A peek into the experiences of a PR placement

Master’s student Aimee Alexander gives the inner scoop from her first week at a top Scottish PR agency

Masters student Aimee Alexander shares her experiences of her first week as a PR intern at a top Scottish PR agency

HAVING recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and starting a Master’s course, I found myself struggling to decide what I wanted from life after academia. Now I am experiencing the world of PR at a top Scottish agency.

Although I had always had an interest in media and public relations, I was unsure how to break into the industry or gain experience in the field.

When I decided to research PR placements, I didn’t expect to find such a great fit, but when I saw the Holyrood PR Graduate Placement Programme, I knew I had.

Despite currently being based in Glasgow, I have often thought of working in the capital city and experiencing life in Edinburgh. So, when I saw I could gain this experience whilst learning all about PR, I knew this was something I wanted to do.

From the first email, the firm was friendly and welcoming, which helped put me at ease before my start date.

My first day was filled with nerves, but by the time I was leaving the office I was excited to return the next day. I was welcomed with open arms from the first-morning meeting, with everyone offering me teas and coffees and making me feel like part of the team.

Helpful tutorials on the software and systems used by Holyrood PR to provide the award-winning service they do, were given to me. Many members of the team offered me tasks to get on board with and everyone was more than happy to help whenever I found difficulty.

It was great to find that I was trusted with important tasks from my first week and was given the opportunity to draft and upload press releases, be part of client interviews, be involved with social media campaigns and handle client specific research and drafting tasks.

This experience has confirmed that I do want to pursue a career in PR and would be thrilled if every working week could be just like this one. I can’t wait to see what the rest of my placement has in store!