You don’t need to act like you’re in an episode of Ab Fab to thrive in a PR job. You’ll be promoting your company, a brand or a product to the world and trying to drum up as much publicity as possible. Are you tenacious enough not to take no for an answer?

So, what will I actually be doing?
People in PR work at making a name for whatever they’re working on, this can be anything from a big, recognisable brand through to smaller start-up projects. You’ll need to gain ‘fame’ for what you’re working on and work with the media to try and get a message out to the masses.

The nitty gritty
PR jobs are highly sought after and people often look at it as a glamorous career choice, which is can be if you end up working in entertainment or fashion. But as with anything, it’s all about what company you work for.

“If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.” – Bill Gates

In terms of your work tasks, you’re likely to do much of the following…

• Coming up with PR strategies
• Building relationships with the media
• Writing press releases and calling around whenever you’re trying to generate publicity
• Writing reports on media coverage data
• Overseeing content production (adverts, videos, social media and online PR stunts)
• Arranging press conferences and events
• Overseeing market research
• Bringing in new business opportunities
• Managing client relationships
• Overseeing social media PR strategies

However, this is by no means an exhaustive list.

Money, money, money
Actually, the salaries for PR jobs aren’t too shabby, especially for anyone with a solid understanding of social media. Of course, you won’t be in the same bracket as financiers but a £16,000 – £24,000 starting salary isn’t to be sniffed at.

The good points…
PR jobs offer a huge amount of career options; after all, most companies need some kind of PR to succeed. You can work anywhere from top fashion houses through to small charities trying to raise awareness and you can use your own personal interests to choose where you end up. Then there are the endless parties and events!

…and the bad
PR jobs are tough. You often have to work long hours and schmooze clients and the press on a regular basis – you can forget having your free time completely to yourself. It’s also a difficult, targets-driven job where clients have high expectations of how good a job you need to do for them.

Is there study involved?
There aren’t any set qualifications needed in order to become a PR; however, realistically most applicants have a degree, although the subject isn’t important. What IS important is work experience. If you can demonstrate experience of media, marketing, communications or even direct PR then you’ll be in with a much better chance of getting a great job. Time to start volunteering or apprenticeships!

OK, I’m interested… But is it really the career for me?
The most important attribute a PR needs is the ability to build relationships with people – particularly cynical journalists. The media is a powerhouse for PR opportunities but getting your product or brand into the pages of the best newspapers and magazine or on the trendiest websites can be difficult to say the least – unless you’re chummy with the editor!

Disclosure: this is a sponsored post.

The team is looking for someone with a qualification in Media, PR, Marketing or a related discipline, but are more than happy to talk to bright people with other qualifications too. The ideal candidate will have a solid grasp of digital, social media and Web 2.0 tools, as well as superior research (qualitative and quantitative), writing and editing skills.

They need somebody who can work effectively with team members and clients, and who is highly organised, detail-oriented and a self-starter with the ability to efficiently manage multiple deadlines. The candidate will also have experience in using tools such as MS Word, Powerpoint and Excel, as well as an understanding of other digital tools.

Also, in an era where unpaid internships are unfortunately all too common, I’m proud to say that my employer has publicly committed to pay the minimum wage to interns and subsequently, this internship pays £15k per year.

 The main responsibilities are:

• Assist with in basic community management and updating to Facebook pages and Twitter channels
• Involvement in every aspect of creating and implementing innovative content plans and campaigns
• Prepare and/or review all client reports, including but not limited to activity reports, monthly reports and status reports, incorporating audience and sentiment analysis
• Assist with content plan
• Develop understanding of client’s internal organisation, business and sector
• Work with client on day-to-day basis
• Manage work process, supporting senior account team members as appropriate
• Keep account team abreast of timelines and deadlines
• Analyse key word research
• Exhibit effective project management working closely with account teams
• Analyse market research including using online services

I know and have worked with the team during my time at Edelman and can vouch that it’s a fun, exciting, challenging and fast-paced environment; a great way to cut your teeth in the world of digital and work with some fantastic clients.

If you’re interested in the internship, drop Eamonn Carey an email at Eamonn.Carey@edelman.com

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.

The innovative event is organised by leading job noticeboard Total Jobs and takes place from 7-10 November 2011. Interestingly, the event is a virtual affair, so students can hear about jobs, training opportunities and graduate training schemes all from the comfort of their home or indeed, anywhere with a wireless connection.

There’s some blue-chip exhibitors and a packed schedule of seminars  in what sounds like a fantastic event. The fair is free to register and gives graduates the chance to chat directly with employers and ask questions about graduate schemes.

For more information on this virtual recruitment event, check out the Gradu8 Recruitment fair website.

Disclosure: this is a sponsored post; however it contains my honest opinion. 

A bit more on Seb, he studied Marketing Management at Northumbria University, but his background is at Leeds’ top PR agencies having cut his teeth at Trimedia Harrison Cowley (now Grayling), before rising to Account Manager at Wolfstar, then on to Rising Music, before taking up his current position at Rising Digital.

Seb works in the hugely competitive music PR sector; dealing with a range of artists including the likes of Deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia and Gorillaz to name a few. He is a shining example to any student, having gone from graduate to Managing Director in just four years.

You can find out more about Rising Digital from its website, blog, Facebook Group or Twitter stream or indeed, Seb from his Tweets and Linked In profile.

1.     As Managing Director of Rising Digital, what does your role involve on a daily basis
For me, it is and always will be about the clients. I have a team of in-house staff and external freelancers that operate under the Rising Digital umbrella, currently servicing more than fifteen artists, labels and brands. To try and summarise a day in my life right now is honestly a bit tricky; loads of client facing work, project strategy and team management, but I also buzz off the creative and techie stuff too. Building podcasts, video blogs, designing EP covers and playing with simple html code… all in a day’s work! ..and then there’s the admin, the legal, the accounts and all the other highly non-creative stuff to take care of. Not so fun, but very necessary.

2.     What’s it like to work at Rising Digital and how does it vary from the other positions you have had?
The banter literally never stops. The team is more like a family now, which obviously has it’s pro’s and con’s, but everyone is driven and self motivated because they thrive off what they do. Not many people have the luxury of waking up every morning and doing 100% what they love. The guys and I are all very humble about this fortunate position we’re in and take every step to ensure we’re doing the best possible job we can for our clients and our team. In comparison to other positions… longer hours, more pressure and less holiday… but, personally, this is the best job in the world.

3.     How did you become Managing Director at Rising Digital?
I left Wolfstar in the summer of 2008 after one of the best years of my career. I had the luxury (professionally that is) of uninterrupted time with Stuart Bruce the MD, one of the true social media guru’s and Tim, a CEO whose passion for driving a business to success is immeasurable. Under those guys, my Account director and good friend Chris Norton and after a VERY slippery start, I found my feet as an Account manager… and then suddenly everything fell into place. My oldest pal in the world, Chris Lake, offered me a job heading up his label’s (Rising Music) marketing. I jumped at the opportunity and less than nine months later, whilst touring the USA together, we decided to set up Rising Digital. Just over two years later… here I am… still loving it!

4.     What attracted you to the social media side of communications?
Ok… apologies if I offend anyone reading this, but I found PR pre-social media integration… well… dull. Draft news release, get approval, sell-in, wait for coverage, see coverage, collate coverage in big document and… hit repeat. JOKE. No seriously, for a time I did really enjoy traditional PR, but I think that was the team I was in and the type of clients. I made some friends in and out of house I’ll never forget who taught me so much. As a student I excelled in socialising… but for some reason, when presented with a full contract to be a Harrison Cowley (now Grayling I think) Account exec, things got more serious. Take all the good stuff in client relations, and add in word of mouth research and implementation, running events through Facebook and creating YouTube videos… that’s when it all got pretty cool.

5.     What do you think are the main advantages of online PR vs. traditional PR?
I could go and on and on about this, but really it boils down to two aspects: One-way Vs two-way dialogue and potential ‘reach’. Great, you’ve landed a full page feature in Q Magazine… what now? Nail a successful viral campaign online and your reach is endless, the feedback is instant, and basic analysis is evident immediately. Our man deadmau5 did a piece with a YouTube team called Epic Meal Time – more than a million hits in 24hrs. This was just meant to be a bit of fun, but this combo has now had +4mill hits, +28k comments and +58K likes.

6.     What has Rising Digital got planned for the next 12-18 months?
We’re just going through the motions of partnering with Three Six Zero Group. We’ve been pals with them since the word go, and share a common sense of understanding regarding business Vs pleasure. At the end of the day we’re still in the music industry, but by taking a more professional outlook on what we do, throwing in some healthy doses of strategy and research, we make a good team. We don’t work with all of the Groups’ Artists, but the guys we do work with… well, lets just say, it’s fun, creative and it always works out well.

7.     Should students bring a hard copy portfolio to a PR interview? What do you think about e-portfolios?
Sure, if I was going for an interview I’d do the lot. First impressions are everything, so why not be uber ‘on it’ before you’ve even walked into the interview room. Then, print out a beast of a portfolio that looks slick, informative and well collated. Get yourself on sites like about.me, and of course cover the basics; Linked In etc etc…. When anyone gets in touch with us, we check them out immediately. The more pics of them at festivals the better

8.     What are the 3 most important skills graduates need to be successful in PR?
1. Organisation; PR is not rocket science. What you want at entry level is to be an asset to your fellow execs and managers. Being organised is the first step.

2. Listen! (And ask). Unlike me, if you actually pay full attention, take notes and get your head around the work, it’s simples. If you become a ‘yes’ person, but don’t have a clue what you’re saying yes too… well, you’re screwed. As I found out on many an occasion.

3. Confidence in your knowledge. One of my pet hates in PR are Account Execs who a) don’t know their client inside out and b) have little confidence due to a). Research, learn and research some more. When you speak to a blogger or journalist at either an online or offline publication, you need to know your stuff, otherwise, not only do you look like a muppet, but you are potentially damaging your client’s reputation too.

9.     What 3 tips would you give to someone trying to land a music PR role?
1. I honestly think something crazy like 80% of people working in the industry have been brought into it through connections, or birthright! If you don’t know anyone and you send a CV, I wouldn’t hold out too much hope, unless of course you’re pitching yourself at one of the majors. So, the solution is… get connected!

2. Be realistic about your salary. We do what we do because we love the music, not the wages. But, and this is a big but, once you’re in; tickets, queuing, drinks, etc etc… gratis baby!

3. Be confident with your creativity. But please don’t be a bullshitter. The last thing the industry needs are more jacked-up kids full of self importance. Be humble and honest and you’ll be respected. Remember, you’re not the artist!

10.  What more can be done to convince clients of the benefit of social media? (ROI, evaluation, sales etc)
Unlike major brands, we have the luxury of operating on a somewhat lighter scale of analysis. Our clients are interested in clear statistics; YouTube hits, Facebook Likes etc. Of course Management companies will work with us to drill further into insights, but overall, there is little need to do any ‘convincing’ of the importance of social media. Everyone in our industry is either doing ‘it’ or is working on getting there as fast as humanly possible. If we do ever come up against clients that put up a resistance to our methodology, we just take it nice and slow, and 10/10 they will be fully on board in a matter of weeks. At the end of the day… you don’t want to scare them!

I would like to put on record my thanks to Seb for sharing his thoughts with us and wish him and Rising Digital all the best for another fantastic year. An increasing number of students I speak to say they want to work for a PR agency that specialises in social media and music, so i’m sure they will find this Q&A insightful.

Michael is coming towards the end of 14 months at Microsoft as a Multinational Account Manager and will shortly be returning to Gloucester University to complete the final year of his BA (Hons) Public Relations course.  But Michael’s talents don’t end there; he is also an accomplished radio presenter, published poet, #AddMe Social Media conference organiser and was previously an online columnist for Your Local Guardian. Not a bad list of achievements, made all the more impressive by the fact he’s still in his early twenties (here’s an interesting list of 21 things to by 21 to achieve Graduateness without a degree).

I’ve only met Michael on a single occasion, but he’s one of the many people I’ve managed to network and form a kind of online professional relationship with thanks to blogging and Twitter. We also seem to have several things in common; having both studied PR, been taught by Richard Bailey and are keen bloggers. You can find out more about Michael from his blog, Tweets and Linked In profile.

1. As a Multinational Account Manager for Microsoft, what does your role involve on a daily basis?
Each day I manage online advertising campaigns which span across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The core responsibilities of my role are to ensure my clients receive their Return on Investment (ROI) whilst at the same time confirming my Account Executive achieves their revenue goals.

It is a challenging role which requires one to have excellent organisational abilities due to the hefty amount of tasks which I encounter each day. I have been responsible for 14 clients in total which have traversed across 12 different countries.

2. What’s it like to work at Microsoft and how does it vary from the other positions you have had?
Positions in the past have included a variety of work experience roles which were managed alongside degree studies. All of these have been at smaller companies (with the exception of MindShare). Microsoft is vast! It is a technological beast constructed by a number of separate brands (such as Office, Xbox and Windows) and it takes time to understand how hundreds of teams communicate with each other. The biggest difference with my role is the multinational aspect, each week I am in communication with at least six different countries.

Let’s not be shy, the entertainment side of Microsoft (ie, employee morale boosting) is incredible. Speed boats, glamorous restaurants and London attractions have been on the agenda before.

3. How did you manage to land the year-long internship at Microsoft?
I applied for the Microsoft internship online. The process involved filling in an online application form, submitting a CV, doing a telephone interview and then attending an assessment centre. At the assessment centre I went through five different interviews (one of them was a group task).

Without a doubt I am one of the lucky few who made it through each stage. Eventually I found myself sitting in lecture theatre at Microsoft UK HQ and we were all told that for each of us had been in competition with 50 other individuals for each of our roles. I was shocked. I am still shocked.

4. You’re well known for your forthright opinions in the blogosphere. Why did you start blogging and what have been the benefit?
My journey into the blogosphere began in 2005 and was caused by my love for writing. Over the years I have started and deleted blogs, eventually I stuck with mikewhite.co.uk to keep things central. As I am a keen reader of factual books, current affairs and philosophy it has been difficult to avoid opinion. Some of my greatest influencers are George Orwell, John Stuart Mill and Christopher Hitchens – online is all about freedom of the media and I am thankful for blogging as a medium. It allows me to communicate with friends and followers but invites others to also share their opinions.

Keeping a blog helped me secure a place at the University of Gloucestershire, gain various amounts of work experience and assisted with me achieving a place at Microsoft. The only reason I keep a blog is because I love writing. It can be hard work.

5. The Apprentice! Do you think you’ll get on to it? And win?
I was offered an audition for series 8 of The Apprentice a couple of weeks ago but after much thought and advice from others I decided to turn the interview down. The Apprentice is an entertainment programme, a reality TV show for those interested in business and the £250,000 investment offer is enticing. Yet appearing on the show is a risk as one has no idea how their personally will be edited together. As my degree is more important I decided that The Apprentice is not for me. I’ll be sending out many graduate job applications soon and would not want to risk them for BBC One stardom… that is if I had even managed to make it through the audition!

Would I win The Apprentice? Of course! Although if another candidate like Helen Milligan appeared then it would be a challenge.

6. Should students bring a hard copy portfolio to an interview? What
do you think about e-portfolios?
Always bring a hard copy portfolio to an interview. Most of the time a potential employer will browse through and ask questions based on it. Hard copy portfolios are marvellous for a student to show off their abilities and to sway interview questions towards more comfortable territory.

I have never emailed a potential employer afterwards with an e-portfolio, if anything I tackle that before the interview. On my CV I include the addresses of my Facebook, Twitter and blog. They all serve as my e-portfolio and demonstrate how active I am online. Anybody wanting to go into Public Relations should demonstrate with URLs that they have already built up an online following.

7. You’re currently studying PR at University of Gloucester – do you feel that your university degree prepared you for the world of work?
In the past I have been critical of the PR course at the University of Gloucestershire. During these turbulent financial times Universities across the country are struggling to find money. It just so happens that the PR course at my University has suffered badly because of it; a number of staff have resigned and the course has been restructured. Despite these challenges to the University I am confident that I will have built up a number of skills useful for the working world. Yet I don’t rely on degree alone, most of the learning at University happens outside of the lecture hall.

8. What are the 3 most important skills interns need to be successful?
Being a successful intern relies mostly upon personal traits, rather than just business acumen. Your mentality towards your work will affect the way you approach it. Having said that these three skills are vital:

1)      Organisational skills: University is easy, work is tough. If you are organised the “real world” becomes less painless. Nobody will employ a disorganised person.

2)      Be willing to learn: Do not think that learning stops after University. I have learnt more at Microsoft than in the last two years of my Public Relations degree.

3)      Networking: Make no mistake, being an effective networker is a skill. Whilst on your internship meet new people and build up those business contacts. If you want to be part of an industry then you need to know people who work in it.

9. Your blog covers marketing, public relations, advertising and stuff - which discipline do you think your career will lead?
At this stage I have no idea where my career will lead. The American business culture would have me draw up a list of business goals, put together a five year career plan but such planning isn’t for me. If I were offered a graduate job at Microsoft within a role I enjoyed then I could see myself working there for years to come. Yet the world is so open still, lots of paths remain. We shall see what happens…

10. If you were a student about to decide where to take your year placement, what advice would you give them?
Do not be surprised if you don’t have a clear vision of where you want your career to lead. It helps if you can choose the industry you enjoy. For instance I love technology and so the selection of companies like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Apple and Facebook were targets for internship applications. Keep applying to companies, don’t stop. You will be against intense competition, so don’t underestimate the importance of proof reading any document you send off. Finally, remain positive with your search and don’t lose hope.

I would like to put on record my thanks to Michael for taking time out from his busy schedule to share his thoughts with us. I wish him all the very best as he returns to Gloucester University for that all important final year. I expect we’ve not heard the last from Michael and am sure he has a bright future ahead of him, whatever path he takes.

Clare’s at a fantastic agency that clearly care about spending time developing their own staff. In fact, Wolfstar boast one of the most open and progressive intern policies I have seen and Stuart Bruce has consistently fought the corner of students and graduates. I’d recommend signing up to their blog to get the latest thoughts from Stuart and the rest of the Wolfstar pack.

You can find out more about one of Wolfstar’s rising stars from Clare’s blog, Tweets and Linked In profile.

1. As an Account Executive, what does your role involve on a daily basis?
Being an account executive at larger agencies or in big in-house teams can sometimes mean little responsibility and more menial tasks. However, one of the big advantages of working at a smaller agency is that you’re given the chance to work on an deliver pitches, create strategies and present it to clients and contribute greatly to team efforts. I do all these tasks and more on some of Wolfstar Consultancy’s biggest tech clients (where I feel most comfortable) and usually for consumer facing rather than B2B.

2. What’s it like to work at Wolfstar and how does it vary from the other positions you have had?
The big difference is the amount of online public relations compared to traditional. We provide an integrated approach, which means less time writing dozens of press releases and more time creating interesting content, such as social media news releases, videos and webchats. The idea is to create something that people want to read, watch and interact with, so therefore will share.

I think the days of the traditional press release are numbered as news moves online, so it’s exciting to be at the forefront of modernised media relations and learn skills that I’ll need for the future of the industry.

3. How did you manage to land the year-long internship at Wolfstar?
I started out as the ‘Friday work-experience girl’ by sending over my CV and with a ‘covering letter’ explaining why I wanted to work for Wolfstar Consultancy and what I was already doing online. By this point I was already active on Twitter and had been running a blog since the start of my course. I think being aware of and understanding social media gave me a real boost. Stuart Bruce, the managing director, even commented on my blog saying how much he liked it!

After getting my work experience, I then focused on making myself stand out in the office and being as useful as possible. After a month or so with Wolfstar Consultancy, I asked Stuart if a year’s internship would be possible. Luckily, he said Wolfstar would love to have me! I think I’m the first intern on such a long term contract so my role is more ‘account executive’ than just ‘intern’, which is something I prefer as it means I get the chance to work as the sole executive on some fantastic clients.

4. What attracted you to the social media side of communications?
I’ve been into anything a bit techy and geeky from an early age and though the personal and writing skills behind traditional public relations initially appealed to me, it is the new ‘digital’ face of communication that I find the biggest draw. Much of what we do in social media and online PR is new and as yet not unproven in comparison to more conventional means, so working on these campaigns is something I find more exciting, and more rewarding when you produce real results for a client.

5. What do you think are the main advantages of online PR vs. traditional PR?
Monitoring both campaigns and conversation around brands is more accessible and useful online. For example, rather then asking customer to fill in a questionnaire or a survey, you can get a feel for what people think of your product/service in forums, on social networks and on blogs. People are usually more open online too, so the feedback may be more beneficial. There is also the chance to engage directly with customers, which, if done correctly, can help improve reputation and allow two-way communication in a way that can rarely take place offline.

The potential reach for online campaigns is another big advantage. Not only are there a huge range of tools and channels to develop creative campaigns, but also the very nature of the Internet means that content can be easily shared; meaning the audience for your campaign can be huge.

6. Should students bring a hard copy portfolio to a PR interview? What do you think about e-portfolios?
I conduct the intern interviews for placements at Wolfstar Consultancy and I love seeing good quality, hard copy portfolios. It’s easier to reference your work when you have it in front of you to show and also takes the focus directly off you for a while, which is always a welcome feeling when being interviewed.

E-portfolios, such as those hosted online or put together in a PowerPoint, are probably best used on blogs and websites to showcase your talents. Getting out a laptop in an interview does slow things down a little, though I would be interested to see how using a tablet would help this problem. I think the obvious exception is if most of your work is online PR, in which case it would be a waste not to show of the work in a digital format. I’ve seen some fantastic ‘visual résumés’ online, which I think are great to send over with a CV or before a job interview and would really make an applicant stand out. I’m planning on putting one together soon!

7. You’re currently studying PR at Leeds Met – do you feel that your university degree prepared you for the world of work?
I’ve been pretty critical of the PR course in the past, more specifically the lack of social media on the agenda. With so many agencies and in-house teams adding social skills to their lists of attributes in a prospective interview candidate, it seems short-sighted not to learn more about this field at university. However, learning the theories behind communication and dipping into related fields, such as marketing and journalism, do give a more broad view of public relations, which can prove useful and interesting.

One of the biggest changes when going into ‘the world of work’ that university does not really prepare you for is working hours. Unless you really put the time in when studying (and still perhaps even then) you won’t be prepared for working 9-5.30, 5 days a week, plus occasionally working extra evenings and weekends. Similarly, nothing will truly prepare you for the amount of time and effort you put in to your clients, the first time nerves of real pitches, but also the feeling you get when a client says you’ve done a fantastic job.

8. What are the 3 most important skills interns need to be successful in PR?

1. Hard working  - With so much competition in the industry, you need to make sure you’re doing that little bit extra to stand out about the rest if you want any hope of getting a job at the end of your degree.
2. Organisation  - Something you start to learn at university, but will need to improve when working in an office. Time keeping and deadlines rule the PR world, you need to know how much time you are putting into each client if your working in an agency and also work to the timescales of media titles and journalists.
3. Personality – Sounds a bit strange, but there’s more to office life then just working. Gelling with your team is important, but also coming across as approachable and capable to your clients and likeable and informative to media will go a long way. Confidence and self-belief are also important when up against so many similarly qualified applicants, as well as when it comes to public speaking and pitching.

9. What 3 tips would you give to someone trying to land a social media role?

1. Have a real interest in the industry – As this field is so fast moving, you need to be interested in the way communication is changing and be passionate enough to read round the subject. Knowledge and understanding of the way social media works is important, so subscribe to relevant RSS feeds of both large sites like Mashable and TechCrunch, but also influential individuals who you aspire to.
2. Know your way around a computer – Sounds obvious, but basic tech know-how is crucial for online and any extra skills, like Photoshop, video editing or bits of HTML, will no doubt come into play and demonstrate your usefulness to an agency or in-house team. There may be less graduates applying for specialist social media roles, but the competition is still strong and the standards perhaps higher.
3. Use social media – Another no brainer, but just having your own blog and social profiles demonstrates that you are already active online. I don’t know any ‘social media specialists’ in PR that don’t have a blog of some kind. Not only is it a platform for you to express your interests and knowledge, but also you may have to set one up for a client at some point. Having run your own blog beforehand you will feel much more comfortable not only explaining by blogs are important, but also giving advice on how to manage one successfully.

10. If you were a student about to decide where to take your year placement, what advice would you give them?
Do it! You will undoubtedly learn more in just a few months on working in a real living, breathing PR company then you could ever learn sat in a lecture hall. Not only will your skill set and knowledge grow, but you will also develop as an individual. Working in a supportive team and delivering high quality work will give your confidence and capabilities a huge boost. I feel like I have matured more in the past six months then my entire PR course and become a better, more well-rounded person because of it and therefore more useful to any team I join in my career. Placement year makes your more employable, it’s as simple as that!

I would like to put on record my thanks to Clare for sharing her thoughts with us and wish her all the best for another great year and beyond. An ever increasing number of students I speak to say they want to work for a PR agency that specialises in social media so i’m sure they will find this Q&A insightful.