Originally from: Fleet, Hampshire

Company Website – http://beautyseenpr.com

LinkedIn Profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/cecilieconradsen

What are you most proud of this year?

Being given a £10,000 project for one of our biggest clients, TRESemme, to manage completely by myself. It was great to be involved in the whole process, from initial ideas to the final execution. I then got to meet a lot of the Beauty Directors and Editors at key media titles to pitch the final product to them.

Has this experience impacted how and what you see in your future?

Yes – this year I have thoroughly enjoyed all copywriting related tasks and  have unearthed a real desire for a career in writing. I think the PR course at Bournemouth is excellent as it is so broad and has taught me a lot of transferable skills, but my placement year has made me realise PR is not the career for me and that writing is what I’m most passionate about.

Any advice you would give other students wanting to find a placement?

Apply to as many places as you can but also don’t be afraid to take an unpaid placement if it is in an industry/sector you are really interested in and would like to pursue a career in.

What are your plans for the rest of the summer before you come back for final year?

I am hoping to get more experience in copywriting and have applied for internships at several publications, including Condé Nast. I am keen to apply for their Graduate Scheme when I finish at Bournemouth and feel this will be an excellent way to ‘get my foot in the door’.

Have you always wanted to do a sandwich placement during your academic course?

Yes and this is part of the reason I chose Bournemouth University as most of the courses they offer include a compulsory placement year. I think it is so important to do a placement year as, for many employers, a degree is not enough – they want you to have relevant experience. A placement year also helps give you a sense of what you want from your future career and makes you consider pathways you wouldn’t originally have thought of.

Do you think this experience has impacted your future employability?

Definitely, I now have a huge set of transferable skills and a great list of contacts across different companies and sectors. I now also have plenty of relevant experience on my CV (before I had only worked in bar jobs) and a portfolio of work to show to potential employers.

How was it being in the ‘real world’?

At first I found the commute and hours really difficult, but after a while you get used to it and now I quite like having a more set routine. It is also nice to have the weekend completely to yourself, and not having to do any work over it. I also think I have been lucky with Beauty Seen, as it is a very fun office, which makes a big difference when you’re coming to work there every day.

Feedback from the supervisor: Darren Hewitt-McLaren, Senior Account Executive

What was it like having a placement student on your team?

Beauty Seen couldn’t function properly without interns and having a placement student on the team is always such a tremendous help. It’s amazing to see how much they grow in their year here and I’m always really proud of how much they achieve.