Emma Diver

I decided I wanted to move to London and do my internship there 7 months ago. It took me that time to find an internship. I don’t think I would have gotten this job if my lecturers hadn’t spent so much of their personal time helping me. It is bitter sweet knowing how much Barry Mc Intyre tried to secure me a job in London and that he isn’t here to see it all work out. He contacted his family and asked me about my progress every time he passed me in IADT. It helped knowing how much effort other people were making on my behalf. I knew I couldn’t give up looking. All my lecturers were rooting for me and especially with the help of Siobhan Gallagher I’m exactly where I wanted to be 7 months ago.

I had two phone interviews on Tuesday 17th January with Seymour PR and by Thursday evening I was planning my move to London City. I work as an account executive in a PR firm in Fitzrovia. Coming over here to work I didn’t know what I’d be doing exactly but since I’ve started I have learned so much. My job entails looking after all of our clients’ accounts. Some of these include Bupa, Sainsbury’s, Fitness First and ABM UK. As these companies range in products and services the work is so varied and interesting. I have attended photo shoots, seminars and worked with really interesting people along the way. My favourite part of my job is how extremely varied the work is. I spend some of days doing admin work and editing reports and the other half ringing journalists and experiencing London.

A challenging aspect of my job is staying on top of the work I am given and also prioritising it. I am constantly learning as PR is a very fast paced environment. There is also some pressure as this is the real world dealing with real people and real companies. My boss, Carie and colleagues couldn’t be more helpful when it comes to telling me things about the business or explaining jobs in greater detail.  There is always something on my lists of things to do but I enjoy being busy and helping out where I can. This experience is going to teach me so much about PR and myself. I came over to London on my own to do this internship and even after my first week working for Carie in Seymour PR I knew I was going to be very happy here.

My advice to students who are lucky enough to have an internship scheme integrated into their course is to really think it through. This job could decide your future career for you so the decisions you make regarding it are very important. The more work you put into finding a job you want the more you’ll get out of it in the end. I spent seven long months searching for a job, getting close and then it not working out. Each no I got just made me want it more. Use your lecturers, friends and family as much as you can. They are there to help you and have your best interests in mind! In most cases jobs are found from a friend of a friend and that is exactly how I got my job! From my experience I think it is important to have a clear picture of what you want in your head. This will put it all into focus and make searching for the job that little bit easier. It is definitely all worth the hard work!