Starting a career is tough. You might not know what you want to do,  what a job involves, or even how to present yourself in an interview. We get it – the jump into professional life is one of the biggest you’ll ever take.

In fact, nearly half of all UK students are worried their lack of self-confidence may impact their future employment prospects – with 26% fearing their degree hasn’t adequately prepared them for working life.

That’s why Battenhall is launching a new initiative to offer free advice sessions for young people wanting to start a career in PR and social media.

Career advice sessions

Many of us at Battenhall were lucky to receive support from friends, family and connections in the early stages of our careers. Now we’re looking to ‘pay it forward’ for Random Acts of Kindness Day.

We understand that many young graduates and professionals don’t always have access to people in the communications industry. Having an informal chat about career options with someone who’s been there could make all the difference. It may provide that extra bit of motivation to take the leap and pursue a career in PR and social.

This is exactly what we’re aiming to achieve with our career advice sessions.

The 20 sessions will run during the first two weeks of March, and participants will be matched with a senior Battenhall team member - from senior account manager to senior associate director - for an hour-long informal chat.

How the sessions will work

When booking, all participants will be able to select from three options - Social, Social + PR, or PR - to match them to the team member who’ll be best placed to offer them tailored career advice. The sessions are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

These sessions won’t be job interviews, but we’ll be providing participants with guidance on what the industry and roles are like, potential career paths, required skills, interview preparation techniques, the best places to look for jobs, and much more.

Battenhall's 20% time

All our volunteers taking part in these sessions are doing so thanks to Battenhall’s 20% time. This is an initiative we’ve had since day one, and it gives all employees the opportunity to spend a fifth of their week on passion projects, research and development, and work with a range of charities and not-for-profit organisations.  

Want to get involved? Sign up for our career advice sessions.

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