2009 PR Industry Nightmare?

Recession - a period of an economic contraction, sometimes limited in scope or duration.

It's 2009 and second year PR students at Leeds Metropolitan are currently looking for a placement to take them through a year in industry.
But it looks like it's going to be a bit more difficult than normal, with companies cutting costs, making redundancies and the Media having a field day over the phrase 'Credit Crunch', there are very few employers who looking to take on more staff, let alone students.

By now I had expected the placement board to be overflowing with placement after placement each offering a PR adventure in wide variety of areas. Alas this is not so.

The words 'limited in scope or duration' could not sum up my current placement hunting better.

Today I was offered a year placement in a highly respected Music and Entertainments PR company, but due to cut backs they could only afford to offer me expenses of £50 a week, which when living in London is impossible.

Panasonic have retracted three placement offers and many more companies I have contacted myself are unable to offer placements for any longer than a month or so, epescially on a wage basis.

Even the Public sector are beginning to feel the pinch of the 'R' word, I am currently carrying out a placement within the communications department of my local council and I've even begun to notice through relevant media the slow but steady decline in jobs.

At times like this would it be better to get experience within the public as opposed to the private, although it is not secure it still stands relatively firm. I had never considered working within the Public sector until my placement here at the council, although it lacks the glitz and the glamour or consumer/commercial PR it is still very varied and interesting.
Since being here I've seen campaigns that had a budget of £50, and resulted in a energy saving push that could power 3292 homes for a year, all from £50.

You don't get budgets like that in consumer PR, working on a shoe string increases initiative and causes one to be far more productive.


Private or Public...or whatever we can get!

My journey through PR: Interviews/placements and all that Jazz

My journey through PR: Interviews/placements and all that Jazz

Interviews/placements and all that Jazz

So having scored a placement in the Yeadon based Direct Marketing Response company the Ashley Bolser Agency I am feeling quite content with my interviewing abilities. Having never had a real interview for an official position I was incredibly nervous and chatted myself through the nerves..which I think could have possibly won my interviewers over.

Over the last week I have been feeling very concerned about my employability at the end of my degree due to placement work.
At present (although this changes regularly) I am not intending on doing a year long placement as I would quite like to get out into the working world before the tender age of 24 (which is what I would be if I were to do a placement year).
Everyone seems so proactive and busy, I am fairly busy but find it difficult to fit everything in with having a regular part time job, placement and university work itself.
Does anyone else feel this pressure bearing down on them when sat in guest lectures and tutorials hearing about the various placements, experiences and published writing that others are getting involved in?

Also I was wondering if any PR employers could give me their opinion on the benefits of doing a placement year. Even though by the end of my degree I will have done at least six placements in a variety of places ranging from the voluntary sector to PR agencies and even magazine work.

First time for everything

A new semester a new blog entry!
Although there is no denying that I could have done one during the summer but it has been an insanely busy period!
This summer consisted of a variety of activities ranging from working on brick lane in a restaurant to serving over 20,000 pies...No I am not kidding!
All in all it was a great experience, as due to contacts I scored a three week work placement in a Soho based PR company going by the name of Mission Media.
Although I didn't come out with any work for my portfolio just being in the environment, contacting the journalists and helping the PR practitioners was fantastic in itself.
But now I am on the hunt for more knowledge...which I think I may have just sorted in the form of a one day a week placement in the offices of the Faversham!
That and more PR placement coming up soon, must dash as am off to first lecture of the year....It's beginning well!

Taxes taxes taxes

Is anyone else concerned that these days you don't get any change from a pound when buying a loaf of bread?Has anyone noticed that within the space of a year the petrol prices have hit an all time high? Every day I read about different things rising in prices ranging from houses to bottles of milk. There appears to be no halt on these rising prices and its not like when they do stop that they are ever going to drop.
How are people coping, wages aren't rising so how are people managing to afford this financial change? Will this coping lead to an increase in the numbers of people already in debt?
What about us students getting ready to head into the big wide and ever increasingly expensive world? How will we be able to afford houses? Let alone be able to live to a comfortable standard that we are currently working towards??

Any PR students got any thoughts on this...

All been incredibly busy as of late! I have received confirmation on my placement with House Beautiful for two weeks in March in the PR capital that is London! I also went for an interview with the Leeds based PR company SLB PR and found out the next day that I had the weekly placement!
Hopefully both these placements will give me lots of material for my portfolio! Fingers crossed

Work with CLIC sargent is also moving along nicely as we have been preparing for the launch of CLICs latest initiative Kick For Children With Cancer.
Kick for Children with Cancer now going into it’s fourth year, is a UK wide initiative organised by CLIC Sargent to encourage children and young people across the country to get out onto the pitch this summer and play football in support of children with cancer.

I have recently compiled a press release for the local launch of the fundraiser in the area of Billingham where last year Northfield Sports College raised £4000, the highest amount raised nation wide.

At the end of last week I recieved an email from the editorial assistant of the well known magazine House Beautiful.
I had recently contacted a friend who worked for the magazine enquiring as to whether there was any possibility of being able to arrange a short term placement.
The woman who contacted me mentioned the possibility of being able to work with the Features team helping them to compile stories and collect material for future stories....

All sounds quite exciting