#NAW2014 - A day in the life of social media apprentice, Jess Higgins

This time last month I was sat in a Business Studies class, answering questions about Strategic Management and pondering how I could strategically leave college. It’s not because I didn’t enjoy college – it’s just I’m a practical learner. I work ten times better when I’m applying my skills and wanted to gain workplace experience.

I therefore jumped at the chance to attend the gruelling, but fun, boot camp at the Juice Academy to bag myself a social media apprenticeship. I successfully came away with a position in the Manchester office of Weber Shandwick, the UK's leading multi-specialist PR agency.

Here I start the day by browsing social media news sites so I can present breaking industry news to the office, and a hot beverage because who can function in the morning without one?

The team then meets for conference, where we scan national and regional media for anything of interest for our clients. It was a little daunting at first, but it’s a fantastic way to improve my public speaking and learn about PR.

Throughout the day I assist with a number of clients, analysing social media engagement and researching brands. I also do some theoretical work at the Juice Academy, which mirrors what I’m learning at Weber Shandwick.

I’m currently working on the social media marketing for an upcoming event, ‘Maximising Millennials’. This includes interacting with influencers and re-tweeting relevant Twitter posts, as well as directing questions at our followers and ensuring there’s a steady flow of people following the account.

I love interacting with people and really enjoy the level of responsibility I’ve been given considering that I’ve been here just short of three weeks! I’ve also been helping out with the general planning of the event which includes helping with the invite list, viewing the location and throwing a few ideas around. I’m also taking part in the panel discussion in the event itself, which is daunting but I’m so excited!

I’m really enjoying myself and couldn’t be happier that I’ve gone down the apprenticeship route. By 2020 more than half of the global workforce will be Millennials, and I’ll be one of them enjoying a fruitful career in one of the most exciting and quickly evolving industries around.