Meet Andrew, our great PR Intern, who undertook his work experience placement with Fuel PR.
On my flight, over from America into the UK I was extremely nervous to start my internship at Fuel PR. Not only did I lack office experience, I had no comfort with working over 2,000 miles from home. I did not know what would be expected of me throughout the internship and my lack of market intelligent had me prepared for the worst. When I walked into the office I was immediately greeted by Gillian, asking how I was adjusting to the London lifestyle and made sure everything was going well before I started working. She walked with me around the office introducing me to everyone and to Alex, who took me under his wing for the majority of my internship.
Alex worked with my lack of experience and helped progressively built my public relations skill set. I transitioned from putting together screenshots of news coverage, which gave me an understanding of the clients we are working with, to eventually doing media outreach and speaking with editors of national magazines. I expected the stereotypical work of an internship, where I would be filling out excel sheets for hours and getting everyone coffee when they snapped for me. I can tell you that I only filled up my own coffee and never found myself doing mindless work. Throughout my time at Fuel PR, everyday I was learning something new and constantly being challenged in doing so. With all the work I did, my performance was always assessed with a constructive criticism so that I was always improving but never felt as I was being chastised. Alex was a great mentor who started my internship with getting my foot in the door and had leaving with a feel as if the door had been swung wide open.
I think one of the best qualities of Fuel PR is the team. My birthday was the third day into my internship and I did not expect any one to know. You can imagine my surprise when I walked into the office to everyone saying “Happy Birthday Andrew!” and ending the day with a celebratory birthday cake and fully signed card from the office. While they are professional and productive, the Fuel team is a collection of the friendliest and most helpful people I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Regardless of the department someone worked in, the ability for these co-workers to collaborate was uncanny. I always felt that I could ask for a helping hand with any problem I came across. I believe it is this team’s solidarity and fellowship that allowed me to excel in the work I did.
As I depart from London, I am so grateful I had the experience of the internship. I nervously entered the office not knowing anything about the PR industry and left with the having the diverse experiences ranging from building media coverage reports to working with co-workers from different cultures to selling products to national newspapers editors. I would like to thank Gillian, Alex, and the rest of the Fuel team for making me not only feel like a part of the Fuel family but for giving me the confidence I was looking for to enter the “real world.” For those of you hoping to receive the same confidence, whether you are born and raised in London or have to take a plane to get here, I can assure you Fuel PR is the place for you.
For career opportunities at Fuel PR please contact Leandra Cardozo (Leandra@fuelrefuel.com).