School’s Out for Alice

If you’ve been following our Twitter and Instagram accounts this week, you’ll know that we’ve had the extra helping hand of 17-year-old Alice Ainsworth. We asked her to write a blog about her work experience week here at Harris – take it away, Alice!

 

I began the week by practically being unable to press the buzzer on the door from shaking and I have now finished it with an improved confidence all because of my rewarding and enjoyable week at Harris.

Throughout the week I made no tea for anyone, nor did I do any filing or photocopying. My perceptions of work experience have officially been changed forever as instead, I was given responsibilities from running social media accounts to writing case studies.

From day one I knew I was going to like it at Harris; the people, the environment and the way I was treated made me feel welcome from the offset and I knew I was going to enjoy the week if it carried on like this (which it did!). Despite having non-existent expectations for what my week was going to entail it was not what I imagined at all, in the best way possible.

Day two, and I was treated as a complete equal and already felt as though I was part of the team. From gaining insight into what the business does, looking into their clients and understanding what PR actually is, I was learning in an environment completely different to a boring classroom! It was my ideal setting.

By day three I was gaining more responsibility and was partaking in more challenging tasks, involving a range of different skills that I believe have helped me understand exactly what the company does and what people’s roles include.

On Thursday I explored the creative side of Harris, learning skills completely new to me such as data analytics, which is much more interesting than it sounds (especially if you’re nosy!), and website campaigning. Both tasks made me feel like I was doing something worthwhile, not just doing the jobs no one wants to do.

The final day I had changed so much from being scared to press the buzzer to feeling down that I wouldn’t be pressing it again. Every task I had done throughout my time at Harris was not just interesting but valuable to me as I gained an understanding of everything surrounding PR and marketing from working with different members of the team every day.

The week as a whole exceeded anything I had imagined. I started off the week nervous and unsure of what it would entail, presuming I would be doing admin all week and having no kind of fulfilment. I ended it more confident and insightful, from having completed relevant and interesting tasks, helping me to decipher further what I wanted to do the future. It’s made me excited for the world of work, something I never thought I’d say, and I can’t wait to swap my classroom desk for a desk in an agency just like Harris.

I would like to thank Harris for letting me complete my work experience with them in the first place and making my week as enjoyable as it possibly could have been.