I’m currently going into the start of my third and final year at the University of Huddersfield studying History and Politics, and I was well aware that before graduating I needed as much experience as possible to be in good stead when I start applying for jobs, so this experience has been incredibly valuable to me.
I know what you’re probably thinking, why is she thinking about going into PR and Marketing when she’s doing a History and Politics degree. Well, it’s just a career option that had appealed to me since my first year, and my degree means that I have a lot of skills that are needed in a number of careers.
I have tried the typical jobs that my degree usually leads to, including teaching, and it’s safe to say I hated it. I really didn’t have any patience for it, if any at all for teaching. I’d also tried museum work, and yes there were some aspects that appealed to me, but for the most part, I didn’t find it enthralling or that interesting. I knew I enjoyed the research aspect and I also had to create a leaflet which I also enjoyed, which is partly why I wanted to try marketing.
Within a couple of hours of being in the office, I got stuck in. The bulk of this week has been researching which I have been more than happy about. From researching news stories to researching relevant publications that could best suit the clients that need exposure, and looking through the websites of some of the clients and copying them so the information can be easily transferred between websites. This week has also included compiling Twitter lists and ended with writing blog posts (including this one!).
My week has gone so quickly. I feel as though I have learned so much in one week, especially from the meetings, and it’s made me realise that maybe in the future I’d prefer to work for an agency (rather than an in-house marketing team) as the work changes every day, and I think it makes it more interesting and challenging. I am so grateful for my time here and everyone has been so lovely and welcoming. This week has been very useful in deciding what I want to do when I leave university.