Having joined AD Communications a year ago, a lot has changed in terms of my growth – both inside and outside of work. During this time, I’ve transitioned from an 18-year old full of nerves on my first day, to a confident and supportive member of the team. Becoming part of Team AD has helped me to understand integrated communications, agency life, the importance of working as a unit, and provided me with a solid foundation for adulthood.
Progression
Since being at AD, I feel as though I’ve achieved milestones that I wouldn’t have thought were possible last August.
I’ve almost finished a foundation course with the PRCA (Public Relations and Communications Association), which has enabled me to learn more about the world of PR and comms, from liaising with the media to making ethical decisions.
There have also been opportunities that have allowed me to create a variety of content – for AD itself, as well as our clients. This includes written content (social posts and press releases) and visuals (email signatures, PowerPoints and animations).
As a younger member of the team, my broad social media awareness has enabled me to contribute to the expansion of the team’s social activity and bring a fresh perspective to how we are communicating with our target audiences via our own platforms.
I also managed to survive my first event season! As a result of disruption caused by the pandemic, there were a number of large, international industry events that took place for the first time since 2019 this year. We were very busy during this period, as we supported our clients in the run-up to and at the events. I found that I thrived on the rush and buzz of planning and finalising everything in time for the exhibitions, which definitely further enhanced my enthusiasm for event planning.
What have I enjoyed most?
After a year of exploring the various opportunities in an integrated communications agency, there have been a lot of tasks and projects that I’ve enjoyed.
Having always had a passion for writing, I’ve particularly relished drafting written content for the team, including my first press releases and social media posts. This has put my writing skills to the test, as ultimately I have to adopt a variety of tones depending on the requirements and style in which I’m writing.
I quickly warmed to the task of creating written and visual social media content for a variety of clients. This has sparked a love of content creation and allowed me to explore the real meaning of an ‘integrated’ agency, going beyond PR and comms.
Watching campaigns come together from concept to reality was also a highlight for me personally, as I got to witness the success and efforts of the team and our clients first hand.
Looking forward
After observing the capabilities of my colleagues at AD over the last year, I’ve been able to think about how I‘d like to maximise my professional potential in the future.
Overall, the support of the team and those close to me is what has made this progression possible. The shy and nervous school-leaver who walked through the office doors in 2022 no longer exists. The past year has been full of new challenges and has certainly kept me busy. However, I’m amazed at how much I’ve learned and feel as though full-time work has brought out a side to myself that I hadn’t seen a year ago.
As I look forward, I see a bright future at AD and I can’t wait to expand my knowledge and understanding of the PR and comms industry, enhance the skills I already have and acquire new ones along my journey.