The chances are you’re probably going to get a lot of experience throughout your degree. I have undertaken placements and a year-long internship with various Leeds agencies throughout my time at university. Sorry to reiterate everything that’s always being preached, but it really is true – experience is invaluable to help you succeed in your degree and PR career.
Despite
having a lot of experience under my belt, one thing I regret is not having
undertaken a placement with an in-house PR department. I have always wondered
how each experience compares and how they differ in developing an entry level
practitioner’s skills.
This
week I asked a number of course friends to comment on what their respective
in-house/agency experience taught them. Adding to the comments, you’ll learn
why I love agency work later in this article…
In-House
Rachel
Barkley
“I
spent my placement year working in a communications department for the UK
headquarters of an international organisation. The thing I most liked about
working in-house was being able to get an in-depth understanding of the
industry, business environment and the way the organisation operates. I had the
opportunity to work on a number of projects across the business, and working
in-house lets you see the outcomes of each activity which is great.”
Sean
Ball:
“Working
for a multinational brand allowed me to understand how important the role of
strategic communication is within an organisation. However it's vital aspiring
communicators gain experience of working both in-house and in agencies to
understand the pressures that both sides of the industry face.”
Charlotte
Pittock-Holdsworth
"Working
in-house enabled me to gain a great deal of responsibility early on and develop
strategic skills as I was briefing and managing an agency to deliver a project
from day one in my job. I feel that I learnt great managerial skills in this
role and may not have been given this level of responsibility within an agency
role."
Agency Experience:
Beth
Armstrong:
“I
was lucky enough to carry out my placement year at the award winning, Manifest
Communications in Leeds. For me this confirmed that agency life is definitely
for me. I learnt so much throughout my year at Manifest and it really will help
to kick start your career by gaining experience within a fast paced agency
environment. I was able to work with many clients in various sectors which
really helped me to familiarise myself with both B2B and B2C media as well as
enhancing my writing styles. In a nutshell working for an agency is exciting,
hard work and no day is ever the same.”
Lizzy
Mallett
“I
undertook a year's placement with a small PR agency in Sussex called, Wildwood
PR, with clients in the building and technology industries. The main benefits
which I experienced from working within an agency would be the ability to
juggle a variety of clients across various industry sectors. This allowed me to
improve my versatility as a PR professional, as I am now able to recognize when
various clients are in need of different communications methods and which are
appropriate for certain campaigns. It also enabled me to build up a broad
knowledge of the publications and journalists working across the industries.
Dealing with a multitude of clients at one time can mean that one is better
able to understand how to work with a range of people within business,
therefore better gage someone's character and quickly decide the most effective
ways of working out what the client wants and needs.”
Why
I Love Agency Work
1.
A range of clients
I’m
never stuck to just one client, one set of values, one set of key messages and
markets. I love the fact that I can play around with different products,
services and media; changing and developing my skills in each. I’ve also found
that working within different markets allows me to identify marketing and PR
opportunities for other clients which I wouldn’t have previously thought of.
2.Work
diversity
Liaising
with different media and client contacts means I’m personally never bored! I
probably speak to about 30-40 different journalists a week within a variety of
press including consumer, nationals, trade, regional and business. Having a
good relationship with a journalist can really help when introducing them to
new/ other clients. Furthermore, working on different jobs with different lead
times and different people makes it all challenging yet enjoyable.
3.
Objective view
I’ve
heard that there’s a common opinion of agency practitioners – that they’re
unbiased; they see the market from outside the box and they don’t become
absorbed in the company’s politics. From my experience, I totally agree with
this perception. Working externally means I don’t get carried away with
unrealistic ideas that aren’t fit for the company. However regular contact with
the client ensures we have a mutual understanding and are working towards the
same goals.
Having
an objective view of the market makes it easier to see how things will be
perceived by the public and the media. Having your feet on the ground and not
having the constant thought of “the readers of [publication] will LOVE this!!”
if they really won’t, is a great asset to have. Only do something if you have
thought it through from every angle and you subsequently believe in it.
On
the other hand, when you bring something new to the table and encourage a fresh
approach to something, it’s also amazing to receive recognition from your boss
and the client!
4.
Experiment with different ideas
At
work we’re all encouraged to email round the office and tweet about interesting
campaigns. Everybody gets involved with brainstorms and each one has a
different brief and focus. Sometimes the best campaign ideas come from a random
brainstorm instead of a formal meeting in the boardroom!
5.
Admin heavy
Ok,
yes – admin is boring! But it’s good practice and I get so much more done in
the long run if I do all my admin properly. There are so many things I’d
probably forget if I didn’t have to file and report it back to the client.
Doing WiPs and PR activity reports actually helps to keep track of on-going
activity and progression with tasks. Being accountable to a client who is
monitoring your performance puts the pressure on to deliver, to have answers
and be timely!
What are your thoughts? Do you prefer one over the other or think they complement each other?
This post was written by final year PR with Marketing student, Bryony Czujko. Bryony has experience with five Leeds-based PR agencies, spanning consumer, B2B, traditional and social media. She is currently an Account Executive at The Right Agency.
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