As part of EAST VILLAGE.’s #GrowYourOwn initiative, we welcome students into EV. HQ to give them a taste of life in PR. Here, intern Amy, talks about her experience with us…

I am a final year student at Birmingham City University studying Marketing, Advertising and PR. In September 2019, I took part in a professional mentoring scheme where I was allocated a mentor based upon my course and the main areas and skills that I wanted help to improve on. I had started my PR module during this semester and found myself hooked and wanted to learn more about what a day in the life of the PR industry was really like.  With this in mind, the main areas I wanted help with was writing my CV and covering letters. 

My mentor, Chloe, was from Liquid PR and I met with her five times during the scheme’s duration. She really helped me improve my CV and taught me how to write and personalise my cover letter based upon who I would be sending it to. My marketing-oriented passions lie within the leisure and hospitality sectors, due to having previous hospitality experience. Based on this, Chole then suggested applying for an internship with EAST VILLAGE.; after emailing my application to founder and Managing Director, Tara Tomes, I was accepted for a two-week placement!

During my internship, I was given a checklist of items that I’d be focusing on and learning more about during my time here. These included developing my team building, PR, social media knowledge, marketing and events planning skills. One of my first tasks was to write a press release for an EV. client and I was given several examples to inspire me. Writing isn’t one of my strong points, however I threw myself into the task and gave it my best shot. Once I then had a better understanding of how to write a press release, I then had a go at writing one for a different client, Insomnia Gaming Festival. I found myself understanding the different key features that go into press releases and the way they should be structured and presented. 

My strengths are stronger when it comes to social media and design, so I was also then given the task to design flyers for an upcoming event from Change Kitchen. To do this I was taught how to use Canva a designing platform which also really helps for gaining inspiration.  

During my time here, I also went to Malmaison Birmingham to get some new content for their social media platforms. During the visit, we had access to the hotel’s reception, bar and bedrooms to take photos for their social media to promote their Valentine’s Day offers. My role during this visit was to take behind the scenes for EAST VILLAGE.’s own social media channels and assist Social Media Executive, Holly, with her photography and setting up shots.

Once we’d got all of the necessary content, I spent the rest of the day learning about social media analytics and how to collect data from platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. This allowed me to track engagement rates, total reaches, likes and shares of different posts on a month-to-month basis. I found out that by doing this, companies can see exactly how effective each post they publish is and what their audience like or dislike in particular. This enables them to tailor their content to make it as engaging as possible!

After having completed my internship at EAST VILLAGE., I find myself wanting a career within the industry more than ever! I have loved every second being here and have gained skills and knowledge that I never would have learnt while just studying at university and am extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to come here for an internship. 

Finally, my tops tips for getting an internship are:

>> Have a genuine passion for the PR and marketing industries and make this well-known

>> Keep up to date with local companies and their work

>> Be proactive, reach out to individuals via email and LinkedIn and make sure your cover letter is always personalised!