From hack to flack – an intern's transition into the PR world

Journalism Graduate experiences the “dark side” – and is pleasantly surprised by the varied world of agency PR

By Caitlyn Dewar

LOOKING back at my time so far at Holyrood PR all I can think is – how could it possibly have been two weeks already? I knew that life in a PR agency would be fast and varied but I hadn’t expected that it would fly by this quick.

I’m a Journalism graduate and a seasoned media intern, so I have always had a keen eye to move into a communications position.

I had actually chosen that I wanted to do an internship with Holyrood PR about 6 months before I even interviewed for the position. I’ve interned previously in places such as the Edinburgh Evening News, Caters News Agency, Bauer Media and Scottish Field, and during my previous journalism placements I had dealt with this agency a number of times. I knew that they offered something that I was interested in and that they had a take on things that was different from others.

I’m happy to say that I was not mistaken.

From the moment I came into the office, I felt like a valued member of the team and not a hindrance and soon found myself with a jam-packed to-do-list of real jobs. I was never put in the dreaded intern position of having to ask someone: ‘have you got anything for me to do?’

In the two weeks I have been here so far, I have:

Written detailed press releases which actually tell a story (very important to me because of my love for journalism) about happy residents at one of Bield’s developments and black glittery ice cream by Mackie’s
Interviewed interesting characters – especially a resident at a Bield retirement home who took up writing at the age of 96!
Created a blog piece for The Walled Gardens at St Andrews where I had to research the myths surrounding downsizing
SEO optimised an entire Fraser Suites client hub on the website (which I’ve learned is highly sought after in the industry)
Taken like a duck to water on creating media montages on Photoshop
Created coverage reports
And carried out lots of research on some really interesting topics and industries

Single File by Bield's William Glen | Charity PR — Bield resident William Glen with his new book “Single File”

To say my time here so far has been varied is a HUGE understatement and I like knowing that there will always be something to do. I’ve been asked for my thoughts and ideas during team brainstorms and in day-to-day conversations and have been treated as a professional – not just as a university student.

The top tip I could give to any future intern is to write everything down. I make detailed lists of jobs I am working on and things that I need to do so that I can keep track of everything and prioritise more urgent tasks. The people at Holyrood PR really do work as a team so it always feels like an open environment to ask for help if you’re unsure. It also means that I feel like my ideas are valued and like I’m a part of each of the team’s successes.

I was excited to get to the part where I wrote this blog because when picking internships, the blogs of previous interns helped to sway my decision to pick Holyrood PR – so I can only hope that this one helps someone else pick this vibrant agency as well!

I’m looking forward to my next two weeks here – I don’t quite know what is around the corner but I’m sure it will be just as fun.