Having previously completed work placements before, Whistle PR has by far been my favourite. My experience here has been valuable and educational and I am now more confident working in PR.
Like anyone starting a new placement I was extremely nervous and had no idea what to expect, being a second year Media and Communications student my experience in PR was limited. I was slightly intimidated walking into the Fort Dunlop building as it is huge but I was able to find the office with no difficulty. My nerves immediately eased when I walked in as the team greeted me with lots of enthusiasm and smiles. I was given a tour of the office and I straight away knew that I would enjoy my time here as the environment felt warm and comforting.
Once I sat on my desk I was given a detailed timetable that had all my tasks set out and planned, this helped me see the levels of organisation and dedication the team had to ensuring I learn the most that I can at Whistle. My first week introduced me to creating content calendars, social media audits and I was presented with the choice of completing a presentation of a business proposal. With my scarce experience in PR I was scared that I would find these tasks challenging, however with the extremely helpful support of the team I was able to complete these with ease.
During my second week I sat in meetings with clients so that I could get a sense of what a professional setting looks like. I also wrote press releases and I was set tasks that helped to educate me in areas of PR I had never heard before such as purpose led PR. One of the days I came into the office there was a little sausage dog sleeping on the floor, as you can imagine seeing a dog in the office made me ecstatic (maybe even a little emotional), knowing that the office was dog friendly gave me the right boost I needed to help me wake up early and travel to the office.
Finally in my third week I got to finally present my business proposal. When first assigned this I was worried as I thought I might get confused and stray away from the task, however the amount of help I was provided meant that I got to really enjoy completing this task and ended up with something I was proud of.
My favourite part of my placement was how helpful everyone was even when I would ask them to repeat the task or asked too many questions, everyone was extremely patient and thorough with me. As I am quite shy I was still made to feel comfortable and was always checked on to make sure everything was running at my own pace.
In my three weeks at Whistle PR I am astounded with the amount I have learnt. I am extremely grateful to the team for supporting me and making my experience so enjoyable. With previously working in an office I always found it boring and repetitive but my experience was nothing like this and I am so appreciative for having the opportunity to complete a placement at Whistle PR.
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Olivia Singam is studying Media and Communications at Birmingham City University and joined Whistle PR for a three week work placement in February 2023. Whistle PR offers a range of integrated communications services including strategic consultancy, PR, social media and internal communications. For further information email info@whistlepr.co.uk or contact us here.
