Age:
20
Organisation & Description:
Smith Goodfellow
Fusing the traditional principles of PR with modern digital strategies, we have been providing the construction, manufacturing and industrial sectors with an expert public relations and marketing service since 1980. From crafting technical content to outside-the-box creativity, everything we do is underpinned by our true passion for the built environment and the inspiring clients we work with.
Date you started the PR Apprenticeship:
20th May 2021
What were you doing before your apprenticeship?
I studied English literature, maths and physics at A-Level, then went on to small-scale design and content creation before I found the team at Smith Goodfellow.
What attracted you to the PR Apprenticeship?
The opportunity to develop my skills and kick start a career in a more practical way. After many years of education, I wanted to work on real tasks and apply myself in a really tangible way.
What was the highlight of your PR Apprenticeship?
How quickly I’ve been able to take on roles and responsibilities at Smith Goodfellow, after learning concepts and skills in my course, then applying them day-to-day.
What do you feel your apprenticeship helped you achieve?
It’s given me the confidence to tackle challenges with structures and strategies. What started with a passion for technology, writing and design has led me into a role where I get to work with exciting teams and individuals in a field I love, with the ability to bring in my personal interests too.
What was the biggest challenge that you overcame?
Learning how to balance my workload has been a huge learning curve. From enthusiastically (but naively) taking on anything with a due date at the beginning, to learning how studying fit into my overall role, and now being able to plan work around my own and the team’s capacity – it’s been a journey.
Top 3 skills a PR Apprentice needs:
· To have initiative
· To be a good communicator
· Stick-to-it-iveness!
I love PR because…
It gives a voice and a personality to the things we all interact with every day. Everything we do is about the relationships we have, whether that’s with people, brands or ideas. I love the challenge of using communication to make difficult concepts understandable, connect people with the right audiences and ensure that the most useful, enjoyable content sees the spotlight.
What are your next steps?
Really growing into the team at Smith Goodfellow over the last 18 months, I’m thrilled to able to tackle new challenges with them in the months and years ahead. Taking on more responsibility and channelling my passions into the team has given me the freedom to excel past what I imagined a typical apprentice to do; another reason why I’m so glad both my course and my team have provided me with the chance to obtain real experience in real projects with real clients from day one. I can’t wait to see how my role evolves.
CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHT
Describe a campaign you were involved in and the activities you performed to bring it about…
My final campaign gave me the chance to lead and put everything I’d learn into action. Shared passions for sustainability and responsible business meant I got to plan and execute the Sustainability Campaign for 2022 with Smith Goodfellow. This meant coordinating tasks across the team, working with the media, writing blog and article content, designing a graphic style and implementing it into various pieces of work, all whilst logging and analysing the impact it had through data tracking. Over 8 weeks, we saw huge increases to our web traffic and social media performance, whilst putting out some great, useful content to local and like-minded businesses, helping companies of all sizes tell their sustainability story in the right way. Plus, all the groundwork that went into planning and reporting on this campaign is now being repurposed across our business for the future.