Getting Started

Sophie Dee-Shapland, intern, Clarion Communications

“Gherkin? Banana?”
“Gorkana”
“Ohh, G-o-r-k-a-n-a.  Er, what’s that…?”

Words that are commonplace to PR professionals are foreign territory for newcomers.  And nearing the end of my work placement at Clarion, I realise that I’ve learnt a lot in a relatively short space of time.  The past few weeks have been my first experience of PR and so initially I didn’t know what to expect.Reminiscent of the childhood experience of starting ‘big school’, the first day was a learning curve.  In fact being shown around a new office is a bit like learning the dynamics of a high school, minus the Mean Girls vibe.  I tentatively awaited my initiation but thankfully - apart from learning to use industry-standard media database Gorkana - there wasn’t one.  

PR: It Can Be a Bit Fabulous

Alexandra Gerolami, senior account manager, Clarion Communications

I started my first internship in PR at 14 - and preparing a catwalk show was at the time the most exciting thing I had ever done, even though the experience was far from glamorous.  I spent most of my time in an archive room organising dusty press books and franking mail (and there are a lot of envelopes to mail out when preparing a catwalk show) but the excitement and the non-stop buzz - and the fact that I was backstage at the show - got me hooked straight away.