First Week Blog – An Intern’s Insight into the World of Agency PR

Holyrood PR BlogIntern Programme

Face masks and dream homes to medieval history – variety is key during this PR internship

Edinburgh PR

By Catriona Quinn

They say PR is fast-paced, but I never quite expected my time at Holyrood to be going so quickly. In fact, on reflection of my first week, I can’t believe how much I’ve squeezed in.

As a graduate of international politics, the experience I am gaining at Holyrood PR is invaluable for making the transition into communications. Learning in the classroom is a great basis but there’s nothing quite like getting out into the workplace to learn from industry professionals. Even though I’ve only been here a week, I have learnt a lot.

  1. I have written two blog posts for two different clients: The Walled Garden in St Andrews and Dermal Clinic. This was an interesting test of my writing ability as I had to research the medieval history of St Andrews in the morning and then turn my hand to face masks and treatments in the afternoon, taking advantage of the great blogs I created using a guide on how to start a blog online. This is undoubtedly one of the things I enjoy the most about agency PR – the work is so varied and no two days are the same.
  2. I have completed two media montages for clients such as Mackie’s of Scotland and Bell Ingram. After an introduction by Melissa and a great deal of trial and error, I would now say I have mastered Photoshop (even if it did take four and a half hours to complete my first of these montages – thankfully, the team are very patient)
  3. I have helped pull together a press release for the launch of two new show homes by upmarket homebuilder CALA Homes. This involved much guidance from Chris and great experience joining in with an interview with the interior designer to make sure I included all the right details.
  4. I got to see Katie record her first episode of HPR TV and she even let me have a go. But I’m not holding out for my career in PR video, I think I’ll stick to the writing!

With any piece of work I’ve produced, the team have been happy to give feedback and constructive criticism, which has given me real confidence in my ability.

My top piece of advice is to be organised – every day I make a list of jobs and tick them off as I go. It really works for me and helps me to keep me on track.

It’s also really important to remember that if you’re an intern, you are most definitely going to have questions and I firmly believe you should ASK THEM. Even if you think they’re silly. Being an intern is a great opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.

If there’s anything else you’re not sure of, consult the intern bible because it will most likely have the answer.

And if you get the chance, you’ll find the best brownies in Edinburgh at La Cerise café nearby to the office. You can thank me later.

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