Last week the Corporate team had the Christmas lunch – I think I was possibly the only person who left their present at home and had to rush out and buy another one. It was a great afternoon as we all hid in a pub from the snow with plenty of..water, honest.

The lovely intern at Corporate also got onto the next intake of Grads for January so I want to extend my congratulations to her – she’s been great to work with and I wish her all the luck the world.

So far whilst working for Edelman I have been in two totally different departments but I have enjoyed the challenges of all of the work. We are now halfway through the Graduate Scheme and we have done two rotations. I have been at Corporate and Digital. These teams differ in clients and type of work – for example at Digital you very rarely pick up the phone to call a jounralist.

At Corporate I have now also had the chance to work on some sport clients which has been very enjoyable, and I hope to carry on working on this in the New Year.

So, off to PA next! It will be a learning experience for me who has not studied Politics before. I have been interested in it, but as David Cameron is my home MP it is from a less objective stand point.

I  hope that everything is going well and that the teams are pleased with my work, especially as I feel I have learnt so much in the past 4 months.

I’ve now been in London for 7 months and it feels like years! Having come here in June to settle in before starting work I feel like I have gotten to know the city better (although there is so much I don’t know – the East, West and North for example!) I definitely think that I have made the right move, and although I miss home and the countryside, London is a great place to be.

I feel that within the Grad Scheme we are looked after and hopefully gaining the experience we need. I am still not sure what area of PR I would like to specialise in but I think that the next two rotations should help me to decide.

So I leave the office in 2009, when I come back it will be a new decade, possibly with a broken leg (I’ve never been skiing before!!). Have a great Christmas break everyone and a merry New Year’s!

Over the past two weeks there has been quite a bit going on over ths side of the office, and time has gone past very rapidly. The Get Safe Online Summit happened last Monday (I could not sleep on Sunday night hoping everything would go ok), everything seemed to go smoothly. I had spent most of Friday making name badges and had visions of them all being wrong!

This week, I have been selling in for a another client – something a bit different for them, and me – the arts contrasting and mixing with electricals. This is a very interesting project because it is giving me great experience of media relations. I think I have managed to move past my fear of speaking to National newspaper journalists…as long as my script is good.

Speaking of arts, we have been rehearsing for the panto – I have found myself writing stage notes at the rehearsals and chuckling about the impending laughs and fabulous acting! Over in the Corporate department there is a lot of dance talk – so I have high hopes!

A couple of weeks ago the three of us Grads were asked to shoot the new video for the website, and I have to say well done to the former grads who got involed and those who helped out – it looks really great.

I have settled in with the Corporate team now and I’m finding the work easier to get my head round. I’ve been doing little bits for lots of clients, including VisitBritain and Sime Darby, and then bigger bits for Get Safe Online, Starbucks, Reed in Partnership and Mitsubishi.

Whilst I have been here I’ve helped out with the Tweetminster event and hopefully a few more before the end of the year.

We also had some Grad training last week in Crisis Management which sounding fascinating; it would be so interesting to be on the frontline of the breaking stories – some late nights and early mornings though I’m sure.

The next few weeks are going to be hectic with the panto, work and the countdown to Christmas…a month! I’ve managed to buy wrapping paper and a few cards (none of which have been written in), I just need to actually buy the presents now!

On a bit of a sad note it’s Jason Mical’s last day with us today – drinks were great on Friday, going to miss you loads Jason, take care!

Work wise I have been given new things to work on, as well as still carrying out daily reports and monitoring. Anna, my line manager even asked if there was anything I thought I wasn’t getting to work on.

The build up to the Christmas party is beginning to get into flow. I have volunteered to be part of the stage management team – this is the chance for me to be involved as much as possible without being on stage (get a bit of stage fright!). On Friday we had a sort of rehearsal party. This was in the theme of Pirates (a not so secret love of one of the Spook team). We got dressed up and took part in a treasure hunt. This I am pleased to say we won – after an extremely loud rendition of ‘What shall we do with the drunken sailor?” I suspect that the image of people racing through the office dressed as pirates searching for items was extremely amusing, as well as a little bit weird!

I am now getting to do more challenging things, using many tools that I will use in the future for research and reports in other practices. I’m getting to dip into the big consumer clients as well as tech and healthcare ones on a daily basis.

Heather, Clare and I have announced that we will be wanting everyone to think pink on 30th October, with more details to follow as we get closer. This is our first separate project so fingers crossed it all goes well.

Last week we got some great feedback out our work in the teams, which has really boosted my confidence, just hope I can keep it up!

Let’s start at the very beginning, my phone call from Toni delivering the highly anticipated news that I had been selected for Edelman’s graduate scheme. I’ll set the scene: I’m staring at my phone that is ringing from the  Edelman office five minutes before I am due to sit my first final exam at university…here I had a choice, this could go one of two ways: Head on the desk sobbing during exam, or joy at the opportunity of a lifetime. Thank goodness it was the latter.

I walked through the Edelman doors on my first day to be greeted by two very friendly fellow grads. Two minutes into our conversation, I was left fairly wide eyed at the realisation that they have both already been working in PR whilst I was ‘Up North’ at Birmingham University. Standing in the lift going up to the third floor involved much reassuring of self, that there must be a reason that I had been picked too!

I was introduced to the healthcare team, a very friendly bunch.  I was made to feel immediately at home, with plenty of Davis related ‘banter’ and the good influence of Louisa force feeding me celery, and introducing me to the world of ‘healthy body, healthy mind.’

I was assigned to the Novo Nordisk team, who were preparing for a mammoth EASD conference, in Vienna. It has been massively busy, but the Novo group have made me feel like a really valued member of the team and have been very patient with my guillotining skills, which needless to say, leave a lot to be desired.  It is difficult to convey how much I feel I have learnt over the past couple of weeks, I can now hardly remember a time where I did not know much about pharmaceutical companies and media monitoring, and didn’t call Jill and Lindsay 150 times a day with all my questions.

I always thought that a graduate scheme might be extremely daunting, and leave me feeling out of my depth, but this has not been my experience at Edelman. Whilst the work has been challenging, everyone has been approachable and they do not expect you to know everything from day one.

I cannot believe I have been here for a month now, how time flies….

We have had a large quantity of work so there has never been a dull moment. I have been given my first bits of responsibility (which have had deadlines) – reports and monitoring to do. I feel I have learnt more from this team over the past three weeks than I have in any job in a few months!

I am now happily tweeting away and researching in very techie ways (by that I mean in ways I wouldn’t have dreamt of before I started).

Re the training we have received so far – the three of us have been briefed in many of the practical processes of the business including finance, and also introduced to all of the different practices at Edelman.

Over the past two weeks I have become a little more confident within the team. My line manager has praised me and the research we have carried out for one client (near on impossible for a while) has finally come together. The nice thing about the Digital team is that they are apart from the rest of the agency in their work, but there is also a group and team feeling. I feel like part of a family here and can’t believe I’ve only got 5 weeks until I will be moving round. Whiskey tasting has even been promised at a group session in the future!

I have realised in this very short time that this is an exciting department to be in because this is definitely the future of PR and business. It has also become very clear that maybe a lot of people could do with a rotation in this practice because the work these guys do can transform pitches, projects and research (and no they didn’t pay me to say that!).

I have met up with my buddy who is really taking care of me, I know she is there if I need to yell and is being really supportive. Being away from any team i will be working with also makes her pretty objective.

We grads have been asked to take control of the ‘Wear It Pink’ day for Breast Cancer Research at the end of October (30th). This will be a great opportunity for us to demonstrate our organising skills, plus if you are going to get  me in pink then it has be for a very very good reason! Hopefully everyone will participate as we don’t want to be the only ones wearing clashing pinks on the day!

Last week was my first company meeting, which was actually the most informal thing I’ve attended at the company! Robert Phillips chaired a rather amusing meeting where the extensive plans for the Christmas party were announced – this year it’s going to be…

Oops must go – the team are dragging to an educational afternoon (which may end up in the pub after work!)

Being in the Digital/Social Media team I am already experiencing something totally different. I have had nearly a year of agency experience, but it was a small office and they were not familiar with the importance of social and digital media. Thursday apparently means Rockstar night in the bar as the team take to the mircophone. Robert Phillips (CEO) also warned about traditions such as ‘tie Wednesday’ and Poker nights every week.

One of the first questions I was asked was ‘Are you on Twitter?’ To which I had to answer ‘I’m afraid I’m a Facebook girl’ Well, I had a Twitter account, but I did not understand the application and didn’t know how to ‘follow’ people. Now, less that a week into the scheme I am tweeting and following people and using it as a necessary assistant to my work.Blogging was another thing I had never tried, so this blog is my first attempt, and I even know what an RSS feed is.

From the first day I have been given insight into the very different world of Digital PR. As a company it is clear that Edelman utilises Digital and Social media in their everyday lives through social networking, and through Spook and the Social media team who seem to be able to do pretty amazing things with computers. There is a possibilty that my severely lacking knowledge of technology may jump into the 21st century after this rotation.

I am extremely glad I have come to this team first. Firstly because they have immediately welcomed me with open arms and plenty of work, and secondly because the things I learn here will stay with me and aid me when I move to another team.

There are only three of us in the scheme this year which meant on the first day as we walked through the office we could feel all eyes on us. However, we have gained from being able to spend more time in each rotation than previous years. I feel that this will help us to get a more indepth perspective of each sector. We have had introductions to all of the departments at Edelman, and have found that some of their work is not what we expected.

The first thing I noticed on Monday morning (other than the sheer size of the office) was that tea is provided! This is a very important factor for me, I have a caffeine addiction that must be topped up every hour, on the hour. I have been given work on a variation of accounts as the Digital team work alongside other departments and on their own accounts.

In the first week I have been shown how to do more complex computer-based research, blogging, monitoring and tweeting. I was also able to get my teeth back into a bit of sport with some ideas regarding PUMA Motorsport and FIFA Facebook pages.

A lunch was organised for me as an enjoyable (if not a little chilly) end to the week, and now a huge bar of Galaxy is being passed round, it can only be Friday.

I’m in Public Affairs and yesterday’s Budget provided me with a taste of the manic nature of politics. Edelman’s analysis, available here, was produced and sent out yesterday afternoon in double quick time.

Now, there were no fireworks – Alastair Darling focused on ’stability, stability, stability’ and weathering the current economic storms so we’re prepared for the future. This might seem like a sensible plan but it earns him no sympathy from the press. This is well evidenced in today’s national newspapers who continue to refer to him as the Puppet Chancellor. Today’s newspapers are a key starting point for anyone looking to get an idea of the real impact of the Budget – the devil is always in the detail, and the finer points, such as benefits and tax, are explored in commentaries, interviews, etc.

So, how will this Budget affect young people? Perhaps a more pertinent question is ‘does this Budget affect young people particularly’? With many recent social problems, eg binge drinking, healthy eating and rising house prices, being put on the shoulders of youth, it would be surprising if measures were not laid out in the Budget. But we already know that it was all about stability rather than making great inroads in these problem areas.

A few key points:

- Alcohol prices are up. Beer by a few pence, wine by 14p and bottled spirits up by 55p.

- Fuel will go up by 2p a litre in October, and another 0.5p in 2010.

- For those interested in getting on the property ladder, the Government has opened up affordable housing schemes so key workers, such as nurses and teachers, and first time buyers will be able to borrow money from shared equity schemes when they can afford to buy 50% of their home. And pledged to spend on building more affordable housing.

- There will be no stamp duty for those in shared ownership schemes until you own 80% of the property.

- Capital Gains Tax will be 18% which hits businesses hard but there are concessions for entrepreneurs. This links in with the Government’s pledge to increase spending on the academies schemes which targets over 16s who have left school, and encourages them in business. This is a triumph for Peter Jones, of Dragon’s Den fame, who has supported these schemes for instilling an American style ‘I can’ attitude’ instead of the British ‘Can I?’.

And finally, something for our grandparents – Winter Fuel Allowance for the over 80s has been increased.

No fireworks but stability will be difficult enough to achieve – inflation is up and Darling has promised to bring it back by next year. Increased costs affect everyone and it will be interesting to see whether this promise can be delivered amongst a turbulent political, and economic, backdrop.

The scheme has been great for getting to know the inner machinations of the different departments, different types of PR and Edelman, as a global company. Personally, its been a steep learning curve. I had little, to no, PR experience when I applied and was thrilled to be offered a place on the scheme despite this. I’ve found that the best way to learn is by being ‘on the job’, rather than reading or hearing about other people’s experiences. People always ask what PR actually entails and its nice to finally give a coherent answer, and explain a little about the different types, corresponding to department. It allows me to have a broad view of the possibilities available within PR, how people work and how it is all interlinked. My interest in PR has always been specialist but I have appreciated the opportunity to witness so much PR activity, from compiling the press list to hearing about pithy new business pitches. It is too often forgotten that this scheme helps you learn about business, and its world, as well as the specific industry. This was particularly useful for me because my previous jobs were overwhelmingly based, or dealt with, the third sector.

A fellow grad pointed out that we would soon be welcoming the new grads. Probably sooner than we think, judging by the rapid onslaught of January. I await the title of ‘old grad’ with bated breath.

 No spelling errors! Spelling mistakes provide such an easy excuse for someone reading your application to dismiss it without having given it a fair trial. They can argue it demonstrates a sloppy attitude, lack of care, attention and all sorts of negative connotations about you as a person, which really aren’t fair or true. It’s very easy to make the odd spelling error, so the best advice is double, triple, and if necessary, quadruple check your application. It’s really good to get a friend or parent to check it too – they’ll often spot what you might not have on your third read through.

 Be clear and concise: Keep your language simple and (unlike me here) reasonably formal, whilst not sounding pompous. A well-written, cogent application will be much easier to read than a long, convoluted one, especially for someone who can be reading hundreds of applications in an evening. Also, make sure you lay out your application neatly and clearly. Obviously it’s a case of filling in the boxes, but sometimes you might make things clearer by using bullet points, regular spacing, (brackets): colons… Do make sure you use the right grammatical constructs in the right place though. Not doing so can again make you a rather easy target for rejection, which is really not what you want after spending hours on an application.

 Answer the question: Again, this is a universal rule. However, the Edelman Graduate Application does have some quite specific questions, like asking you to list relevant work experience. This does not mean list every job you’ve ever had. This will not look impressive if not all those jobs were PR or media-related. If you have no PR or media-related work experience – you probably should have a little if you’re applying at all – but if not, explain that in your answer. Then, write about the most relevant, or best work experience that you do have, such as if it was for an interesting company, if you had lots of responsibility, if there was some media relations work and so on.

 Think about the angle: I was given this advice by someone who had run their own successful PR company for 20 years plus. She said that you often sound more convincing about your interest in PR if you demonstrate a particular leaning towards a specific area, be it Financial, Public Affairs, Technology… The application allows you to direct your answers to show this certain interest, why you have it, any work experience you have relating to it. If you really don’t have a clue about which Edelman department interests you the most, that’s fine, but think of other ways in which you can transmit your enthusiasm for PR and Edelman.

 Finally, do try to have some fun with your application. This probably sounds unlikely, but if you seem enthused, interested and possibly even excited about what you’re writing in your application, it’s far more likely to come across to whoever’s reading it. They’ll be convinced of your interest and the outcome is likely to be favourable. Also, Edelman’s Graduate Application is a reasonable length with questions which allow you to show off, so go for it!

Good luck with it all.

The internet – What would we do without it?! We use it all day at work and then as soon as we get home the first thing we do is turn the computer on so that we can check Facebook. Also thrown into the mix is internet banking, online shopping, Ebay browsing (and the inevitable buying when you see that thing that you really don’t need for such a good price) etc etc. What I’m trying to get at is that we use the internet in so many ways, and often have so many of our personal details on the internet, it’s important to that we remember that there are people out there who could take advantage of this. The results of the study published by Get Safe Online this week show that one third of all internet users are registered to a social networking site. This is not hard to imagine – I bet not many people reading this know people who aren’t members of one of these sites – Facebook and MySpace undoubtedly the most popular in the UK. Now please don’t get me wrong, I am not about to tell you to immediately block all of these sites because you’re putting yourself at risk blah blah blah. We’ve all heard it before! I used to hear it from my Dad – before he joined Facebook

What I am going to say is that you really shouldn’t put information on Facebook (or any of these sites) that you wouldn’t tell the person standing next you at the bus stop. Did you know 34% of 18 – 24 year olds have posted confidential or personal information on their online profile? Why should the whole virtual world know your address, phone number or e-mail address?? Would you ever shout them out to the entire crowded tube carriage in the morning rush-hour? I think a big fat NO is probably the answer! And why is the answer no? Because you don’t know them from Adam – they’re complete strangers!

Facebook does have the necessary settings to ensure that your details are safe – my advice to you is to use them! That especially goes out to people in the Midlands and the North West where about one in five of you do not set your privacy settings at all! I don’t want to scare you but all a hacker would need to steal your identity is your name, date of birth and where you live – put your hand up if these details are readily available on your profile page. I would sheepishly have to admit that up until last week I had this information available on my page – although I am careful that only my friends can see my profile, and I only accept people as friends if I actually know them! Now it’s not all bad – nearly 90% of 18 – 25 year olds DO use their privacy settings, so give yourself a pat on the back if you’re one of them! Have a look here for more information from the good people at Get Safe Online.

Another thing that came out of the Get Safe Online research was that almost one in four use the same password for all websites. Let’s think about this logically for a second – that’s like having one key for all your doors – imagine if you lost it and someone made a copy. Talk about keeping all your eggs in one basket – automatically your house, car and possibly work are all at risk. Now imagine that the same key also unlocked all of your bank information, credit card details and personal e-mails!! No matter how carefully you looked after that key there is no way that you could 100% guarantee that you wouldn’t lose it. Me personally, I don’t even keep my car key and house keys on the same key ring just in case I lose it. “Ok, we get it”- I hear you say. Good – so use more than one password, but the next piece of advice is to make them interesting. The Get Safe Online research shows that 13% of you will use the name of a family member or partner as a password (girls – you’re twice more likely to do this than the guys). This is not a very sensible idea – hands up if you have your relationship status and partner’s name listed on Facebook! Or if the ‘how we know each other’ section says ‘so-and-so is my sister’? To someone who really wanted to crack your passwords, these details wouldn’t be very difficult to find. Have a look at this for more information on creating a strong password.

One final word for you Geordies out there – 50% of you have used a social networking site to search for an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend – this is by far the highest in the whole country! Whilst we’ve all done a bit of Facebook stalking, I’m pretty sure that this is probably not the greatest of ideas!

Finally, just a mention that the 2008 Edelman grad scheme is now open for applications!

Be Safe!