By Natalie Whitehouse
First Class graduate Claire Going not only earned herself a fantastic degree classification, but also landed herself a job in PR weeks after her graduation.
The mature student, who had to juggle her studies with part time jobs and looking after her three children, graduated in the summer with a First in English and Journalism. And although she was only on the lookout for something temporary to begin with while she looked for her perfect job, she managed to stumble upon her dream role straight away:
“I went in to my local Adecco recruitment agency just after graduation in July and asked if they had any jobs I could do,” she explains, “they asked what I wanted to do and I said that ideally I was looking for something in PR. I was completely taken aback when one of the staff who deals with the permanent roles leaned over and said she had a job I’d be really interested in. With my varied work experience and my degree they said it would be worth putting me forward for the role.”
Claire went for her interview with jmm PR, who represent clients in the kitchen and bathroom industry, and clicked instantly with the Director and Senior PR Executive. So much so, that she was offered the job the very same day, and began her role as PR Executive the following week, in July last year – just weeks after her graduation.
She affirms that her degree and time at De Montfort proved a great help in securing her an interview and her subsequent full time job, but that her experience outside her studies was even more important:
“My first class degree in English and Journalism from DMU definitely made a big impression and qualified me for the role,” she notes, “but I think the variety of journalistic work experience I had undertaken throughout my degree was the real clincher. I was able to talk about my time at the local newspaper and hospital radio, as well as the theatre reviews and blogs I had written.”
After years of hard work ultimately paying off, Claire is now about to celebrate six months in PR, in a role that she has flourished and improved in, in just half a year:
“I started out doing all the admin tasks to learn the role, including drafting and distributing press releases, monitoring online and print publications for coverage of our clients, compiling press clippings and writing weekly reports.
“Within a couple of months I moved on to writing more in-depth press releases, plus responding to copy calls, writing features, implementing PR plans, building relationships with editors and journalists, attending client meetings and organising PR events.”
As a PR Executive, Claire’s role is all about variety. Every day at jmm PR brings something different, and that – amongst a handful of other reasons – is why the graduate loves her job:
“We have so many things to do each day and every day is different. I love forming relationships with clients and journalists and what is really perfect about PR is being able to always talk about news in a positive way. I am a positive person so it really suits me.
“jmm PR is a really great agency to work for, and one of the best in their particular field, so hopefully I won’t be going anywhere for a while. We have some fantastic clients, and I am learning the PR business quickly, so I’m looking forward to be able to manage my own account in the near future.”
