Stepping out of the IT bubble into PR

by Naimah Sheikh, Intern at Northern Lights PR

It’s already the end of the first week at the Northern Lights PR as an intern, and it has flown by. It’s been a challenging five days but we have laid the foundations of building new relationships and understanding the core of PR and communications.

Stepping out of my comfort zone in a new career path

Throughout my degree I have mostly studied ICT modules and business, and by taking on this internship I am really stepping out of my comfort zone to understand how public relations impacts on the wider world. On the first day, we were given a team building exercise to bake a cake – something very different from anything I’d done before or expected to be doing on a business training programme!

The elements of PR

Already I have learnt that PR is so much more than media relations and pitching – it is about developing relationships with multiple organisations, customers and people from various backgrounds and cultures. And I have seen how social media incorporates with online technologies and methods through us as people and how we can share personal experiences and content.

Career opportunities in PR

One of the master classes this week was on in-house PR vs agency-based careers. It was very helpful to be given examples of the different situations PR people face and the skills needed. We also got to understand the pros and cons of working in-house or in agency, which helped me think about what I would like to choose as a future career path in PR.

I am also relishing the opportunity to work on three very different projects from a university recruitment campaign to positioning an insurance firm as a thought leader to promoting events for women in science.

I’m already looking forward to next week.