I was always told that finding a job, or at least a job that I wanted to do, after university was a marathon, not a sprint. But add a global pandemic into the mix and that marathon began to look even more of an endurance test.
After graduating with a First-class degree from RGU in Public Relations, I was eager to get out there and start my career. But I quickly hit a roadblock – one which countless people my age hit. My lack of experience meant that I couldn’t get a job, but I couldn’t get that experience without a job.
After multiple rejections from marketing and PR agencies in and around Aberdeen, I applied for a three-month internship position at BIG Partnership. After sending in my application, I was invited to an ‘open day’ at the Aberdeen office, where myself and four other applicants were welcomed by the team. After a brief intro to BIG, we were divided into groups and set a task. This was a fun experience that let us work in teams and allowed us to have a peek at what an internship would be like (and obviously give the BIG team the low-down on the applicants).
A few days later, I received a call telling me that I had performed well and that BIG wanted to offer me an internship, I was thrilled! A week later I started my new job as a PR Intern at BIG, alongside two other applicants. The first few days went by quickly and there was a lot of information to take in as I had never worked in a PR agency before. Everyone was very accommodating and carefully walked myself and the others through our tasks.
Gradually, I became more confident in my role, and was given more responsibilities, not least of which was figuring out a way to meet everyone’s tastes in pizza and snacks for our Friday BIG Bar socials!
I began doing a little bit of everything including coverage tracking, research, writing and social media content planning. On several occasions, I had opportunities to get out of the office and meet clients face-to-face, something I hope to do more as time goes on. A particular highlight was seeing press releases, that I had written, picked up in the media.
About halfway through my internship, I was told that it had been extended to six months. After having a taste of life in a PR agency, I was enjoying it too much to give it up. Getting the extension meant that I could continue gaining experience and working with the team that had taken me in, looked after me so well and taught me so much. However, the question still remained, what would happen once the six months was up?
Four months to the day after I started as an intern at BIG, I was offered a full-time position as an Account Executive – an offer I couldn’t refuse. This position will allow me to get even more involved with the clients that I have been working with and to fully integrate myself as a permanent part of the BIG team. I’m sure there will be “big” things to come.
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