Monday 22nd February, 2016

This week I went down to London for a day of lectures and activities related to marketing and PR. We had seen it through an email from school and after a little discussion I agreed it would be a good thing to do. After a 6 o’clock wakeup I made my way from Kennett to London Liverpool street and from there I conjured up my map reading skills to locate the Webber Shandwick building. My map reading skills had far outdone my expectations as I arrived with nearly 45 minutes until it was due start, I had allowed that time as I assumed that I would have got lost! However, soon others started to trickle in and I met two guys, Chris and Tom who were great company and so we chatted away until the start. I don’t know what I expected but as soon as the first speaker started talking I realised I was in for a treat. With an unbridled love and excitement for her work she talked of the delights of working in PR for Webber Shandwick. I hung to every word and almost immediately I realised that PR was something that I should look very deeply into. The next was an undergraduate who had only be working there for a few months. Not only did he share her enthusiasm but he also made the job seem accessible, he was only a couple of years older than me yet there he was talking about his experiences and so with a keen ear I noted all of what he had to say about his application process lest I could use some of it should I ever have the chance to apply to work in that company or one similar. The next speaker was yet another fountain of knowledge and experience however he was more Marketing based and I had definitely found PR to be more of my area. Just before lunch we had the opportunity, in small groups, to talk to professionals who were working in PR and Marketing. This was an amazing opportunity to be able to ask questions that were  in my head, for example, was a university degree necessary, what sort of qualities were looked for in an applicant, how did you fit in your family life with your work etc. The day ended with a talk on the possible Marketing qualities you could get to help you progress further in the area you were working in followed by a group activity were  we designed a promotion plan for a chosen company. Both of these were again more Marketing based but they were still very interesting and the activity was fun as well. I thoroughly enjoyed my day and thought that it was a very worthwhile thing to have done, I was left with not only new knowledge in the area of PR but also a new interest and desire for my possible future careers.