How it all started…
This is going to read like the clichéd beginning in a cover letter for a fresh graduate but I always knew that I wanted a career related to communications from a young age. All my work experiences were geared towards placements in marketing and communications departments because I knew I wanted a job where I can write and express my creativity (and where it lends itself to my strengths in being super organised ;-)). Being stuck in a job I hate would be literally the worst thing and I think it was this determination that got me on to the grad scheme in a London-based PR agency.
On the application form, they asked, “What attracts you to a career in PR, and why should you have a place of our scheme?” At a time when many agencies had temporarily suspended their grad schemes, and record number of graduates wanting to get their foot into the PR industry, making an impact in the first sentence was crucial. So this got me thinking, what should I say that would get me through the initial screening process?
I recalled back to a time when I was travelling across Japan and remembered outside Kyoto’s largest wooden temple I saw a banner that said…
Now. Life is living you.
….and that’s what I put in my application form: “When I was travelling in Japan by myself, I saw a sign that was truly inspiring, it said, ‘Now. Life is living you’. People spend a third of their lives at work. How many people can say they can’t wait to get to work when they wake up in the morning?”
Ok, so still a bit of a cliché (and a bit cringeworthy reading back), but it is something I genuinely believed in and if there’s one thing I can talk passionately about, it is about my job.
Friends have commented that I can make the most seemingly dull things sound interesting, hotel revenue management systems, radiators, batteries, microfiber mops anyone? I’m as proud about my monthly bylines in Cleaning Hygiene Today as I am about securing a piece of coverage in The Guardian. It’s the appreciation that if you’re talking to the right people, then no matter what services or products your clients provide, the audience you are talking to will be interested and concerned about the issues you are communicating.
I thought I’d end this post with a video I found on youtube about what motivates people. A bit of food for thought…
musings from the PR world 
Definitely a lot of food for thought. I can identify because right now I’m a graduate and job hunting. It’s proving difficult to find that job I love so I won’t have to “work a day in my life”. Or at least find a job I love that is willing to give me an interview.
I’m trying not to accept the idea that I have to pay my dues in some awful position for whatever amount of time before I reach my perfect place. In today’s climate it’s hard to do search and find what you truly want to do right out of the gate, and as time goes on and I remain unemployed – I fear I may have to head back to retail.
Fingers crossed for me and well done to you, great post.
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for your comment.
I remember coming back to the UK in the middle of the financial crisis and there were no jobs anywhere. It can be a bit disheartening at first. I applied to loads of jobs and after hearing nothing for about two months, I finally managed to get some internship placements in PR before landing this job. It’s sometimes idealistic to say ‘Don’t give up on what you want to do’, but may be think about working part time in retail while job hunting?
All the best and good luck!