Serving the locals to a four-week placement

Student and part-time pub worker summarises her exciting first week with a Scottish PR agency

Hannah Nibbs, PR intern with Holyrood PR

AFTER the long-awaited first day, it did not disappoint. In the little time I have spent with the team at Holyrood PR, my first week has already been so worthwhile.

Like most other Edinburgh students trying to afford an expensive lifestyle…and nightlife, this came with working a part time job. Over my time working behind the bar in a small pub in Edinburgh I was no stranger to locals coming in after a long week of work to order a nice cold pint and have a chat. This is where I met Scott Douglas (Director at Holyrood PR).

With the long summer holiday I was lucky enough to have after completing my third-year at Edinburgh University, I was faced with the questions of how I was going to spend this, working? Holidays? or the often-asked question of ‘are you going to do an internship?’.

As I continued working in the pub to save up money for the chance to travel – and finally see the sun – I would often chat to the locals about my hopes to also get work experience of a 9-5 job before graduating next summer.

Studying a Sport and Recreation Management degree allowed me to identify my interests in the business side that was included in my course and fuelled a curiosity into PR. After discussing this one day with the friendly, chatty customer, Scott, I was pointed in the right direction. To my surprise Scott was an expert in the field. I decided to get stuck in and apply for the placement programme at Holyrood PR.

I was instantly put at ease walking into the office seeing all the friendly faces and was talked through all the different aspects involved in the work they do. In hindsight, I shouldn’t give the pointless worries the time of day.

You can tell they know how to make an intern feel welcome after the many years of giving students, like myself, this chance to understand more about what it’s like to work in a busy PR agency.

There has been great guidance on how to operate the various platforms used throughout the agency and I’ve been made to feel comfortable when asking for help and if needing recapped on anything. Not only have I appreciated this part of Holyrood PR’s placement programme but there has also been an ensured level of trust in me since day one.

To sum up the first week of settling into a 9-5 routine; I did a lot of learning and getting stuck in, along with coffee drinking to get me used to the early starts after a summer of lie ins. I have really enjoyed the experience so far and look forward to the next three weeks getting even more of an insight into the busy world that a Scottish PR agency has to offer.