Since leaving University at the end of the last academic
year and beginning work at Recognition, we have experienced a dramatic learning
curve. Through studying Media Studies with English and Multimedia Journalism
Degrees respectively at Teesside University, we thought we were prepared for
the challenges of working in the media industry. But in the two-month period
that we have been at Recognition, we have woken up to the realisation that
there is a lot more learning to be done.
Transferring from University to a business environment
has meant that we have had to adapt to an array of new systems and methods that
are standard at a PRCA-accredited PR firm like Recognition.
Due to our university courses being slightly different in
content, we have each found different aspects of our roles challenging.
Matthew
Working on the Business Team has proved to be a real eye
opener for me. Coming from a background mainly in music and sports journalism,
I have quickly adapted to my new role. I have had to pick up a wide knowledge
of how the business world works in order to successfully transfer my skills.
As a PR Assistant on the Business Team, there are a lot
of aspects that play to my strengths in journalism, such as writing press
releases.
The main challenge I have come up against is balancing my
workload. Having to deal with many different clients and many complex projects
over a wide range of sectors has meant I have had to quickly acclimatise.
Stacey
During my time at Recognition I have had to adapt quickly
to a busy office setting. After being placed on the Consumer and Healthcare
Team I have had the opportunity to work on many varied and high profile clients.
In my new role as an assistant, I have been able to use
my organisational skills from university and apply that to the clients I deal
with. I particularly enjoy the aspect of my job that allows me to assist with
event planning and client’s social media activities.
The main challenge I have faced is adapting to the
writing aspect of the role. Coming from a wider media angle, writing was only
one small aspect of my course. However, I have managed to improve my press
releases considerably and I have learned a lot throughout my time here at the
business.
In conclusion, we are extremely grateful to Graham for
taking us on, and the rest of the Recognition team for making us feel so
welcome. We both agree that it is a real pleasure to be part of such a high
profile and well-respected company.
