The University of Sheffield is an amazing name in the industry - I got my first interview in three days

Rebecca Blanchard
Rebecca Blanchard-Zintout
Rebecca works in PR for a big restaurant chain in the UK
MA International Public and Political Communication
Rebecca Blanchard-Zintout graduated with a masters degree in International Public and Political Communication in 2019. She spoke to us about what she's doing now...

I am currently working in a PR agency - and with everything happening at the moment, no day looks the same ! If I had to describe a typical day I would say, I always start the day reading the news, both for my clients and for my own personal knowledge. I work on the press office of a big restaurant chain in the UK so I monitor for any journalist enquiries and draft statements accordingly if needed. I also work on strategy and scenario planning for campaigns and crisis management. More recently, I’ve started working with influencers for some campaigns which is very exciting !

This is my third role since graduating. When I finished University in 2019, I went straight into a work placement with CNN’s international bureau in Paris. In early 2020, I moved back to London and started working for a PR agency specialised in property but I moved to a bigger agency in 2021 to experience several different industries. I’m hoping to stay here for several years now!
 
The IPPC course will give you amazing knowledge on the way the media work - you will get into the industry understanding how the relationship between the media/the public and the communicants work. The course also gave me basic skills when it comes to strategising a campaign ! On top of it, The University of Sheffield is an amazing name in the industry and I got my first interview in 3 days.
 
Rebecca Blanchard
A highlight from my time at the University of Sheffield was in making such amazing friends! University can be a daunting experience, even more in my case because English is not my first language. But I made amazing friends who I still see today. We are all in different branches of comms/international relations so that means these relationships are also professional contacts.
 
My top tip to anyone studying IPPC would be: don’t be scared to raise your hands and ask questions. Getting a master’s degree is once in a lifetime’s experience and it is the best time to soak in all the knowledge and information you can before getting into your first job!
 
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