Nicholas S.
About me
| Nicholas S. | |
| Economics and Related Studies | |
| Economics | |
| Undergraduate | |
| Halifax | |
| 2008 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Senior Account Executive | |
| Porter Norelli | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Advertising, marketing and PR | |
| 2008 | |
| 2011 | |
| £18000 | |
| £25000 |
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A day in the life of a Senior Account Executive in the United Kingdom
My career history
While in my final year at York I applied to a good number of PR agencies ranging in size from international through to small boutique. I secured my place with Porter Novelli in March 2008 ahead of my final exams and graduating. I started in September 2008 (the standard graduate starting date I believe) and worked in their Bayswater, London location until July 2011 when I changed career. I now work at The Rolex Watch Company as a Watchmaker Assistant in their Mayfair, London location.
Courses taken since graduation
Writing course at employer
Where I hope to be in 5 years
In my new career as a watchmaker assistant I hope to complete the 5-7 years of training necessary to become a fully qualified watchmaker.
My advice to students considering work
Prepare before you leave York. It's easy to just think you'll find a job after you graduate but so do many thousands of graduates. The majority of graduate schemes start in September, but do interviews etc. earlier in the year. So my advice would be to start researching at the end of the term before Christmas so you can be writing CV's and covering letters over the Christmas break. Don't worry if the jobs you are applying for aren't exactly what you want to be doing. Much better to be earning and then switch. I managed to go from PR to watchmaking!
What I do
The job varies a lot day to day and also depending on what position you are in. I have had experience of three positions, Graduate Trainee, Account Executive and Senior Account Executive. In all three I learnt a great deal about the industry and how to work with clients and the media. On a day to day basis in all positions the job required me to be on top of current affairs as this is vital when pitching in stories or talking with clients. It is also important to be creative and come up with campaign ideas that will impress the client and entice the media. By the time I finished working at Porter Novelli (July 2011) I was working for two clients: Gillette and The Royal Mint.
Skills I use and how I developed them
Degree skills:
Studying Economics helped me to appreciate the wider business implications of my clients. My work with Econometrics also helped when having to analyse research data.
Extracurricular skills:
IT skills are very important. It is vital to be good at PowerPoint, Word and Excel. This is a real must and will help a great deal when the job starts.
What I like most
The old cliche of every day being different is very true and that's one of the things that makes the job so exciting. You have no idea what will take place that day when you go into work. This combined with the projects, which can put you in incredible situations (especially in Consumer PR) makes it a fun and rewarding job.
What I like least
If you work in PR (certainly an agency) you have to be prepared for long, hard hours. If the client calls at 5pm on a Friday wanting some information then you have to drop your plans and get it for them. The pay doesn't always reflect the hours and work but the benefits are not always financial.
What would I change? I spent nearly three years working in the PR industry and had a great time, getting to work on some incredible projects. However, the opportunity to re-train as a watchmaker with Rolex appeared so I decided to leave the industry and change to that.