My two weeks are now over and my work experience has come to an end. The question is though, “Have I actually done anything and have I learnt anything?” Most people who do work experience will probably answer this question by saying, “Yes, I now know how to make a great cup of tea!” The whole time I have been here I have only made the tea about four times, not bad for two weeks!

So, what have I done then? Well, since being here I have done a wide range of different jobs, from doing mail-outs to writing press releases. I have also written newsletters, news posts, blog posts and letters to clients. I have created media lists, phoned companies to persuade them to take part in a client’s charity event and suggested possible podcast and vodcast opportunities for the agency.

I would be lying if I said I have enjoyed every single minute of it, putting letters in envelopes isn’t the highlight of my day! But that’s how it is in PR and although one day you might be planning the world’s most exciting campaign, the next day you may have a never-ending pile of mail-outs to do. Has this put me off though? No way!
If I had to pick one thing that I feel I have improved on the most through my work experience, it would have to be my writing. When I wrote the first draft of my first blog post for the Message Merchants, it was the sort of writing style that would get me a good mark in an essay at university, but not what is needed for a good blog post. If I were to still be using this writing style now, this blog post would have bored you to death and you wouldn’t have even got this far in reading it!

From the whole experience I feel I am now in a better position to get a job within PR. Any previous doubts I had about working in PR have now gone as I am sure that this is the career for me. Although it has only been two weeks that I have worked here it feels a lot longer, within the two weeks I have learnt far more than I could have ever learnt in two weeks of my PR course.

Now I have some experience of working in PR, will I be able to get a job in the profession after I finish university? Only time will tell, but fingers crossed!