Am i missing out? Its coming to the end of my first year at university and what a year it has been. Finding work experience was once daughnting but now feels extremely accessible. I wanted to direct this post at dicussing how important getting yourself out there and finding work experience is.

While gathering my peices of portfolio work together, it has become ever so clear that all the PR work i have done is through contacts i had already . I didn't mean it to turn out this way. Poeple stopped asking me "what exactly is PR?Isn't it just marketing" to "so could you just help us do some PR work, you know, advertising through editorial"! I think smaller businesses are starting to realise just how benefitial PR can be and so i've put my skilled into practice for them.

This may be all well and good, however i've been begging the question - How much have i missed out on through not working for actual PR agencys or in house PR firms?

I have pre-conceptions of both however i have no real experience by which to decide a preference or see myself aspiring to work in. I feel this is something that i can reflect and learn from and have already started looking far and beyond my 'comfort zone' for summer work experience.

I think i'd just like to work within a professional PR team and learn how it all works in real life.

sam

Well it came to the point where i was unsure whether to continue my very short lived PR blog or call it a day. After some time away from blogging and being lucky enough to meeting such inspiring bloggers such as Paull Young, i felt thats its worth one more go....

If anybody has felt the same as me or are thinking of starting a blog of their own, do check out Paulls blog as he has managed to create a network of connections across the world and has also managed to secure a job with help from his successful blog. well done paull, i was pleased to hear the good news. He really cant fail to inspire.

As all PR students from Leeds Metropolitan University will know, its portfolio hand in time. Im slowly but surely bringing mine together but it definatly takes time. But its not all bad, it has given me a focus to get back into the bloggersphere and it feels good to be doing so.

I'd just like to say good luck to all the students working hard on their portfolio's, we're nearly there!

sam

Managing 'the team' - I appologise for my lack of blogging action since my maiden post! I believe this may be due to the looming presentation deadline,mentioned in Paddy Doyles blog, and the problems me and a few of my colleges face with our groups.

Personally, i've found that lack of concerted effort and reliability are 'the teams' downfall. I've heard such lines as "i work better under pressure", however, not eveyone does and we all need to take into consideration that we are working as a group.

Four hour work slots are turning into half an hours work...

Im happy that me and the group get along, its just i sometimes feel as though im 'managing 'the team' '...

If anyone has had such experiences, please, any helpful tips would be much appreciated.

Thank you

sam

The Scare Factor - I wont lie. I am scared about posting my thoughts on the net, putting my weak grammer up for scrutiny and keeping it regularly updated. However, i have a feeling that its a case of once you start you cant stop!

I've started a blog so i can enter the world of Public Relations online, share experiences and gain advice.

After taking a gap year before starting university, i've found it hard to throw myself into the writing aspect of the course. This blog has not only pushed me in the right direction but has also sparked my analytical skills into action!

I look forward to future blogging and... its not so scary after all.

Sam.