Public Relations Work Experience

Parker, Wayne & Kent is a very small company (there are only four of us in the office) that works primarily in the business and technology sectors. We also work in the consumer and health industries, but opportunities to gain work experience in these areas are limited.

We receive hundreds of applications every year for work experience placements. We do not take everybody, not just because we can't, but because we do have some conditions on who we take. 

We offer two week long work experience placements throughout the year, hence we can be quite flexible. We may  offer longer internships to promising applicants. People who have undertaken work experience with us are considered first when we have an entry level role available. 

Our work experience placements are learning opportunities that help candidates gain entry level roles in the public relations sector. There is a mixture of coaching and activity. Feedback from candidates is very positive and suggests that time spent with us has been instrumental in gaining a PR job. 

Unlike some placements we don't want people to learn how the photocopier works, how to make tea or how to chat to friends on Facebook. Those that undertake work experience with us participate as an active member of the team and will learn about public relations through their experience.

You will be employed in constructive activity, the results of which have real value. Typical tasks include news writing, idea generation, media monitoring, searching for media opportunities and media and journalist research. The mix of activities depends on what's going on in the office at the time you're here. You will be encouraged to build a portfolio to show prospective employers. 

That said, we do have some conditions that limit who we take on for work experience: 

1) Our work experience placements are unpaid and no expenses are paid. However we invest a lot of time in the people who are successful in gaining a place with us. It's important that applicants are aware that they are not "doing us a favour" by joining our team for work experience. We respect them for the time they're putting in to learning about PR, and we expect them to respect the time we put into teaching them about the industry. 

2) We are only interested in offering work experience placements to people who are focused on, and have properly researched, a career in PR. Our work experience placements are offered to people that want to gain experience in the sector prior to getting a job, or to confirm whether a role in PR is right for them. They are not offered to people who want to find out if it is a role that's right for them. If you think you would rather work in another sector, please don't apply to us.

3) Summer is the most competitive time to gain a placement. Also at this time of year, we give prioritiy to recent graduates as they are looking for permanent roles immediately, hence their need to gain experience is more pressing. However, do not be dissuaded from applying for a place if you are not a graduate for this time of year, as there may be some weeks where we may have availability.

4) We will not take final year students during the academic year as we would rather they prioritise their degree and undertake work experience after their finals. 

5) Any applicants must have secured a place to stay in London for the time that they will be with us. Long commutes from out of town really aren't conducive to a good work experience.

6) We take a very dim view of people who do not complete their placement with us unless there are very exceptional circumstances, as they will have taken the opportunity away from another person. 

7) Whilst we recommend that people who undertake work experience with us put this on their CV, unfortunately we cannot offer an employment reference. These are reserved for paid employees. 

8) When you write to us, include your CV. 

Although the above is quite serious, we like to keep a fun and relatively informal atmosphere in our office. We want people who join us to be confident to express their ideas and to contribute to office discussions. It's important to speak up. 

There's no dress code, although we do expect everyone to make the effort to dress smartly when meeting clients or attending events, as a mark of respect to those we meet.

Finally, if u rite lik dis – DO NOT APPLY.

To apply for work experience with us, please send us your CV: entrylevel@pwkrecruit.com