This month we welcomed Ilkley Grammar School student, Millie King for a placement at Approach Towers. Here’s what she thinks about the importance of work experience and her opinions on PR agency life!
This year I had to apply for a placement to complete my work experience for school- I am in Year 10 and it is now compulsory to find a placement for a week to give you an experience in the work place.
Experiencing going into a work place was not completely new to me as I work already however, I think all working environments are different so I was excited but also felt slightly apprehensive because I did not know what I would be doing or what to expect.
I am unsure of what I would like to do when I leave school; whether it would be to further my studies or apply for an apprenticeship.
I chose to apply at Approach PR because I really enjoy journalism and working with social media; these two factors enable you to spread a certain message that you wish to inform people with and social media, for me, is a more amusing and interesting platform for publicising too.
I have really enjoyed my week at Approach PR- I have been very busy completing tasks for example: researching for photoshoots, writing for webpages, and composing tweets to run in parallel with a press release or some exciting news!
In particular, I have really enjoyed managing the social media for clients and being part of some up-coming campaigns. This particular client is local so I feel as though I can relate to views of what customers may feel about their consumers.
So after concluding my week at Approach PR, I have learnt many new skills and may have also identified the path I would like to go down when I finish my studies at secondary school.
Before starting my placement, I only had a vague idea of some of the tasks that may be completed on a day-to-day basis. However, now that I have been here for a week I have learnt some of the day-to-day tasks for example, how Approach interact with clients and help them to become stronger in the world of business as they watch them grow with their help.
The team at Approach are really friendly too which makes the whole experience more enjoyable and they have also taught me many valuable skills that I will be able to take away with me and build on throughout my life, in whichever path that I choose. They made me feel very welcome too, which has also helped me to develop skills further because I have felt comfortable. I am very grateful for the skills they have taught me this week and how they have helped me uncover a new aspect of the working world too.
In completing a work experience placement, it has helped me realise that it is important to take opportunities like this so, you can learn more and determine exactly what you want in life.
I would always recommend doing a work experience placement, in an area of subjects that you enjoy (so, for me that was writing, creativity and social media), so you can learn and have a first-hand experience of exactly what the occupation is like and what it involves. This might determine what you would like to do! And if you’re looking for a placement but unsure of what to apply for but like the subjects that I do, I would recommend Approach PR.
Good luck!
Image sourced from Pixabay
