Work Experience at Shooting Star: All Things PR and Marketing

Last week I was lucky enough to get a hands-on experience of life in a PR and Marketing Office. Shooting Star welcomed me into their workspace and allowed me to produce content, sit in on their meetings, and play fetch with office pup Luna.

I am a third-year journalism student at the University of Lincoln, with a particular passion for TV and online. On our course we are required to complete work experience before graduating and heading into the working world. I received an email about the opportunity to spend a week with Shooting Star, so I jumped at the chance.

To apply for the work experience scheme, I had to complete a social media plan for a gin company, which I found was incredibly up my street. Having to do a task instead of sending over a CV was refreshing. Not too long after my submission, I was offered an interview with Shooting Star Directors Kate and Jez.

I had never delved into PR and Marketing before; however, I was keen to broaden my knowledge.

My placement began mid-February, and consisted of three 9-5 shifts in the office, and two 9-5 shifts working from home, as a repercussion of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On my first day, Kate kindly introduced me to the team, and I felt like I slotted in perfectly. Everyone was so welcoming, so my nerves ended instantly.

On Monday I wrote a blog about my favourite valentine’s marketing campaigns which got published on the Shooting Star website. I also completed several news release tasks from the work experience workbook. You can read my blog post here if you’d like. 

Tuesday got me heading out of the office. I attended a Publishing and Communications Industry Panel with Kate, who was taking part in the panel herself. I did a Twitter and Instagram takeover on Shooting Star’s handles, so I was live tweeting what the panel were saying during the event. This was a challenge as I had never done anything like this before.

I also sat in on a meeting with Kate and solicitors, Andrew Grove & Co about a sensitive case. I didn’t realise the broad range of clients Shooting Star had until this moment.

Wednesday was my last day in the office. I explored Gorkana, which is a media database where you search for outlets and journalists that you need to contact.

Molly asked me to complete the social media plan for the following week. This involved me coming up with interesting and engaging content to post on Shooting Star’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages.

My day ended with sitting in a meeting with Maz and Kate with new client Digital Ability.

I was sad to be leaving the office, especially because I knew I couldn’t play fetch with office pup Luna whilst working from home.

On Thursday I created client spreadsheets and researched into the world of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance).

My last day of placement arrived sooner than I thought. On Friday I posted previous work experience student Finley’s blog post and began writing my own.

I really enjoyed my week with Shooting Star, and I would definitely recommend completing your work experience here.

Thank you to the Shooting Star team!

HT