This is a guest blog by BA (Hons) Communication and Media graduate, Rebecca Burgess.

While I was studying for my final year, PR agency Red Lorry Yellow Lorry approached my course leader looking for promising students to recruit to their graduate internship. They’d had positive experiences with students from the course and, with a year’s work experience under my belt, I was confident I could live up to those expectations. My application was successful, and I think that the experience I gained during a year’s placement at R/GA, an advertising agency, gave me a lot of confidence – as well as demonstrating to my new employers that I already had the skills they were looking for. After six months as an intern, I was made permanent and within nine months of joining the company, I progressed to the role of account executive. I think it was down to the fact that I
was able to hit the ground running – starting a career wasn’t a frightening prospect for me, thanks to my placement. The course itself also helped. The guidance I had in developing my own ideas helped me to think outside the box, and we were always encouraged to put our own spin on our work. Our lecturers had high expectations for us, so we were always on top of our game and hungry to prove ourselves. As a graduate, I can see subconscious behaviours in myself that I inherited from my course, and without it, I don’t think I would have the same work ethic.