May 17, 2010
Now I’m nearing the end of my year at GSK it’s dawned on me that I now have to take that dreaded next step….final year. With little inkling as to what our dissertation topic is going to be, the thought of another hefty portfolio and countless assignments looming in front of us, it’s hardly surprising that some students are daunted. What DOES surprise me is that this fear, alongside the newly found security of a full time job (however temporary it really is…) has led some of my fellow students to make the decision of not returning to university. Now admittedly, some are transferring unis and not quitting, but either way this seems like an odd decision to me.
I can hardly sit here and preach about not quitting something once you’ve started (a certain media production course will remain unnamed) but I just can’t imagine taking up an offer to stay in the role I’m in rather than finish the course. This might just be personal opinion but surely it’s selfish of the employer to try and keep the student on? Sure, it’ll be harder to let the student go and train someone new, but if you’re so keen to have them in the team, then why not let them finish their degree and come back to you with more knowledge, and therefore more to offer?
I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work for GSK for the year, and it’s been an amazing experience, but I’m also grateful that my boss really understands the industry and what she can do to help me progress. Although I’ve had an exciting year, working in house and with agencies on numerous brands, I really feel like I want to be IN those agencies, working creatively on campaigns.
I’m not naïve (well not TOO naïve), I know that competition for agency jobs is pretty intense, which is why I’m looking into summer internships with the agencies that really catch my eye. Feel free to throw ideas my way…
April 21, 2010
Wow, I knew I was neglecting my blog a lot in recent months but I had no idea a year had passed since my last post. It seems not working with social media every day makes it harder to find the time to log on and keep your online presence..
What didn’t help is that my URL seemed to disappear completely, leaving me with a not-so-enticing WordPress address Luckily www.prgirl.co.uk is now happily back up and running (I hope..)
So what brought me back? Well if I’m honest it was actually good old-fashioned pride that gave me the push to get back on here.
We’re currently working with an agency to put together a digital PR workshop for the business and after an hour long meeting discussing content, I was left feeling a little embarrassed I used to work for a social media agency, so why was I so behind after less than a year? Now having someone know more than me about something isn’t new to me, I’m obviously still learning and welcome people passing on knowledge, but this was different. This meeting was something I should know about, something I’m supposed to be quite good at, so I’m getting back in the game (as geeky as that sounds) to make sure I don’t get left behind again!
Working in a pharmaceutical company has been so different to life at Wolfstar, I’ve learnt so much about the relationships with in-house comms and agencies and more than anything I will always respect those PR’s that spend their days trying to please in-house regulatory- it’s a difficult skill to master!
I can’t believe I’m nearing the end of my time here at GSK- only a couple of short months left to go! Although it’s definitely going to be strange to leave here and London (which I’ve fallen in love with..) I think the experience has and will continue to help me in the future. Now I just have the slightly daunting task of figuring out what’s next!
April 8, 2009
Contrary to the title of this blog post, I don’t in any way dislike online shopping- unfortunately, the opposite is true. After dragging myself away from yet another website I’ve got to wondering, has online shopping made things TOO simple?
Within five minutes of logging on to an online store you can be inserting your card details and HOORAY, you’re the owner of yet another brand new item of clothing that, realistically, you DON’T need! Now where is this clever, logical side of me when I’m browsing and buying?
You may think I’m being a bit OTT but it really does worry me how easy it is to rack up a serious bill for things that I could do without. But when I get countless newsletters and emails showing me “the very latest” and “this seasons best”, I just can’t help myself- I have to just have a little look. BE WARNED! There doesn’t seem to be any such thing as “a little look”, at least not if you’re me anyway..
Recently I have been quite good, and I’m managing to restrain my silly spending urges, but how long can this last when sites such as ASOS now lurk on Twitter, popping up to let me know about their “great new range”?
I think it’s great that more sites are embracing social media and using it to their advantage, I just ask that they don’t make that dress look TOO appealing…please?
Frankly I’m concerned, and I think it’s only fair that online sites reward my truly faithful service with some freebies- any chance of that? Bit optimistic maybe.
January 20, 2009
Over the Christmas holidays I have been bombarded with essays, assignments, group work, application forms and exams, so it is somewhat obvious that I have not had a lot of time on my hands to blog. Bizarrely this has left me feeling guilty, like I am somehow depriving my (albeit few) readers of my views and opinions. But this is surely not the case; there are so many blogs out there that it has become very difficult to keep up with them all (just try working your way through feed demon having left it for a week) and therefore blogs who don’t have frequent posts can just fall behind. This doesn’t seem to be a major problem, all blogs can be picked up again when time allows, so where is this feeling of guilt coming from?
After thinking this over whilst not being able to sleep last night (insomnia is a wonderful thing isn’t it?) I realised the pressure I appear to be feeling about my lack of posting comes from the overwhelming amount of posts written by others. There are blogs I visit that have up to eight posts a day and I’m aware other blogs have even more; but what is the reason for this?
Personally I blog when there is a reason to, when I want to have a little rant about something or offer helpful tips to other students for example. I never blog for the simple sake of blogging. I can’t help but wonder if others do?
In my opinion blogging should serve the purpose of an online diary, personal to you whilst providing interesting and insightful reading for others. It should not be “oh crap I haven’t written one in a while”, “”what will people think of me if I don’t?” or ”I don’t want to lose subscribers” posts. These tend to be rather obvious, dull and frankly pointless. Bloggers need to stop worrying about their number of subscribers and Technorati rankings and just write what they think- it really will be a lot more enjoyable to read than the “oops, sorry I haven’t written in a while” post.
October 22, 2008
After seeing Karen Russell’s blog post offering students the opportunity to write a guest post, I immediately emailed her asking if there was still a space free; luckily there was!
Since Karen is a a professor at the University of Georgia, I thought it would be particularly appropriate to write a post aimed at students. I thought about what students worry about, what they want to know and how I might be able to help- internships came to mind. Personally this is an area I worried about in the past so I thought it’d be the perfect subject to talk about. I’ve copied the post, as seen on Teaching PR below:
Finding internships in the PR industry
As PR becomes such a popular career path to choose, students must make more effort to improve their skills and gain experience, putting them ahead of others when facing an interview situation.
Internships can help to develop a CV whilst giving the practical experience necessary for a career in PR.
When I began the Public Relations course at Leeds Metropolitan University I was a little apprehensive when I heard we were expected to find work placements, but once I’d completed my first week long placement I realised how important it was, and what you can gain.
But how exactly do you go about getting an internship? And where should you look?
I’ve devised a list of ten tips for students to help find a great placement where you can gain the experience and knowledge needed to excel when looking for a full time job after university.
- Search for any PR agencies in your local area- Check out who they work with and what they do
- Use your contacts- friends, family and lecturers could all be possible links to a good internship
- Don’t rely on the PR agencies, they might be inundated with applications from students and unable to offer you work experience
- Remember to try and look at different sectors, it’ll help you make the decision of which path to take after university
- Ask other students where they have completed internships- if it was good, try there!
- Make sure your CV really shows you off before thinking about sending it to any possible employers. Always remember to spell-check and proof read!
- Write a cover letter/email requesting a placement and attach your CV. Remember they probably get a lot of similar emails so really sell yourself. Always tailor the email to the company; never send the exact same email to two companies.
- If an application doesn’t result in work experience, don’t be disheartened. Check over your CV again and keep looking!
- If you get a placement and find yourself making coffees all day, try discussing it with your tutor, they’ll help you decide what to do!
- Enjoy yourself! Internships shouldn’t be something you dread, enjoy your time at the company and get as much out of it as you can!
October 13, 2008
After a long day at Uni (9-6:30pm, I’m not just being dramatic..) I was surprised to find I still had the motivation to go to the CIPR guest lecture being held at the university! The lecture was being held by previous lecturer Karl Milner, now the Director of Communications for the NHS Yorkshire and the Humber. I must admit I wasn’t very optimistic about how much I would enjoy the lecture, the public sector and particularly the NHS has just never appealed to me when thinking about the direction I would like to go with my career.
I had definitely changed my tune by the end of the lecture, and am actually now considering the NHS as a possibility for the future. Karl paced the lecture well, telling five stories with tips and advice mixed in with his comical method of presenting. I was surprised to hear that NHS Leeds is the biggest single communications employer in Yorkshire and particularly interested to learn of the personal and emotional strength required to be a part of the NHS communications team.
It seems to be a job with lots of ups and downs; one minute you’re the hero, and the next the latest villain! Working in the public sector had always seemed like the boring route and had never appealed to me before, but now I’ve heard about it first hand, I’ve been swayed!
There was one thing that confused me though. During the questions at the end one student asked how the NHS was planning to involve social media in new campaigns. Karl replied that they currently had no definite plans to use social media as they were unsure of the results (based on the older target audience). Wolfstar are currently running a social marketing team for NHS Kirklees (part of NHS Yorkshire and Humber) which includes lots of social media- are there no more plans for this? And if so, why not? Social media can really help to reach publics that might not respond to traditional advertising. I really hope NHS Yorkshire and Humber aim to embrace social media, bringing the public service into the modern day and helping give the public a way of communicating with the people behind the service.
September 9, 2008
Since we won the NHS pitch things have been a little crazy around the Wolfstar office! As a result I’m now a full time worker, working 9 to 5 like a proper grown up (apologies for the post title, I couldn’t resist and now I can’t get the song out my head!)
It’s got me thinking about student life vs working life. Most of the students I know dread entering the “real world” away from the student bubble and fully intend on staying in education for as long as possible. But why is this? Is working life really so bad?
Personally it hasn’t changed my life too dramatically other than that I’m now very aware I can only lie in at weekends. With the placement year coming up next year this experience has so far led me to believe that I can in fact hack it! Obviously I can’t press snooze on my alarm quite as much as I’d like to, but it actually feels good to know I’ve had a productive day and that I’m gaining the experience (and money!) I need to help me get on.
However I am actually writing this after only two weeks of full time work, so perhaps I’m being a little hasty? I guess I’ll find out soon but either way, I can now fully appreciate why people look forward to the weekends!
I think students need the opportunity to work full time at some point during their academic life as it’ll give them a taste of life after uni, and hopefully show them it’s not all that bad! The placement year we have the option to do at Leeds Met is a great example of this and I encourage all students who have the opportunity to go for it!
