Work Experience at BigChoice Group

I've recently completed a week's work experience at BigChoice Group as a PR Assistant and it was great, as were the Tesco meal deals I ate every lunch time...

The placement was with Anna Hammond, head of marketing and PR, so during this time I assisted her with tasks and gained an insight into her working week. BigChoice Group is a parent company to The National Student (which I'm now a contributing writer for) and International Student Admissions Service (ISAS). My placement allowed me to work in each of these businesses which were great. BigChoice Group is a youth marketing company for both outdoor and digital. They also help universities and companies with recruiting and marketing to a youth audience, being a student myself - this placement allowed me to get heavily involved with all the action. Another valuable insight was observing how all the different departments work from sales to IT to marketing and PRs, I feel this helped me to understand the industry workings better.

During the week I was there, all three of the companies were undergoing a re-brand and style which meant I was able to write press releases to inform clients of these changes (click here and here to read) and update the websites blogs of them. I was also able to complete a contacts list for the whole of BigChoice Group's clients and partners and research into any competition too.

Continuing I also had to generate ideas for news stories with original angles for clients and document this professionally - catering them for each individual company with evidence of success too.

The week of my placement came just ahead of The National Student's first print magazine launch, which meant that I could gain first-hand experience on the process before publications are sent to print. This involved marketing the magazine and reaching the specific demographic as well as proof-reading the magazine and sending out press releases to ensure coverage on the launch.

With living in Leicester, I enjoyed the Travelodge life for a week in central London and found myself cramped on the Northern Line at 9am every morning! Working in the capital was definitely a positive experience as it gave me a taste of working life in the industry which is priceless. I was incredibly lucky that everyone in the BigChoice Group office were accommodating, friendly and helpful in allowing me to reach my full potential and gain as many skills as possible.