I stumbled across my love for the media industry by accident when I was a student at sixth form. After choosing a subject that I discovered was not right for me, I had to very quickly decide on a new one that I would study for the next two years.
As I had been told it was an interesting and friendly subject I chose media… thank god I chose media! Learning about all the work that goes into films and shows behind the scenes grabbed my attention and before I knew it I knew exactly what career path I wanted. Unfortunately Hollywood rarely visits Suffolk and so I had to narrow down my search a little and that’s where I found PR and more importantly Genesis!
Arranging a week’s work experience with the agency, I soon became very excited to see and experience what working in PR would be like first hand. I had been warned by a few family members and friends not to be too disappointed if I was asked to just make tea all week and file documents. But when I arrived for my first day I knew it wasn’t going to be like that at all.
The whole week I was made to really feel like part of the team and was doing jobs that really did need doing. They varied from reviewing SEO, market research and data analysis to the creative writing of press releases and creating social media accounts. Every individual job had its own specific deadline, some not needing doing for a few weeks and others that needed to be finished and sent off within the next few hours. One minute I could find myself rapidly typing away racing the clock and the next I would be breathing in the fresh air whilst taking photos of natural surrounding beauty to be uploaded onto Instagram.
I enjoyed every minute of the week and learnt some key things about the PR industry and what it takes to be part of it. Before my time at Genesis I was unaware of the diversity of clients one agency can be working with at one time. Sitting in on a weekly meeting we all shared who we were working with and what we were doing. Some clients may only want a little helping hand from their PR agency whereas others would well and truly be lost without them. Every client is different but one thing they all have in common is the outstanding relationship Genesis works so hard to create with them. It’s by far one of the hardest working yet friendliest environments I’ve worked in and I feel like in just a week I became a part of that team.
I now have a far clearer understanding of what PR involves and what I can expect if I am lucky enough to end up in the industry. For anyone who is unclear about Digital Media/PR I highly recommend seeking out work experience as you’ll get to see what it’s like and try your hand at working in the unique environment. You’ll either find out it’s not for you or if you’re lucky enough, like me, you will only fall deeper in love with it and know that PR is most definitely for you.