24 hours with.... PR Executive, Rachel Phillips

Name: Rachel Phillips
Job title: Account Executive
Sector: Public Relations
Company: CHA

How long have you worked in this role?
CHA is my first job in public relations; I have been with the company officially for 18 months. I started on a three-month work experience programme and was then offered a junior account executive position after the second month in the placement. I was then promoted into an Account Executive role.

Describe your typical day...
My day in the office usually starts at just before 9am. Our team spends the first 15 minutes to half an hour of the day reading the national newspapers and monitoring the day’s big news. As a B2B PR consultancy we are most interested in the big business stories of the day. The rest of the day is spent working on different campaigns for my clients, both corporate and consultancy. In my role this means a lot of communication with journalists in the HR, business and sector trade press (such as retail, marketing and even pharmacy), as well as the business correspondents working for national media outlets. I also draft press releases, case studies about work that my clients have done and quotes on behalf of my clients’ expert spokespeople.

What's your company culture like?
We are a small and industrious team and we all get on really well. We pride ourselves on really strong relationships with our clients and key journalists, because providing extra value for both is a key goal for us. Our company values are Intuitive, Smart and Tenacious. These mean spotting opportunities and problems before they happen, being thoughtful and clear about what will get our clients the best, most consistent results and then always outperforming against our targets.

What is your favourite part of the job?
I really enjoy the excitement of securing a great media opportunity and hearing or seeing my client perform well. The other big buzz for me comes from hearing that a particular piece of media coverage, live interview or speaking opportunity I helped to creat and set-up, has led to a sales lead, or job, for my client. That’s the ultimate, tangible result of profile building and reputation management.

Is there anything you would like to change?
If I could work standing up or on a treadmill that would be great. I don’t like being sat down for so much of my day.

What is your favourite way to wind down?
Though it’s a big part of my job, I still love to read. This also means the tube journeys to and from work are far more enjoyable.

What has been your career path to date and how does it look going forward?
This is my first job after University, I studied English Literature at Cardiff. When I left I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but I was aiming for jobs where I could write and hoped to be working with lots of different people. Since I’ve started working I’ve completed a CIPR foundation course in Public Relations and additional training on the use of social media in PR. As for the future I wouldn’t say I have a strict five year plan, instead I know what things interest me and am open minded about the route I’d like my career to take. Though the job market is a tough place right now I think opportunities are there for the people who are savvy about playing to their strengths and for those who will keep trying despite rejection.

What is the best advice you have ever received?
Be yourself in your writing. As a graduate you don’t have a big list of career achievements yet so companies aren’t hiring you for your experience but more for your perceived potential. This can be intimidating and as a safety net you can begin to write in corporate jargon in an attempt to sound professional. Instead be honest and show your personality, it will help them decide if you will fit in with their team and you will stand out from all the other ‘team players’ they are bound to read about.

If you were not doing this, what would be your plan B?
Oh, so many things: film maker, social worker, poet, dancer, puppeteer… the list goes on and on!

24 hours with....

Name: Simon Johnson
Job title: Business Analyst
Sector: Financial Markets
How long have you worked in this role? 2 years
Describe your typical day? I don’t tend to have a typical day; there is a lot of variety in my job. There are certain things that I need to do on a regular basis, but there is no real consistency regarding when and where they need to be done, so each day is generally quite different. Amongst other things, my time is mainly split between meetings, drawing up documentation and process material, stakeholder presentations, running training seminars, facilitating testing workshops and supporting the end users for implementations my team has worked on. There is also a massive amount of variety within these particular areas, as each project, or even phase of a project, can be very different. I also need to spend time in different locations, and can sometimes go weeks without sitting at my desk. From a personal perspective, I really enjoy working this way. If things become monotonous I get bored very quickly, so a varied workload is something that keeps me interested.
What's the company culture like? I work for a large global company, which has its benefits, but there is also a downside to this. Culturally I would say it differs internally between departments. Because of the nature of my job I get to experience all of this, so in a word I would say it is ‘diverse’.
What's your favourite part of the job? As I mentioned before, variety is important for me, so this is an aspect of my job that I really appreciate. However, I would say that my favourite part is interaction with other people. My role requires me to engage with a lot of individuals and groups from other areas of the business. This gives me a very rounded perspective of how the company works, and also gives me an appreciation for the importance of other people’s roles and how everything fits together. My most recent project has been a global implementation, which has meant I have had to work with a great deal of people from all over the world. There have been some people I haven’t got on with, but I’ve also made some good friends. I’m a firm believer in the fact that your colleagues make work what it is, so getting to know so many people has definitely been good for me. I’ve also had to travel quite a lot, and in the last 12 months I have spent time in America, Europe and Asia. Whilst it’s not as glamorous as some people might think, I have really appreciated the experience.

Is there anything you would like to change? I have never been a fan of ‘office politics’ but, unfortunately, this comes with the territory when working for a big company.

What's your favourite way to wind down? Eating and drinking!

How did you get to where you are now? I haven’t really had much of a structured career path. I started working for my company a couple of years after graduating, and it was just a case of needing a job. I had no particular desire to work for them, or in the markets sector in general. Initially it was a great place to work, and there were lots of opportunities for progression if you wanted them. I found myself discovering other areas of the business that looked interesting and then taking the steps to move internally. I started getting involved in more project based work, which I really liked, so when the opportunity came up to move into my current role a couple of years ago it was something that really appealed. Although it was a bit of an accident, I think I have now found something I can see myself doing for a while. Not necessarily a permanent career, but I definitely think it’s got the potential to keep me interested for a long time.

What's the best advice you've ever received? Two things: ‘You need to make things happen yourself.’ And: ‘Never expect a thank you’.

If you were not doing this job, what would be your plan B? I think the end goal is to work for myself, so if I had a job I wasn’t happy with I’d probably try to set up my own company. What this company would do is another question entirely, but I’m sure I’d be content as long as I didn’t have anybody to answer to.

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24 hours with...

Name: Hannah Woolford
Job title: Police Constable
Sector: Public Sector
How long have you worked in this role? I joined two years ago.
Describe your typical day: I work shifts so first things first are to check officer safety equipment works. Then we parade with team and have a briefing regarding intelligence received and postings for the day. Next we check out the police vehicle and review log book/check for faults and car is working. We will be responding to calls (Immediate response take priority i.e emergency 999 calls) and depending on the day; you may arrest someone and most of the shift is taken up with dealing with the suspect, collecting evidence and booking them into custody and/or deal with missing people, welfare checks, crime reports, hospital guards, witness statements, photographing, managing crime scenes, road traffic accidents etc...
Describe the culture of where you work: Culture within the team is generally very jovial; as the job is stressful we need to stay up-beat! The job is extremely busy, my aspirations have shifted slightly as I thought there would be more time to be proactive but its definitely a very reactive role.
What is your favourite part of the job? Dealing with real victims of crime and arresting real criminals. Any opportunity to be pro-active and as well as bringing in your own jobs that you have actively found.
What is your favourite way to wind down? Sleep! Going to the gym, yoga and meeting friends.
What has been your career path to date and how does it look going forward? Since leaving university it took me a long time to get into the police but during that time I chose jobs which have strengthened my development. I had two jobs managing large venues (i.e. a shopping centre and a nightclub) within these roles I obtained many qualifications including: IBOSH Health and Safety, First Aid at work, Media skills, Conflict management and interviewing skills.
What is the best advice you have ever received? Two quotes: "it's not what you say, it's how you say it" and "only you can make things happen in your life".
Plan B - if you were not in the police, what else would you like to be doing? Managing a nightclub again.


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Post graduation blues

Are you feeling the lull after all the recent excitement? Did you get through clearing? Have you landed yourself a graduate placement? Are you job hunting?

Whatever stage you are at now we want to share and support your new move.

For those still wondering what to do with their post graduation hangover, why not consider some of these options:

Graduate recruitment scheme
If you don’t have a place and keen to apply, don’t despair there are still companies who have places available! Great for those who want to get stuck in but not sure on their specialism yet.

Internship
Whilst the news about un-paid internships has hit the press lately there are still short term contracts available if you are looking to learn on the job.

Travel // Gap year
If you have the travel bug or just in a state of limbo at the moment the experience of visiting other countries this summer will complete your worldly outlook. Skills and cultures learned along the way can also be really valuable to a prospective employer. Use this to your advantage.

Teaching English Abroad
Maybe teaching is your bag or you would like to live somewhere new for a while whilst earning some cash!
Research the schools you are applying to and check the qualifications they need.

For more information about this check back in the week as we have a guest blogger who will share her experiences with you in order to help make a decision on which way next...

Further education
Ok, so clearing has closed at a lot of universities already and A-level students without a secured place are re-considering their options too, but who said you needed to go back to University to further your career? Plenty of professional bodies offer qualifications which could help set you apart from the completion.
Check out what governing body relates to your chosen subject.

A little extra inspiration
BPP Business School tube ads caught my eye this week with their ‘Get a head for business’ campaign. Do, don’t lose your head, get ahead!

If you would like to read more like this along with some useful places to learn how to go about each one then email us for a full copy of the GradGuide2010.