Year 10 student Nettie swapped uniform for workwear and homework for a PR to-do list as she spent a week with us at TALA getting fully immersed of the work of an international PR agency.
Swapping uniform for workwear, school for an office, I set out on Monday to spend a week with team TALA, experiencing the world of PR consultancy.
Of all the things I did, the overarching theme connecting them all was variety. My roles throughout the week ran from writing, through database work and company research, all the way to creating Midsommer festival garlands. No two tasks were the same. With different clients in different sectors, I learnt more than I ever thought there would be to know about the intricacies of industries I previously knew nothing about.
I really enjoyed writing a variety of social media posts, thinking about the difference in voice and tone between companies and platforms. Writing from news releases and briefing documents was completely different to the way I have been given information in the past and it was really valuable to learn how to find the details that I needed from documents in a different format.
There was a huge amount that was completely new to me, and I gained a lot of information about different elements of the business overall and specific tasks or projects that people around me were currently involved in. I learnt about pitching to clients, looked at proposals for companies I had researched in the week, and found out what different account contracts consisted of. Reviewing wider materials from a project brought the tasks I had been completing into perspective, giving me a better understanding of the way in which launching products, rebranding and event preparation works.
What surprised me most was the task-based knowledge that I gained through the work I did. To be able to make effective judgments, almost every task was preceded by reading through the company’s full website and staff list, looking up at least three definitions and finding multiple social platforms for every business relevant. Coming away with new understanding of a subject, deeper than the surface level, has been unexpectedly rewarding: I have appreciated the benefit found in following through on the natural curiosity I felt for the new subjects.
The experience was enriched by being surrounded by such lovely people, who made the placement possible and generously offered their time, support, advice and more. I was struck by the strong company culture, with a group of people who work so well together and have such a sense of direction within their work. TALA was such an encouraging introduction to the workplace and highlighted qualities of a company that I know I will search for when finding work.
I’ve learnt a lot about what I value when thinking about my future career, and I know that elements of this week are something that I would love to pursue.
Thank you very much to Harriet Mountford and everyone at TALA for making this possible.
At TALA, we want to make sure that a career in communications is open to everyone and invest in the next generation of future talent within the PR sector.
Please do get in touch if you’d like to find out more about our apprenticeship and internship programmes.
