Placement completed - final reflections

Well after four long (or short?) months my placement at The Hub Marketing Communications has come to an end.

What have I gained from the experience? A broad variety of PR skills, yes, but I think the biggest thing I’ll take from it is a better perspective of people - including myself.

It seems an obvious statement, but PR, ultimately, is all about relationships. Not just the relationship between a company and its stakeholders, but between a consultancy and its clients, between a consultancy and its strategic partners, between a practitioner and their media contacts, between office employees - the list goes on. You can be great at writing a media release or planning an event, but ultimately excellent public relations comes down to the way you interact every day with the people surrounding you.

Everyone at The Hub seemed to have a firm grasp on this fact. The firm’s director, Nicolle Jenkins, is the very description of a ‘people person,’ and this quality filtered down through her company’s culture to enhance its service delivery. There was a great working rapport in the office - there were no ‘hierarchies’ and everyone employed there would consider the other a friend.

The Hub clearly places an emphasis on building close working relationships with every person involved in The Hub’s service delivery - not only clients, but affiliate partners such as other PR firms and web designers. Regardless of their status, when a visitor walked through The Hub’s door they were always greeted in the same way - on a first-name basis with a friendly smile and handshake.

For me, being in my final semester, I was constantly assessing whether I could see myself continuing in the PR industry for the rest of my life. I didn’t mind the work (most of it), and I certainly believe I’m capable, but based on those observations above, I’ve decided it’s not for me. I think I possess just about all the skills a practitioner needs, but ultimately the most crucial one is being a ‘people person.’ This never concerned me as I consider myself a pretty outgoing and confident guy, but I’ve realised now that public relations requires a completely new level of extrovert. Having to be ‘up’ all the time would wear me down pretty quickly - I’m more of the “head-down, bum-up” type. Now it’s clear to me why women dominate the industry!

So, in the end, I gained what I wanted from my placement. I got a valuable insight into the inner workings of a professional service environment, learned a bunch of new skills, contributed to an exciting project, met some great people, and found my direction in life. I’ve decided now that I’m going to pursue a career in marketing (maybe with a bit of PR thrown in) and know in my heart that this is the right path for me. Bring on the real world.