FROM BEAUTY TO FINANCE, DIGITAL TO HEALTHCARE, What is your proudest accomplishment in your job so far? A CAREER IN PR PROVIDES THE VARIETY TO PURSUE YOUR PASSION. It has to be when I completed my apprenticeship. It’s what I was working toward for a year and it was more than worth it for the experience alone. However, getting a qualification and the opportunity to work full time is the reason why it’s my proudest accomplishment. Public relations is all about reputation. It’s the result of what you do, what you say, and what others say about you. Working as a PR professional involves communicating with the public to ensure they have positive opinions of anything from an individual, such as the Prime Minister David Cameron, or an organisation, such as the retailer Topshop. Spotlighting sectors Daniel Bailey FASHION Digital Executive Whiteoaks PR Working for your favorite fashion retailer, brand or designer will involve networking with fashion journalists, popular bloggers and organising product launches and promotional events. Fashion PR is competitive, and undertaking internships is important if you want to find work in this sector. What three key skills do you need in your job? Three that come to mind are: polished writing skills, this is a biggie in PR! Be quick on your feet; you should be able to quickly react to what’s happening on social media. Finally – time management; you’ll be surprised at how much time social media sucks out of your day. Ellie Weatherseed Senior Account Executive Lisa Berwin Communications What is your proudest accomplishment in your job so far? What are your plans for the future? As it’s only the start of my career, I guess the only option is to work my way up! I’m looking forward to gaining more experience in the PR world and having the opportunity to learn new skills as I continue with my career. In January this year, I organised and co-hosted a conference called ‘UKFT Rise Start-up Fashion’ for budding fashion entrepreneurs, hearing from numerous key industry speakers on various topics that affect start up fashion businesses. I sourced speakers which included high profile names from companies such as Aurora Fashions, Ted Baker, Stylist Magazine, Harrods, Orla Kiely and Patrick Grant, Creative Director of E.Tautz and organised the venue, pulled together the agenda and promoted the event to all major fashion trade press. The event was attended by 200 fashion entrepreneurs and was a raving success. Technology is one of the fastest changing industries, with PR professionals working at the forefront of innovative brands such as Apple, Sony or Twitter. They will be the first to know of groundbreaking developments in technology to then share with journalists. POLITICS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK IN PR? brought to you by What is a typical day like? No two days are the same – my day can change at the drop of a hat when a request comes through from a journalist or one of my clients. I usually start my morning by reading all of the national newspapers, focusing on the business sections and scanning over key retail trade websites such as Drapers and Retail Week. It is imperative to know what is going on in your clients industry. At the moment I am organising a client’s event at Chelsea Flower Show and black tie awards gala the NatWest UK Fashion & Textile Awards. My day can range from being out of the office all day at client meetings to writing a press release, pitching stories to the press and reporting for clients. TECHNOLOGY Politics and public affairs work with local, national and international governments to influence public policy and to shape the future of society. PR professionals aim to build and maintain a strong reputation for their organisation and find common ground with its publics. specialising my studies in marketing and PR. From then on, I undertook numerous internships throughout my studies at press offices of various brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Marks & Spencer, Jaeger, My-Wardrobe.com and MyFlashTrash.com. For my placement year, I worked as the PR Assistant at luxury menswear brand Hackett – where I took away the most invaluable experience. Following graduation and a year travelling overseas, I am now a Senior Account Executive at fashion & retail specialist B2B agency Lisa Berwin Communications looking after key fashion, retail and FMCG clients. What three key skills do you need in your job? Why did you choose to get into PR? I’ve always had an interest in social media. After seeing an opportunity to become a digital PR apprentice at Whiteoaks, one of the UK’s leading technology PR agencies, the idea of getting involved in the PR industry and being a part of Whiteoaks’ digital team had really appealed to me! How did you get into PR? Through the PRCA’s apprenticeship scheme. It’s a great way to get into the industry if university isn’t for you. The PRCA and everyone at Whiteoaks supported me all the way through the course. At the end of it I gained a Level 4 BTEC and a full-time position at Whiteoaks. What is a typical day like? The first thing I do is to check on each social media account to see if anything has happened overnight. Then throughout the day I’ll be finding relevant content for future posts, as well as managing the communities for each account and making sure everything is running smoothly. Why did you choose to get into PR? I am a confident upbeat and sociable individual and enjoy working in sociable environments. I have always wanted to work in the fashion and retail industry. PR enabled me to work in environments I not only thrived in but enjoyed. It may sound silly but I still get a buzz when I see a product/ story I have pulled together featured in a key publication and hearing from my client that they secured new business because of it. I love being involved in every stage of the process. How did you get into PR? Before starting university at the London College of Fashion, my intention was to have a career in fashion buying. In my first year studying I undertook a work experience placement at a new start up womenswear designer and was thrown into doing their PR. After securing my first piece of coverage I was sold on Strong communication skills – you are on the phone with members of the press and clients on a regular basis, you need to be confident. Organisation – especially working in an agency environment, you are working for numerous clients and need to make sure you organise your time effectively. Journalists have strict deadlines – organisation is key to ensure that these deadlines are met. Industry Knowledge – it is important to gain wide industry knowledge. What are your plans for the future? Hopefully one day I will run my own PR agency! Within the next 5 years I want to be Senior PR Manager/Director level leading one of the best PR agencies/in-house press offices looking after high profile clients. HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE? www.prca.org.uk/ www.prapprenticeships.com www.prweek.com www.milkround.com