Story 2 - Kate Lowe
Kate Lowe studied a degree in Public Relations at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and completed a 12 month paid placement with a North West PR consultancy.
The consultancy I worked for specialised in property PR and I got to work on a number of demanding and challenging high profile accounts. As a PR Assistant I was responsible for answering all calls, making me the first point of call for all our clients. I was also allowed to develop my press release writing skills and had a number of releases published in local and national publications.
Throughout the placement I was involved in a lot of event management, something which I think I excelled in. It was at this time that I realised this was something I wanted to pursue on the future.
Participating in this placement was the best career decision I have ever made. During my time there I was fortunate enough to participate in some great projects and it really helped to confirm my enthusiasm for working in PR. My colleagues taught me valuable skills and qualities that were not only relevant to PR, but also day-to-day office work.
The projects I most enjoyed working on were three North West film premieres held at Red Cinema in conjunction with Sky Movies. PR is an industry where experience counts for everything. It's a constant learning curve and to be able to say you already have the knowledge of how the industry works, no matter how small that maybe, is a great asset.
I went on to work for Manchester based agency FunkyFish PR specialising in event management for both corporate and private clients and now work for myself. I can honestly say that if I hadn't have done the work experience I wouldn't be where I am today.
Your degree is a great base for your career, but if you have the experience as well then you will go a lot further. The placement definitely helped me build confidence in my abilities. I still speak to colleagues I did my work experience with and we laugh when we recall my first few weeks there. I was so terrified I wouldn't even answer the phone!
