Laura Kingsbury
Communications and Engagement Apprentice, Communications and Engagement, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
How did you get started in PR?
I got started after finishing my university degree in Media and Communications, I had a particular interest in communications and PR. This led me to apply for jobs in the field. I came across a role for a ‘Communications and Engagement Apprentice’ at Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. I read through the job description, and everything aligned with my interests and skills that I had picked up over the course of my university degree, I applied straight away.
I hadn’t considered doing an apprenticeship before, but I am so glad that it is a route that I went down. Being able to gain both practical and theoretical experience at the same time is something that has helped me to boost my confidence in my role. This is because I have been able to apply the knowledge that I have learnt in college to real-life scenarios. Each element helps to support one another, the theoretical knowledge helps to support me in my work and my practical knowledge helps me in my college course. Having experience in both elements is something that I am very grateful for, especially so early on in my career.
What is a typical day like?
Every day is varied at Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.
To give you an idea of some of the things that I do in my role, a week can include: structuring our internal weekly e-newsletter, writing web stories, helping to send out safety messages, creating social media content, social media monitoring, liaising with the press, helping with enquiries, working on behaviour change campaigns, helping with events and supporting other members of my team.
What’s your favourite thing about your job?
I love knowing that what I do is helping people. This could be creating social media posts or helping to support campaigns that spread our prevention messages to our communities.
Knowing that someone who has seen the communications that I have created has been informed to make a safer decision, that might potentially save their life is so rewarding to me. I am so grateful that the work that I do every day is going towards helping people.
What essential skills do you need to do your job?
Essential skills for the job, in my opinion, are having good communication skills both written and verbal.
Having a good knowledge of social media platforms and knowing how to use them to target your audiences is key.
Good customer service skills are essential, and I also think being able to listen well is a skill that will take you far.
Whether that is listening to tasks or feedback from clients or your team, it really helps you to take on board learning and helps you to continuously improve throughout the time in your role.
What are your plans for the future?
After my apprenticeship is over, I am hoping to go travelling around Southeast Asia for a couple of months. When I am back, I’d love to go back into communications.
I like social media, so I’d enjoy continuing to create social content. I also would really like to learn a little bit more about search engine optimisation (SEO) and sharpen up my technical skills.
I am so lucky that I have found a career that I enjoy so early on in my working life, and I am looking forward to what my future holds in marketing and communications.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in PR?
I would say, just keep learning about the industry and read up on anything that you are aren’t sure on or are interested in doing within the subject.
Don’t be disheartened if you feel as if everyone in the industry knows everything and you feel like you don’t. One day they were just starting out just like you and you will have plenty of time to learn and build your skills throughout your role.
Learn from your mistakes and don’t let them discourage you. Take them as a lesson, learn from them and try to stay resilient as best as you can. It will feel hard and probably quite uncomfortable to start with, but I promise you will get there.