We’ve been joined in the office this week by our latest GO Wales placement student, Holly Claydon Bevan. Here’s what she thought of her Petersens work taster…
Cardiff University graduate Holly Claydon Bevan joined Petersens on a week work taster
After three exciting and challenging years at Cardiff University, last month my time in this beautiful city finally (and all too quickly) ended when I attended my graduation ceremony. My emotions were mixed; happy, excited, upset, and anxious.
Having graduated with BA Joint Honours in Journalism and Sociology, I have always enjoyed the Journalism side and considered it as a career prospect, but have always also had PR and Marketing in the back of my mind. I haven’t had much practical experience of this, as my degree was mainly theory-based, so I decided to approach GO Wales who were able to offer me a work taster with Petersens.
On arrival on Monday morning, I was quickly greeted with a cup of coffee by the very friendly Sally and Louise, and we had a chat about what I wanted to achieve from the week. Embarrassingly, my knowledge of PR has always been quite vague and I thought it was ‘something to do with marketing’, so I decided I’d like to get some real experience of it.
I was quickly given some interesting projects to work on, including writing press releases, media research, writing articles for the August newsletter and updating client portfolios. All of the tasks were enjoyable and informative and really helped to give me a better idea of the world of PR, rather than just stereotypical work experience placements of making the tea. In fact, I haven’t made a single mug since I’ve been here!
I was also given the opportunity to attend a Social Media Seminar and Networking Lunch with Sally, which was very helpful. It felt a bit like an episode of The Apprentice as we entered the boardroom and all sat around a big meeting table waiting for the speaker to arrive, but once the seminar began it was very informative. We learnt about how businesses can utilise social media in order to improve communications, for example by creating business Twitter and Facebook accounts, and the etiquette that goes with this. Even though I’m not an owner of a business, it was still a useful event to attend (and the GB Women’s Olympic Football Team was also staying at the hotel which was quite exciting!)
I’ve really enjoyed my week here at Petersens and feel it has given me an insightful experience into a Marketing and PR agency. My plans for next year are to earn some money before going travelling in January to do the typical gap year student thing. But when I get back, I’m pleased I will be able to put my Petersens experience to good use and will definitely be looking for jobs in PR and Marketing! So thank you to all at Petersens for a very enjoyable, interesting and informative week.
Great post 🙂