My son, Oliver, wants to be a pilot. Unfortunately airlines aren't too keen to let untrained enthusiasts 'have a go' so instead he spent a work at my PR agency.

I knew it couldn't compete with the excitement of the cockpit, but hoped he would get some enjoyment out of it.

He carried out a variety of tasks and seemed to get a lot of satisfaction from researching different topics.

My biggest worry was that he'd get bored typing away on a computer instead of being at the controls of a flight simulator, behind the steering wheel of a go-kart or playing football.

Here's what Oliver thought:

I spent my work experience week with my Dad at Mike Crutchley Media, where I was writing, researching and editing articles that were later published and used for various applications. 

I found many of the topics I researched and wrote about to be very interesting and liked the variation of subjects I worked on. One minute I was working on local events then the next, it was a completely different subject. Many of the topics were really fascinating and I thoroughly enjoyed writing about them, too.

Working in PR

The pieces I wrote had to be thoroughly researched. Everything had to be factual and could not be an estimate or an opinion.

There was one instance when at first I couldn’t find the exact information I needed for an article. One source had conflicting information from others which I couldn’t wrap my head around. 

But the more I looked into it, I was able to find the data I needed and the article was ready in time. 

Aside from being precise with information, there are other criteria all articles must meet, such as word counts, clear structures, etc. 

While I was able to meet all of these requirements for the articles I wrote, it can certainly be challenging. If you’re writing a lengthy article, it makes it all the more fun if you’re interested in a particular subject.

Use of AI in the workplace

One of the sources I was encouraged to use was AI, as it would help find key information quickly. 

On one occasion, however, the AI application I was using gave me a timeline of events listing exact dates. But the evidence it provided to ensure that it was correct didn’t show any correlation with the dates that it provided me with in the first place. 

By using different sources, we found that the original AI information was wrong and the other sources were correct. 

Whilst AI may help you finish a task quicker or help complete your work more easily (if you’re a student it will do your homework for you!) we must remember that AI isn’t always correct. It is still learning, like us, and while it may be effective in certain situations, I wouldn’t solely rely on it and learnt to use other sources to check everything.

PR in the classroom

Having chosen English Language at A-level, we look at and cover the basics of PR, which some may find boring and uninteresting. 

Having now worked at a PR company, I can definitely confirm it is not.

Maybe the difference from analysing stories to actually writing your own makes it more intriguing. I enjoy lots about PR and the qualities and skills that follow you forever. 

Learning and understanding how to write for and to interest specific audiences via social media followed with the other skills I’ve learnt. It has been very interesting and can prove to be very useful, not only in PR, but in other careers and settings too — something which I am very grateful and proud to have learnt.

Whilst this isn’t necessarily the career path I was looking to enter, I certainly recommend it to anyone who is interested in this area, including writing and research.

The skills you learn at a company like this are extremely useful and can be applied to whatever career path a person chooses to go down. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my Dad and can only thank him for this amazing opportunity.

It has been an amazing experience to work at a PR company and I’ve loved every second of it.