A bit more on Amy…she is a fellow graduate of the PR course at Leeds Met and has previously worked at Citypress PR, Waterside Communications and the Morrisons press office. Despite graduating in 2006, she has quickly risen up the ranks to a management position and last year, Amy was a finalist for the CIPR Outstanding Young Communicator award. In short, she’s doing rather well.

You can find out more about Amy from her blog, Tweets and Linked In profile.

1. As an Account Manager, what does your role involve on a daily basis?
My role is very varied and although it sounds cheesy, no day is ever the same. Generally, the first thing I do is have a quick meeting with my team of execs and find out what we all have on for the week, it helps with priorities and deadlines especially when we’re busy. Then I’ll check my emails and RSS feeds, plus scan for any coverage for my clients.

My daily tasks change depending on what projects we’re work on, but can range from anything including blogger outreach programmes, writing social media news releases, advising on social media comments or clients’ profiles on Twitter and Facebook, selling in news stories to the media, drafting copy for blogs and websites and writing strategy documents for clients.

As we’re a growing consultancy, a big part of my job is new business. This involves spotting potential new business leads, pulling together credentials presentations, attending pitches and writing proposals.

2. What’s it like to work at Wolfstar and how does it vary from the other agencies positions you have had?
Wolfstar is a really creative and busy place to work. Our team is very varied and everyone had their own area of expertise, but we all get on really well. I work for some fantastic clients and feel there’s always the opportunity to do something totally new. Having worked in two other agencies and in-house before coming to Wolfstar the main difference is how embedded in the social media world Wolfstar is. We’re growing fast so it can sometimes be stressful, but at the same time it’s exciting and feels great when you’re involved with winning new clients for the company.

3. You studied PR at Leeds Met – do you feel that your university degree prepared you for the world of work?
I did a year placement and think this was the most valuable year of the entire degree. I learnt so much and really got a feel for what the industry was like; I’d strongly recommend all students take this opportunity. I think my final year was helpful, doing the pitch module and communications audit definitely had relevance with the world of work. I’d say my first and second year were less helpful…

4. What do Wolfstar look for in a graduate? How can a graduate stand out from the crowd?
I think it’s so difficult for graduates at the moment, PR has always been competitive but the economic climate has added even more pressure. We look for people that are being proactive and positive despite these hard times. It’s always impressive when someone who uses their initiative to get in touch or catch our eye in a unique way – like Jed did. We do Google prospective employees, so someone who has a strong personal brand, a good social presence on a blog or Twitter, always stands out.

When we meet in person there needs to be a sense of passion. It’s nice to see a spark in someone and get the impression they’re fired up and happy.

I think it is essential graduates know who we work for, what our ethos is, what’s happening in the industry as a whole etc. This information is extremely easy to find so there’s really no excuse for not knowing!

5. How important is it to have an online presence? Are there any social media platforms that PR students must be on?
The online and offline worlds are becoming so merged it’s essential students have some kind of presence. Using Google to find out more about someone is now second nature. If you have a positive presence online, you’re helping promote yourself if anyone does chose to find out more. If you’re in control of that information and making things like your CV and personal interests available, you’re already ahead of the game. Having a blog, being on Linked In and having a Twitter account are all good ways to get an idea about a person; however I wouldn’t say you have to have one. Chose the tools that are right for you, there’s no point setting up a blog if you don’t write on it!

6. Should graduates bring a portfolio to an interview? What do you think about e-portfolios?
I’d say yes. It’s always good to have a look through someone’s work in an interview and see what they’ve done in the past. I think it helps bring out people’s personalities too – you can see what their passionate about and really get beyond a few lines on CV. E-portfolios are a great way of displaying your work and can be easily attached to email covering letters. It shows initiative and that you’re proud of the work you’ve done.

7. If you were a student about to decide where to take your year placement, what advice would you give them?
Definitely do it! It really is an invaluable experience and its good fun. Make the most of your time there too. Be as proactive and helpful as you can, try to always help the team in any way, roll your sleeves up and get stuck in!

8. What are the 3 most important skills graduates need to be successful in PR?
This is a tricky one… I’d say communication skills (both externally with clients, bloggers and journalists and internally with colleagues), organisation skills (as it can be hard juggling so many responsibilities) and good writing skills. People may disagree with me there, but they would be my top three!

9. You mentioned in a recent post on the Wolfstar blog that a majority of journalists use social media to find stories. If PR practitioners pitch a story to journalists using social media, how do the traditional “story pitching” rules apply? Do journalists typically prefer one social media channel over another?
I don’t think you can really apply any rules to pitching a journalist, neither in the approach or the communication channel. Journalists and bloggers are just people, and everyone is different. The main thing is to be 100% sure what you’re selling them is relevant. If it’s for a newspaper, read the column, look at the style of the writing and what this journalist covers and ask yourself if you could see it there. For radio station, think about how the story would convey on the air, think about sound-bites or possible interviews, something to make their job easier.

When selling into TV, take into account the forward planning deadlines and be wary that everything can change on the day. If you’re approaching a blogger, make sure you’ve actually read their blog! Reference it when you approach them and make them feel like you’re genuinely interested and have something that fits. In terms of the channels I use, I try to match to theirs. If they Twitter all the time and say it’s their favourite way to communicate, I would DM them. If they email or have said in the past they prefer emails I’ll do that. Sometimes picking up the phone is the best way.

A good tip is to ask the question. The first time I sell in to someone I’ll try and ask which the best way to contact them is. Make a note of their answer and always approach them in that way. I also write little notes about journalists and bloggers so I have a point of reference next time I speak to them. For example where they live, what they’re interested in, their family etc.

10. What 3 tips would you give to someone trying to break into the PR industry?
Be proactive and positive. Do as much work as possible whether that’s paid or voluntary to get experience and also make contacts. Once you have these contacts, keep them! You never know when or where people might crop up or be able to help. Don’t be afraid to use your contacts for help or advice, most people in the industry will be happy to help a graduate trying to break into the industry.

Look after your own brand. You don’t need to become a social media whiz kid, but having simple things like a good Linked In page or e-portfolio can be really beneficial. More and more employers will use the internet to find out about potential candidate, by having your best work and an up to date CV available online you’re making this easy for them and also showing you’re organised and technically savvy.

Read! This means everything from relevant industry websites and RSS feeds to newspapers and blogs. But also when it comes to interview time, read about the company and you’re interviewers. We may be Googling you – you should do the same!

I would like to wish Amy good luck for the future and thank her for participating in this Q&A. 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. I’d also like to thank the students, industry colleagues and academics from all over the country who sent me the questions to put to Amy.

This follows on from the 2010 PR Grad Schemes, Q&A with high-flying SAE and Q&A with Edelman HR ace posts which I hope people will find useful. With many graduate schemes closing shortly I thought it would be a good time to speak to someone who has successfully negotiated the graduate recruitment process.

You can follow Ollie on Twitter too.

1. What did you have to do to get the  job at Fishburn Hedges?
It’s a long process! There’s an initial application stage where you send in your CV with 400 words on why they should interview you. Then there’s a phone interview stage followed by a face to face interview where they whittle it down to about 15 candidates for an assessment day. The day included a presentation on a current news story of your choice and a writing test which was a simple essay question. That was followed by a roundtable discussion of a couple of issues facing clients. And crucially, I had to hold it together at the end of the day for a buffet where a certain Mr Hedges was kind enough to quietly introduce himself.

2. Do you have a portfolio?
I had never heard of using a portfolio to apply for a PR job so I kept it old-school with a CV and a haircut. I think for a training scheme nobody is expecting you to have a portfolio of experience, it might impress, it might not. Personally, I don’t think they make a difference but if you have to, go for an e-portfolio – always good to demonstrate that geeky edge PR 2.0 needs these days!

3. Do you feel your degree helped you to get the job?
I did History and Politics at Nottingham and I got a 2:1. It’s important to have a solid academic background but I don’t think it helped me particularly. In my interview I ended up talking far more about a promotions company I ran in Nottingham than the finer points of Marx’s economic theory.

4. What does your role involve on a daily basis?
Fortunately it is so varied that I couldn’t give you a picture of a typical day because there really isn’t one. One day you might be calling journalists and selling-in a story, on others you might be monitoring a political event or trying your hand at drafting a press release. There are administrative tasks that you just need to get done but at the same time FH puts you in front of the clients virtually straight away and you can find yourself offering an opinion to a CEO of a major company. One thing I do every day is spend at least half an hour going through the RSS feeds of the key media outlets, blogs and Google-searches that interest me and my clients.

5. How much responsibility do you have on the scheme?
It’s clear when you arrive that it really is up to you on how much responsibility you take on. If you can prove to your team that you can take charge on a certain issue or a project then they will let you. The opportunities are definitely there, you just have to prove that you can handle them.

6. What is it like to work within FH?
FH is different from every other office I’ve worked in because it has a non-divisional approach to both its work and the office itself. This means that you can end up sitting next to a Board Director, which can certainly make your first few phone calls a bit intimidating, but very quickly it makes everyone a lot more approachable and human – no one is locked away behind a big scary door. There is always lots going on outside of work – there are official drinks twice a month, not to mention the unofficial but sacred watering hole that is The Newton Arms.

7. What made you accept the job at FH?
I accepted the job because it has the reputation as pretty much the best place to start a career in communications in the country. The opportunity to work with the clients we have and in a company that allows you to try your hand at everything from financial pr to public affairs made it a bit of a no-brainer. I was definitely in full internship/application mode and though FH was the first scheme I applied for, I was certainly looking AT the others that were out there too.

8. What gave you the competitive edge to get the role on the FH scheme?
I think the key was demonstrating passion and enthusiasm in a way that they could see was transferable to the needs of clients.I hope I managed to demonstrated my interest in politics and the media and proved that I was a pro-active person that really wanted the job. It was the first interview where I really felt like I was being myself so I’m sure that helped.

9. What are the 3 most important skills that graduates need to be successful in PR?
An ability to multi-task, a creative mind and the gift of the gab!

10. What advice would you give to graduates looking to get into PR?
If you can, try it out. Internships can be bankrupting affairs but nothing beats experiencing the atmosphere of the kind of place you want to work. For interviews, I would make sure you always have a couple of columnists or bloggers up your sleeve to drop in to conversation and always completely geek up about the company you want to work for.

I would like to wish Oliver good luck for the future and thank him for participating in this Q&A. Many graduates will shortly be hearing back from agencies whether or not they have made it past the first stage of the graduate recruitment process, so I’m confident Oliver’s words of advice will be well received. I’d also like to thank the students from all over the country who sent me the questions to put to Oliver.

It follows on from the 2010 PR Grad Schemes and Q&A with high-flying SAE posts which have proved immensely popular and I hope useful. I thought it would be worthwhile to get some pearls of wisdom from somebody working within the HR team at one of the world’s biggest PR firms.

Toni is involved with graduate recruitment at Edelman, so the answers really are from someone who knows their stuff. You can find out more about Toni from her Tweets and Linked In profile

1.    What key things do you look for on a CV?
In the current climate recruiters receive such huge amounts of applications for entry level roles that they can be very picky about what they’re looking for. Therefore, if a brief has been posted, make sure every point in the job brief is matched in your CV.

Also, it may seem rather basic, but it’s amazing the amount of CVs that come through with spelling mistakes, grammar and formatting issues. Always get a friend to look through your CV to spot anything like this, you can stare at the same CV for hours and not realise you’ve spelt the company name wrong – it does happen!

2.    What are your top 3 tips to prepare for an interview?
(I) Ask before the interview who you will be meeting, make sure to do your research on these people and how they fit into the company.

(II) Do as much investigations as you can into a company, not just looking at their website but also reading any publications they may have published, e.g. Edelman’s Public Engagement essays . Find out who their clients are and what issues they face.

(III) Know you CV inside out and your dates of employment. Make sure that they all tally up and any gaps in employment or study are explained.

3.    Should graduates bring their portfolio to an interview?
Sure, why not. Anything that helps sell yourself.

4.    What are graduates expected to do at an Edelman interview?
At our graduate assessment days we ask candidates to do a number of tasks; the first stage is an application form including a 250 word writing test, the second round is a telephone interview and the third round is coming in for an assessment day with about 10 other graduates. At the assessment day you will be required to complete a variety of tests, present on a topic of your choice and hold your own in an interview.

5. How much do you really value a PR degree and is it likely to be overlooked in favour of an Oxbridge graduate?
Absolutely not. Whilst academic results are important, work experience, personality and skills are far more weighted in my opinion. However, after reading Jacqueline Cooper’s recent blog and the comment listed beneath, this is a subject that has a lot of conflicting opinions.

6.    Students are constantly being told that if they are not active on all platforms of social media the PR world is going to leave them behind. Are social media skills a must have for today’s PR graduates?
It certainly helps, I won’t lie. Graduates need to be visible as a ‘brand’ just as much as anyone else. Showing you understand the principles of social media in your own life means that you will be able to do the same for our clients.

7.    Is a degree or career in journalism a good stepping stone for a move into PR?
It can be, however we have people with previous experience in all walks of life that helps their PR career, so it’s not the only route into PR.

8.    Some graduates produce e-portfolios – are they a good idea and do they get taken into consideration?
They can be very useful to bring along to interview, but remember that when applying for a job the HR contact will have a lot of different candidates speculatively applying and therefore will be looking at the basics first.

9.    How can graduates stand out from the crowd?
Firstly, use of social media to build networks and engage in conversation with contacts within the PR industry. By showing that they are switched on and enthusiastic and by getting some work experience on their CV, even if it is pro bono work, it all helps.

10.    What type of skills and experience do graduates need for PR?
Motivation, enthusiasm, passion and organisation.

I would like to thank Toni for taking part in this Q&A. It’s tough out there at the moment for graduates and any advice; especially from someone working in the industry is valuable. I’d also like to thank the students from all over the UK who sent me the questions.

After the success of the 2010 PR Grad Schemes post which has had over 1,000 views so far, I hope this will prove just as useful for graduates and people looking to get into the industry. I will also be having a Q&A with someone working in PR HR in the not too distant future…so watch this space.

A bit of background: whilst I have known Matt for several months via Twitter, email and blog posts – I have never actually met him…until this week. You can find out  more about Matt from his blog, Tweets or Linked In profile.

Right then, Matt in his own words…
I graduated from Westminster Uni with 2:1 (BA Hons) in Journalism in 2007 and alongside my part-time job in a music shop I started writing for several music blogs until I did an Internship with Zest PR from October-December 2007.

In January of 2008 I started working with Chocolate Communications, a consumer and lifestyle agency, across a range of tech, gaming and corporate clients. I then started at Edelman Digital in February 2009 working within the social media team.

I’m a purist in my approach to working digitally. As a blogger, and generally subversive type, being honest, transparent and holistic in what I do both personally and professionally, is very important to me which is what attracted me to social media.

I’m fascinated by the media and the different ways we spread messages and interact with each other, be that through PR, advertising, marketing, word of mouth and new social networking platforms, and I happened to stumble into PR!

1. What did you have to do to get the job at Spook?
I saw a tweet from the team which said that Edelman Digital and Spook were looking for an Account Exec, so I messaged them and went for a chat. I then got invited back for a second more formal interview and got offered the role shortly after a third final Interview with all of the team.

Spook were an independent web design/build agency and were bought by Edelman in 2008, at which point the Edelman Digital team and Spook were thrown into together, and the start of a loving relationship was born. There’s a very definitive culture at Spook which is unlike any I’ve experienced anywhere and that was one of the major factors in moving. I can wear my hat and bright yellow shoes in client meetings, that’s all I needed!

2. Do you have a portfolio?
I don’t have a portfolio, I’ve never been to an Interview with one so I can’t really offer an opinion other than to say that it’s never been required that I bring one. I also think it depends on the culture of the company you’re speaking with – the more formal and corporate, the more likely they are to want to see something, it’s always worth asking if they would like you to bring something.

I think sending an e-portfolio in advance is a good idea – it gives them something to read and allows them a better perspective of you as a person and how you go about your work.

3. Do you feel your degree helped you to get the job?
I’m not so sure – my degree is in journalism which I hope allows me to approach PR & social media from a different perspective. I know that having a degree didn’t affect me getting an Internship which then led to my first job.

I think to be able to demonstrate a certain level of education is useful, but I’m more of the opinion that if you can get your hands dirty and get some actual experience with an internship before applying for a permanent role, it’s more valuable.

4. What does your role involve on a daily basis?
Working in social media means that I do a lot of different non-traditional PR work than someone in a different PR discipline, say B2B or Tech.

I work across a range of different clients and my role varies on each account. In the mornings I tend to do the initial rounds of monitoring, going through RSS feeds, looking at activity on Twitter, and sharing relevant news and blog posts with other members of the team.

We do a lot of monitoring and listening for clients, it’s arguably the most important aspect of the job, so I might then spend some time working on developing various taxonomies for these programmes. The use of language is an ever evolving space so we need to be on the ball when it comes to the way people are referring to things online.

There are also elements of outreach, doing the communications bit of the job, speaking with bloggers on a daily basis – this is my favourite bit of the job

Then, there’s usually a brainstorm or meeting thrown in for good measure where I’ll provide feedback on progress that’s being made.

5. How much responsibility do you have in your current role?
I’m very lucky at Edelman and Spook where I’m given a lot of responsibility. I think to try and grow in your role you need to be prepared to take on more responsibility than you might expect – the more proactive and enthusiastic you can be, the better.

I’m responsible for the day to day execution of tasks, reporting and researching. But what’s great is that the culture at Spook and Edelman is that you’re encouraged to have time to think and try and work out new ways of doing these things, and to be encouraged to share this and then develop an idea you’ve had is extremely rewarding.

6. What is it like to work within Edelman?
It’s actually pretty cool! The philosophy is great, we take a very holistic approach to communications which I think is very forward thinking. There are many agencies who seem to shy away from organically developing their business model and taking whiter than white approach to the work they do, and it’s really refreshing to work for a company who are very tightly managed, but also give you the freedom to express your opinion.

7. What made you accept the job at Spook?
The job with Edelman and Spook was the only role I’d even thought about. I was happy in my previous job, but the digital space is where I felt I could be able to contribute more effectively and provide a greater value to a team. I accepted the job because I wanted to move into digital, and despite having very little experience in that area, I was delighted that they were willing to take a risk!

8. What gave you the competitive edge to get the role at Spook?
I would like to say it’s about attitude – I went to the interviews and was totally honest about what I knew and didn’t and I think that I just happened to be the right fit for the team at that time. I was, and still am, enthusiastic about the way digital comms is developing and there’s a real opportunity for the work we’re doing to be the catalyst for institutional change within huge multinational companies.

It also helps if you’re intimately acquainted with Lolcats

9. What are the 3 most important skills that graduates need to be successful in PR?
I think that there are three behaviours, rather than skills that are important:

Proactivity – You’ve got to be willing to take the initiative without being prompted, and want to develop in your role as an individual and as a team member

Enthusiasm – A want to learn and become ensconced in the space is always useful. As is the willingness to speak to people you’ve never met before about something they may never have heard of.

Organisation – You’ve got to be organised in agency work, keeping track of lots of different clients can be tricky. I’m not the most organised person in Edelman Digital and Spook, so I write everything down in a big list. It helps keep track of everything!

10. What advice would give to graduates looking to get into PR?
I think there’s three things to focus on:

Do your research, and work out where the best grad schemes or Internships are, and try working in different places if you can to get a sense of how different agencies work – remember you might find after three months that you’re not enjoying it, so it’s worth experimenting with different sectors. I thought I’d be a great music PR, but I found it very formulaic so moved into consumer PR.

Don’t be afraid of asking difficult, or seemingly easy to answer questions to people who you perceive to be unaccessible. Most of the time they’ll get back to you with an answer that will be really enlightening. There’s no harm in contacting a PR over Twitter or e-mail. If they get back to you, that’s the start of a relationship right there!

A knowledge of PR isn’t essential, but an understanding of communications overall is pretty useful, and most courses teach this. Taking the seemingly traditional route into PR means that you’re going to be up against many other grads so if you can demonstrate a good level of detailed knowledge about the media in your chosen sector (knowing all the IT trade mags for example) is just as important as knowing how to draw a process diagram and analyse how effective it is.

As well as thanking Matt for taking the time to answer this Q&A, I’d also like to thank the students from all over the UK who sent me some excellent questions to put to Matt. I hope you will find this a useful post.

So to make things a bit easier for PR students, I have put together a list of 2010 PR Graduate Schemes, when they open, close and links to apply. I’ll be updating it over the coming months. I hope you find it useful.

Note to companies: if you have a scheme please email me and I’ll add you to the list.

Band & Brown (via Facebook)
Closed

Blue Rubicon
Closed

Brando (via Facebook)
Closed

Burson-Marseller
Closed

Chime Comms
Closed

Consolidated PR
Open
Closes: 8 June 2010

Diffusion PR
Closed

Edelman
Closed

Fishburn Hedges
Closed

Fleishman-Hillard
FH continually run a scheme which lasts 6 months and candidates may be offered a job at the end.

Four Comms
Closed

Hill & Knowlton
Open: May/June 2010
Closes: TBA

Hotwire
Closed

NHS – the scheme was recently announced in PR Week, details TBA.
Open: TBA
Closes:  TBA

Porter Novelli – see blog post for more details
Closed

Shine Comms
Closed

Weber Shandwick
Closed