PR internship | My dynamic four-week placement journey

Shereen Ishaq tells us everything about her time during the Holyrood PR graduate placement

ALTHOUGH a bit overused, when I reflect on my first week during the Holyrood PR internship, to my final week now, I truly can’t believe how quickly time has flown and just how much progress I’ve seen in my personal growth.

During the first week of the placement programme, despite being extroverted and confident on the social side of integrating myself in new places, I was anxious about making silly mistakes.

Before I knew it, that soon disintegrated with the consistent reassurance from the team and I quickly learnt from well explained feedback.

Looking back at improvements as simple as my first success post draft, which Yoli initially thought was a blog post due to being so long, to now being able to properly jot one out in an hour, I see the differences.

I noticed the learning curve, from the basics down to the trickier parts of PR, all comes down to practice with a sprinkle of trial and error.

Before I knew it i began to get an understanding of the tone and nature of each client and how they varied so much sector by sector.

These four weeks helped me focus on the sectors and clients I enjoy and envision myself working for when I start my career, as well as the areas that I would need to work on.

I have always had a strong inclination that the responsibilities that came with a career in PR were responsibilities that I enjoyed and would come naturally to me.

With that said, nothing is more of an indicator in garnering whether something is truly the right fit than being fully immersed in a job or place.

This placement did just that and has reaffirmed that PR is in fact the right career for me.

The biggest highlights of my PR internship include attending a CALA photoshoot and observing Lucy chat away to clients, working on care and professional services clients, as well as beginning to get to know everyone on the team.

Despite being sad at how short and sweet this placement has been, I am going into my final year now at university filled with optimism and excitement at what next year holds after I graduate.

I hope this isn’t the last of my experience with Holyrood PR and I look forward to expanding my public relation experience continuously.

To anyone hesitant about this placement for whatever reason, I assure you there is nothing to worry about and you will regret not experiencing it.

The benefits of a smaller team are tenfold, as your contributions or problems are heard a lot clearer as well. Thanks to everyone at the office who contributed to my past four weeks, it is extremely appreciated, and I’ve enjoyed it massively!