Discovering the positive impact of a role in PR: My work experience at Aberfield Communications

I initially approached Aberfield Communications as I am currently studying A-Level Business Studies and I wanted to explore and experience the powerful impact that good marketing and communication can have for a business.

At the start of the week, I admit to having a pre-conceived idea of what to expect from PR and communications, but I could not have been more wrong!

What I expected

• Before meeting the team and spending the week at Aberfield, my perception was that it was going to be a very structured environment that offered little flexibility
• I also naively believed that there may not be a lot of variety to the role
• I would find the role purely office based

What I experienced

• The office culture at Aberfield had the perfect balance between professionalism and group collaboration (including the office talk about the Euros!). This helped make it feel comfortable, welcoming, and created a great working environment to allow me to get the most out of my week
• I had a structured plan for each day, which included a variety of tasks. This was massively helpful as I could see how my week looked, and it gave me the opportunity to experience different elements of the business
• The close interaction the Aberfield team have with their clients really helped me to see how important creating and nurturing good relationships was

Final thoughts on my week in PR with Aberfield Communications

Everyone at Aberfield was very welcoming and made time to answer any questions I had. They also scheduled my time perfectly so I could get a real flavour of what they do and learn more about what the industry has to offer.

From the fundamentals of press release writing and pitching to introducing me to the world of LinkedIn through a client training session, I learned new skills, processes and platforms that the team use daily. I received content capture guidance to create my own reel and one of the highlights of my week was capturing content at the Great Yorkshire Show.

These less traditionally thought of PR activities showed me that PR is not just about written work and promoting businesses through a little black book of contacts but through a variety of interlinking platforms to enforce “positive influence” through a number of different means.

Aside from the work I was involved with, it was nice to see the passion that every person at Aberfield has for what they do. This really helped me understand and appreciate that enjoying what you do at work, really helps to create a great work ethic for a happy team and happy clients.

I have taken so much away from my week working with the team and I am extremely grateful for the time they have invested in me.