My time so far as a Public Relations intern has been very interesting.

Fortunately for me my first week with Purplefish began the week of St. Pauls Carnival which the agency was providing the PR and communication services for. Due to how busy things were in the build up to the carnival, I was swiftly exposed to essential PR skills like strategic thinking and content creation.

My first week consisted of various responsibilities such as scheduling social media content on behalf of clients, contacting editorial publications following up press releases and writing up campaign evaluations. Throughout my time handling these tasks the team has been very supportive and patient guiding me through.

Rather than shadowing someone, I have been briefed with tasks to conduct myself, with some assistance from my senior colleagues. This has provided me with a sense of responsibility and a duty to fulfil for the agency. I hadn’t done any prior work in communications, so it was a great to be given something new to do broadening my pre-existing abilities on social media whilst also acquiring new skills.

As well as working from the office, the experience of travelling across the city to attend meetings with our clients was a very new work dynamic I quite enjoyed. The team at Purplefish is very forthcoming in providing me with first-hand experience of what is involved in client meetings.

On my second day I attended an organisational meeting for the 2019 St Pauls Carnival. Having grown up in Bristol and attending the carnival for almost every year I can remember prior to its hiatus; I have always been intrigued as to what takes place behind the scenes for the carnival. After leaving this meeting with the client I remember thinking ‘I can’t believe how much effort, organisation and forethought is put into providing a day dedicated to celebrating my own African – Caribbean culture’. It really did make me appreciate the other side, behind the scenes of Carnival.

During my university studies I spent time fascinated in the strategic ways social media is utilised by businesses, charities and organisations to market their product or services. After completing a dissertation researching this subject and graduating from university, I have been spending my time seeking an opportunity to experience this field of work first-hand.

Working in an industry I have much interest in, working with a close-knit team that is always glad to lend a hand if needed has been very enjoyable. I am more than grateful for the opportunity Purplefish has presented me with and excited to see what new tasks and experiences I will venture into in during the rest of my time with the agency.