Our intern-turned-PR Executive, Emily Ireton recently sat down with our new intern, Dan Davy to talk about intern life, show him the ropes, and discuss how to make the first stages of your career count.
Emily: Hi Dan, pleased to have you on the team. It’s not been long since I was in your shoes! Why don’t you start by telling me a bit about yourself and your search for a PR placement?
Dan: Hi Emily, lovely to meet you too! I’m originally from Leeds but am studying Business Management at the University of Nottingham. I chose to include a placement year in my degree because I wanted to gain real business experience in a professional setting. I’m hoping it will give me the added confidence to launch into a professional role with ease after I leave university. During the first two years of my course, I developed a particular interest in marketing compared to other modules I had. When it came to searching for a placement in marketing, it quickly became apparent that a lot of companies would offer marketing alongside working in other areas of the business which I wasn’t keen on. Working for an agency means that I can spend my placement with a full focus on marketing.
How about you? How did you end up doing a PR placement at GOLD79?
Emily: Similar to you, I originally studied Digital Marketing at Sheffield Hallam University. I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of role I wanted to do afterwards, but my degree required a placement year in industry, so I started reaching out to lots of businesses in the region and eventually got in contact with GOLD79 after finding out about the placement opportunity through Handshake, my university’s placement platform. While my course wasn’t directly linked to PR, I’d always had an interest in the industry. Luckily, I managed to secure a year-long paid placement here and enjoyed it so much that I now work for the agency full-time as a PR executive.
Dan: How did you find the placement application process? I wonder if we had a similar experience…
Emily: I applied to probably over 100 placement ads from when I started my search in September right to when I got the call from GOLD79 in April. Some places are super responsive and give feedback – both good and bad, whilst others give you complete radio silence. I definitely had to have a lot of patience and perseverance.
For my GOLD79 application, I submitted my cover letter and CV to the team through the provided email and waited for a response. From start to finish, the whole thing took just three months from application to securing my placement, although I had lots of other applications going on in the background, so it took some juggling alongside uni work. Honestly, I think the resilience and persistence it required to secure the opportunity was a great way to prepare me for the kinds of skills I ended up needing on the job.
How about you?
Dan: My experience was a little different to yours, but I found it similarly difficult to find what I was looking for. To be honest, I struggled to find a role that suited me in terms of job description and location. I knew that I wanted to live at home, and a marketing setting was a no-brainer. I also didn’t want to work for a huge company, or somewhere that wouldn’t offer me the meaningful, hands-on experience that would actually help with my future career. Unfortunately, that refined my search significantly, and I wasn’t left with a lot of choices when using online job boards and search tools. Eventually, I expanded my search by speaking to family and friends, which is how I found out about GOLD79.
Emily: So what finally swayed you to choose us?
Dan: When I came to visit, the atmosphere in the office stood out to me. It was clear that everyone was happy to be there and passionate about the work. Another important thing for me was the size of the business. I was hesitant to get a placement at a huge multinational, as I was worried it would the positive impact I could potentially have. GOLD79 is the perfect size to expose me to diverse and challenging projects and offer me more meaningful responsibility, without feeling like I’m lost in the crowd.
You probably know a little more about what I’ve got to look forward to. What was your favourite thing about interning at GOLD79?
Emily: It’s hard to pinpoint one single thing. I never thought I would gain so much experience, knowledge and confidence in such a short time. I think the variety of work is a great benefit, as it helps you quickly get a feel for what you enjoy and what you don’t. I didn’t think that my PR internship would involve working with influencers, but I was given the chance to manage influencer campaigns all on my own once I’d grown my confidence in that area.
That trust really makes a difference. You get to learn by doing, not just watching others. Six months into my placement, I attended an event in Manchester alone to get content for one of our clients and it was great to have that independent responsibility.
The internship offered at GOLD79 is definitely one of a kind. The fact that it’s salaried means you feel like one of the team, not just the intern! One thing that made my internship an overwhelmingly positive experience is the fact that I was offered a contract to stay on at the company as a permanent employee after I graduated, which was such a great recognition of all the hard work I put in.
Has your first week in the office matched up to your internship expectations so far?
Dan: Yeah, I’m more than happy with the way it’s going. I already feel like I’ve learnt loads about the business and have started to develop some skills. Everyone from the London and Leeds offices has been very welcoming and taken time out of their busy schedules to teach me things in different areas, which I’m sure will help me with the work I do during my placement. I definitely feel like one of the team and I’m looking forward to learning even more and getting a chance to apply it to real clients and campaigns.
Emily: Would you say there are any specific skills you’re hoping to gain during your time here?
Dan: I would say my priorities are time management and creativity. At university you have a lot of free time and it’s very easy to procrastinate. I’m very glad that I have a full-time job to teach me good habits for when I return for my final year. Even from only working at GOLD79 for a week I can see that everyone here is fuelled by creativity. I’m hoping that some of that ability to think outside of the box and innovate also rubs off on me.
In terms of the kinds of work I’m most interested in, I’d say working with the Refinery team as I enjoy writing and producing content, and also find SEO insights interesting. I’m looking forward to getting involved in the social side of GOLD79 too, such as office activities, meals out and business events.
Do you think that lines up with the experience you got as an intern?
Emily: I think that sounds about right. It’s a balance between developing your natural abilities, learning new skills, and just adapting to a workplace environment. While interning, I definitely built my confidence immensely. If you told pre-internship Em that she’d have presented client ideas to a client, she wouldn’t have believed you. I also got the chance to improve my writing skills and learn some niche industry knowledge from working with a diverse client base, so you’ve definitely got that to look forward to.
I think it’s also important to bear in mind that you’re completely new to this, and might not get everything right the first time. Life is so fast-paced in PR, it’s sometimes hard to appreciate your own hard work and how far you’ve come. Like most people, this was my first office job, so suddenly jumping into a client-facing role with pressures coming from several different directions could sometimes be overwhelming. It can be tempting to put on a confident front, but if you don’t ask questions, you can’t learn.
Dan: Thanks Emily, I really appreciate you taking the time to chat through your internship experience with me. You’ve left me with plenty of food for thought, and it will be great to have your support throughout my own placement.
Emily: No worries at all, it’s been great to meet you, and good luck for the rest of your internship here – you already feel like one of the team.