My four-week graduate placement at a Scottish PR Agency

BlogIntern Programme

Lotte Roels looks back on a fast-paced but fascinating month at an Edinburgh-based PR agency

PR photography, Lotte Roels, 4-week placement at Holyrood PR blog post

It seems like only yesterday I was drafting a blog reflecting on my first week of graduate placement at Holyrood PR. Now, on my last day, I can’t believe time has flown by so fast.

From writing press releases and success posts to designing visuals, conducting research for campaigns, and compiling media lists. The variety of tasks has made my experience exciting and a real learning curve.

Working on different projects for a wide range of clients has helped me gain insight into various areas I was quite unfamiliar with. For example, I had never imagined I would write a success post on retrieving a historic satellite for Scottish rocket company, Skyrora.

One of my favourite tasks was designing graphics on Canva. I loved experimenting with different templates and coming up with original content. I had used Canva before, but my visual communication skills have definitely improved over the past few weeks.

Another highlight was writing two blog posts for Bield on ‘How to Live Environmentally-friendly’ and ‘The Benefits of Walking.’  I enjoyed changing up my writing style and getting my creative juices flowing. Seeing my content uploaded on its website was very rewarding too!

Of course, every learning experience comes with challenges. For example, staying motivated while working remotely was sometimes difficult, but luckily, I could always get in touch with the team, who lifted my spirits when tasks seemed a bit daunting.

This internship highlighted just how fast-paced a job in PR really is. I am impressed by the number of tasks the team gets done every day. Although I got better at time management over the four weeks, I realised I still have a long way to go!

In spite of the team members’ never-ending task lists, they still took the time to answer my questions and show me the ropes of the PR industry. I am especially thankful for the feedback I received on my press release for Mackie’s – I learned more about the structure of press releases, and how to make my writing more appealing to journalists.

As a non-native English speaker, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to catch up, but this has not been the case, and my English language skills have improved significantly – I even catch myself thinking in English sometimes.

All in all, my four-week experience has deepened my understanding about the world of PR, and made me realise that the theoretical knowledge I gained at university is just the tip of the iceberg.

I strongly recommend graduates to apply for an internship at Holyrood PR. If you have any doubts, step out of your comfort zone and pick up the phone or send that email – you won’t regret it!

Interested in a four week graduate placement at an award-winning Scottish PR agency?

We would love to hear from you! Fill out the form below or send your CV to recruitment@holyroodpr.co.uk

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