After graduating from The University of Manchester with a degree in marketing, I was keen to pursue a career in the world of PR.
While trawling through jobs on LinkedIn I stumbled across an ad for Nelson Bostock Unlimited’s talent day. NBU was already familiar to me. One of my old colleagues put me in touch with Victoria, an existing member of staff, for advice on good agencies to apply to. Victoria told me how much she enjoyed working at the company. So once it popped up on LinkedIn, I quickly sent off my application!
Having completed a placement year while at Uni I had already attended two assessment centres. They both involved several rounds of interviews and multiple tasks on the day. That’s all very nerve-wracking when you’re trying to land your first job! But the NBU team quickly set my mind at ease. They told me that the talent day isn’t like a graduate-only assessment centre. It’s more of an opportunity for bright and motivated individuals to come and learn more about the company.
The other candidates I spoke to on the day all had different backgrounds and levels of experience. Some had been to university, while others hadn’t. However, the focus was on our enthusiasm and potential. The day had a very relaxed feel. Members of staff gave intros about life at NBU, what PR is and the different day-to-day tasks that life as an Account Assistant involves. For example, reading the daily papers and identifying relevant tech news stories.
We took part in a group task. We split into teams of 3-4 and came up with a PR campaign around EE’s launch of 5G and how this would play out in the media. This enabled us to think creatively and share ideas. Then we presented these ideas to a panel of judges.
The last part of the talent day involved a 20-minute ‘speed interview’, where we moved between different NBU staff members and answered their questions for two minutes. This felt less like an interview and more like a chat. A great opportunity to showcase your personality and what else you could bring to the business. You could also gauge what the people you’d be working with are like.
All the people I spoke to on the talent day were incredibly friendly and made me feel so comfortable. At the end of the day, I know that these are my kind of people. NBU is exactly the kind of place I want to work (having previously been at a much larger corporate firm). I have now been at Nelson Bostock Unlimited for three months and am loving it. In this short time, I’ve learnt so much and I’ve really got stuck in with my three accounts. I’ve also supported on several new businesses opportunities. My first new business pitch took place this week and we won!
I would encourage anyone thinking about applying to Nelson Bostock Unlimited to do so – regardless of their experience. You don’t need specific experience, or a degree in English Literature, just motivation and enthusiasm to learn about the world of PR!