Katie says goodbye to Petersens

Our latest GO Wales Taster student Katie has come to the end of her 10 week placement with us. We asked her to write a blog about her experience at Petersens…

I sadly said goodbye to the good people of Petersens today after finishing my placement, and what a ten weeks it has been! Before I started at Petersens, I had very limited experience of working in a PR agency and I am very happy that my first proper experience was here.

Thinking about what I will take away from the experience, there were the obvious answers. Writing publishable press releases for real clients and compiling media lists will definitely benefit me in my future PR ventures. Reading through tenders and meeting schedules and sometimes joining in myself have been new experiences for me and have contributed to a more rounded knowledge of PR.  I have also overcome proper challenges here. Speaking on the phone has always been something I have struggled with in the past, mainly because I get nervous and mix my words and  get worried about coming across as unprofessional. I now feel more confident to talk to media relations on the phone which is something I am proud to take away with me.

Clearly not because of the free breakfast, although it was a plus, preparing for and attending the Breakfast Club was probably one of my favourite memories with Petersens. I was fortunate enough to come face to face with representatives of key businesses in Cardiff and listen to a talk by Stephen Herring, Head of Taxation at the Institute of Directors (IoD).  I even faced and conquered the ever tricky task of waking up at 5.45am!

But, the most memorable thing that I will take away from the experience is that the working world, at least Petersens’ world, is not full of the doom and gloom that I feared of when I was younger. Being part of such a laid back environment where everyone contributes to ideas, projects and conversations is so reassuring to me as someone who is about to graduate and hopefully work for a company who has this same mantra. Most impressively, the people of Petersens actually care about each other and I am thankful to have worked with such people. I am now motivated to apply for jobs that I felt like I might not be considered for before my placement here.

To sum up, the last ten weeks has been a great experience with some great people, learning the ins and outs of a truly great company!