PR internship | How I spent my whirlwind month at Holyrood PR

Recent graduate Rachel Webster reflects on her time at a busy award-winning PR agency

Beach visits and how I spent my whirlwind month at Holyrood PR Image used by Scottish PR agency

THE PAST four weeks at Holyrood PR have flown by, as I moved on from five years at university into the busy life of full-time work.

Having studied both media and marketing degrees, I had always had a small idea of what the world of public relations had looked like. However, my four weeks at Holyrood PR has given me the best insight possible in the industry, allowing me to full immerse myself into the busy world of PR.

The versatility of work I have completed is beyond anything that I had expected when I walked through the doors on my first day.

No two days have been the same at Holyrood PR. Some were spent at the desk drafting press releases for clients and updating media lists, and the next I was out and about interacting with clients first hand.

The variety of client work also varied from day to day. From helping to promote a performing arts school to transcribing meetings about windfarms.

My whole time was not spent at the desk in front of my computer either, with multiple chances to get up and out with the team to visit clients!

I attended three trips with the team to capture coverage for the Holyrood social media channels. One of the highlights was visiting Portobello beach and attended a dementia friendly walking group, which was being filmed for STV and featured on the News at 6 that night.

Another visit saw us at the Scottish Parliament with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, viewing a space for an upcoming event. I even spent my last day with the team at Cramond Residence, capturing social media content of the residents watching a choir perform.

One of my highlights of the whole experience was seeing a campaign from start to end with project client Unleash The Dogs. I sat in on the first initial meeting with them and helped to draft their first press release.

The coverage that they gained through Holyrood’s PR warranted them their own success post, which helped boast their 2.9 million opportunities to see as well as their multiple features in Glasgow Live and Glasgow Times.

The team have been so friendly by welcoming me into the office, and putting their trust in me to complete tasks independently. They have provided me with knowledge and expertise that I could not have gained by sitting through lectures at university.

After graduating I was not too sure what path I wanted to take with my career. However, after the past four weeks at a busy PR agency I am excited to see what I can do with my new knowledge and experiences in PR.