Case studies: PR account executive, B2B PR: Tom

The highlight of Tom's job is opening up a newspaper and seeing a story in it that he has had a hand in creating, whether it was suggesting an angle to a journalist or setting up the interview

PR interested me because I also enjoy the ideas of communicating information effectively. My degree at Cardiff was language and communication, and by my third year I decided that PR was probably the aspect of communicating well that interested me the most.

I joined the Headland Consultancy after having taken a sabbatical year after university to be PR and campaigns officer for my student union and then having joined a communications consultancy. I actually used a specialist PR recruitment agency to get me an interview with the Headland, where I was made an assistant account executive. This role is designed to provide the experience needed to become an account executive.

For me, the key part of getting the job was the fact I had experience. There are trainee schemes at loads of agencies, but the competition to get on these is really fierce. I think realistically if you're going to enter this highly competitive profession, you're going to need to show your interest in it beforehand. Even small things like promoting the sports team I played on at uni really helped when I started putting my CV together. I had also put together a portfolio of work and that impressed my interviewers.

I'd recommend that anyone wanting to go into PR thinks really hard about what sector interests them - is it financial PR, consumer, health? There are so many options. And think about what sort of experience you want to get in your first job. I've joined a small agency, which is great for hands-on time with senior staff and exposes you quickly to a range of responsibilities.

On a day-to-day basis, my job involves making sure I've read all the papers and checking the newswires. This isn't just to spot stories about our clients, but to see opportunities to comment on other stories or to think about openings for our clients taking the stories further. I also compile status and coverage reports, write press releases and draft documents for clients. There are lots of opportunities for trainees here to meet clients and go to journalist meetings, whether on your own or with a more senior member of the team.

The work I deal with is all City based, and it is a wonderfully fast-paced environment to be in. You need to be able to react quickly and respond well at all times. I work with fantastic people who are really highly motivated to achieve results, and my days are always varied. I can't deny that the hours can be long at times, but what I'm really enjoying is seeing how quickly I'm progressing. I am hoping over the next few years to grow into an advisory role, giving advice to clients and new members of staff, and taking on more responsibility.