On the 13th of March, I listened to a talk by Hayley Longdin, the Client Services Manager at public relations agency Whistle PR. The basis of this talk was about transitioning from university into employment, as well as what job roles within public relations entail and what challenges and experiences occur within this area. Longdin spoke about how she began her career as a journalist, working as an assistant editor for the Birmingham Independent, and how the transition into public relations had both advantages and disadvantages. According to IPR.org.uk Public Relations, working in public relations requires“excellent writing and verbal communication skills” (IPR.org.uk, 2012) which is supported by Longdin as her training within journalism, including learning from mistakes related to writing skills, had equipped her to be able to make this transition. Furthermore, Longdin gave key advice to those looking at going into public relations. For me, the piece of advice that stood out was to create your own opportunities, meaning to go beyond what your job description may entail in assisting those you are working for as this makes you stand out and shows that you are both proactive and reliable. In addition, Longdin suggested that it is beneficial not to stay too static working for one company as different work environments can provide different challenges and learning experiences, with Longdin giving the example of working on campaigns for retailers such as Marks & Spencer as providing a varied experience to her work. From this talk, I have decided that a personal area for improvement for myself is learning how to find opportunities myself in order to further my own experiences and aid me in becoming a more well-rounded employee in the future.

References:

IPR.org.uk (2012) Introduction to Public Relations. [online] available from <http://www.ipr.org.uk> [13 March 2020]