Last week we were excited to welcome Kate Connaughton into the Escapade office, for a little taste of what it’s like to work in the world of consumer PR! We hope we a gave her some valuable experience in helping her make that all important decion of what direction to head into after University! Here Kate tells us a little more about the prospect of life post University!
Hi my name is Kate, I’m 21 and a Business and Management student studying at the University of Reading. I’m in my final year and I’m currently three months away from my final exams and five months away from graduation. With the daunting prospect of leaving my university bubble getting closer and closer I decided it was time to get some work experience, which is why I spent this week at Escapade PR.
At the age of 18 I didn’t know what I wanted for dinner let alone what I wanted to study for three years or where I could imagine myself living. I eventually picked Business and Management because it covered a wide range of content and decided Reading was the University for me. The pretty campus and its closeness to home sold it.
It feels like the past two and a half years have flown by and I’ve made so many great memories at university. I’ve also learnt loads of skills such as time management, organisation and it has greatly improved my confidence. However, I didn’t have any practical skills and had little idea about what a job in PR would entail. I would recommend work experience to everyone, it’s so important and could end up being the reason you bagged your dream job. It’s almost like a trail run, you get to find out what you enjoy and what you’re good. I was given the opportunity to work on social media projects which were really fascinating and go on two photoshoot that were completely different but equally interesting. Although I still have mixed feeling about leaving university, after just one week I feel way more positive about my future. I was given responsibility and made to feel like a member of the team instantly.
So, what’s my plan for life after uni? Good question and something I get asked on a regular basis. Well, I’d be lying if I said I knew exactly what I want to do but this week at Escapade has taught me so much about how PR companies actually function and what goes on behind the scenes, which I could never have learnt from university alone. Getting the chance to work in the ‘real world’ has been so valuable and an extremely fun experience. I’ve learnt that life after uni mightn’t be as scary as I previously thought. I will be saying goodbye to Reading in July and moving back home to London and I will definitely consider PR as a career. Ideally I’d love to travel around Australia, we can all dream right?
I’m super grateful to everyone I’ve meet at Escapade. All the team are lovely and have given me so much advice.
Kate Connaughton
Our consumer lifestyle PR team specialise in connecting everyday brands with everyday people across four core sectors; Consumer Lifestyle PR, Food & Drink PR, Consumer Technology PR and Sport, Health & Wellbeing PR. More information on these areas of knowledge can be found at www.escapadepr.com/about-us.
