My internship has quickly come to an end at Chivas Brothers in London and it is very hard to believe I won’t be working with the team in PR again. After working every day for four weeks straight, I feel so comfortable and involved with the team. I learned so much, made some great contacts and have had heaps of laughs working in the office. I am definitely sad to be leaving London and Chivas Brothers but I will certainly be back to visit! The PR team which is made up of 10 people, including roles such as; the head of PR, international PR managers and internal communications manager were all so welcoming and I had so much fun with them every day!
Here is a photo of most of the team and myself in the middle on my last day at the office, I’m going to miss them all lots!
Over my time at Chivas Brothers it has allowed me to reflect on what I want to do in the future, I absolutely loved working and observing the in-house side to PR but I also am much more open to the idea of trying PR consultancy. This is because I was lucky enough to sit in at meetings with different PR consultancies that were pitching ideas to Chivas Brothers and I loved the creativity and idea of being a part of a consultancy which work with a range of different clients.
I have also realised that there are certainly some pros and cons about working at such a large global company. I personally loved the excitement and really enjoyed the global aspect of every decision made; it allowed me to understand better what the lecturers say at uni about being conscious of other country cultures when doing any PR or marketing in order to succeed. However there were some areas in which I think working for a smaller organisation could be better. Here are some of my thoughts about the pros and cons of doing my internship in a large global organisation:
The pros:
- I get to see how big budgets are used
- I am starting to understand the process of ensuring all strategies need to be suited to every market around the world, or need to be adjusted slightly for certain markets in order to succeed globally
- It is challenging me to think more creatively and strategically in order to fit into an international company
- I am aware that it is such a great opportunity for future reference and a once in a life-time experience
- Great team work and very exciting to have so many different PR roles in the one team
The cons:
- There are times when I feel everyone is too busy and I’m in the way a bit by asking questions
- I feel like you can’t really put your own ideas into action as easily, there needs to be a lot of discussion and generally has to be suitable on an international basis
- A lot of employees which can be overwhelming
As a whole, I enjoyed working in this big company; however, I would definitely like to experience working in a smaller company to truly be able to compare them both and determine which one suits my style the best.
The work I completed over my time at Chivas Brothers allowed me to recognise my area of strength and weakness. This was made evident to me through not only the feedback from my supervisor but also from the way in which I handled each task, i.e. the amount of time it took me to complete and the amount of help I had to seek to finish it.
I found that my biggest strength which has been formed over my uni degree would be my ability to write in a professional manner. I was given a number of tasks which required me to write professionally as they were documents which would be read across all Chivas Brothers offices worldwide. This included an article I wrote in the internal ‘Salute’ magazine, emails I sent to all staff members with the weeks press coverage and creation of two different PowerPoint presentations on Chivas Regal and Royal Salute (two major whisky brands) which are to be used for future clients. I found that I was able to effectively use the theory and practice from my university degree in a practical work setting.
The area in which I struggled the most and have identified as my biggest weakness is thinking on a global scale. There were many meetings which I attended that required everyone to put forward ideas for a global campaign; one for example was regarding the Chivas Regal whisky brand, I did give some input, however I struggled to think internationally and about different cultures. I think this type of information will develop over time, as you learn the markets in which the company targets when you work there on a regular basis.
Overall, this internship has been an amazing and invaluable experience. I have learnt that you must always give 110% to every task you are given, ask questions and to enjoy what you are doing. The one thing that I noticed at Chivas Brothers is that although there are 3 levels and different departments within the building, everyone knows each other and always seemed to be enjoying their work- I never saw a dull face. I think this aspect of 'enjoying work' is the most important lesson learnt of all, because work becomes such a huge part of your life (as I have experienced, working everyday for 4 weeks straight) and you have to be passionate about what you are doing in order to succeed!
On my last day, I was taken out for lunch at a nearby English Pub and was given a beautiful card and present. I also gave my supervisor a present and card and gave the rest of the team a card with some cookies to share!
Here are some of the yummy cookies I bought in for the team on my last day! If you ever go to London try some of Millie’s Cookies, there delicious!
Thank you for reading my blog and all the best to everyone!
Gemma O’Hart.
