Anyway, my now girlfriend’s visa was coming to an end, and in what was a twist of fate, the coalition government stopped issuing extensions to that type of visa — despite her being offered a well paid job in the UK. So we looked for places we could both move to. And Ireland was where we decided. It was English speaking and we could both work there easily enough. So I asked the Edelman team if I could transfer and they graciously allowed me to to move to the Dublin office. All in all, it happened pretty smoothly. I would like to thank those who helped me at what was a pretty uncertain time. In terms of Edelman, they’re a fantastic company and I would recommend working for them — it’s no surprise they’re number one.

I was only in the London office for just over a year, but I don’t think i’ll ever learn as much as I did in such a short space of time. The people working in the digital team were truly amazing and did world-class work every single day. But nothing lasts forever, and the vast majority of that team have since moved on to new things. I also made some lifelong friends, some of which will be at my wedding later this month.

So off I went to the Emerald Isle…

Visit Social Web Thing tomorrow to hear about joining Edelman’s Dublin office bang in the middle of a crippling recession.