The Communications and Marketing team offers university undergraduates the chance to spend time in the team on work placement.
Each student is asked to sum up their experiences and their observations of our organisation. Tilly Kenyon was the first through the doors this year.
Hi, I’m Tilly and I’m a third year Journalism student studying at Liverpool John Moores University. I recently had the opportunity to spend two weeks on a work placement within the council’s Communications Team.
Having no previous experience of working in communications or PR — or working in an office environment — I did not really know what to expect from my placement, so I came into it with an open mind and ready to learn.
My first impressions?
On my first day I was pretty nervous going into something new and a ‘real’ work environment, but I quickly learnt there was no need to be and soon settled into the swing of things.
During my two weeks with the Communications Team I was able to gain an insight into the way they operate and their day-to-day tasks.
One of the highlights of my time at the council was the master class held by Jen Bruce, the team’s Video Journalist and Phil Green, a Communications Officer. The session focused on creating ‘mojo’ (mobile journalism) pieces and taking photographs, it was really informative and will help me in the final part of my studies. It was also really enjoyable and fascinating to see Jen’s photography.
Attending the staff conference was also a different experience for me. Observing all the work that is put in behind the scenes really makes you appreciate the organisation and the time it took for the internal communications team to put this event on for the rest of the staff.
One task I found really beneficial was writing a press release, this is something I have learnt as part of my University course, so I felt a bit nervous about it as I had only done one before, but Phil made me feel at ease. He took the time out of his day to talk it through with me, explain to me areas where it could be improved and how to change it to make it more appealing.
I have enjoyed being part of a team and everyone has been really friendly, making me feel welcome.
Being part of team meetings has been interesting, finding out about the week’s agenda and the planning of upcoming events. The team offered me support and were always happy to answer any questions I had and/or explain tasks to me.
What will I take away?
This experience has made me become more self-aware, and begin to understand what I enjoy the most and what I do not want to do. It has also helped me to start to think about what type of role and working environment might suit me. I think it has provided me, personally, with confidence knowing that I feel I could work within a team and do this type of work.
