March 13th, 2008
Posted by Amna
So, we’re all settled in our departments and have been for just over a month.
I’m in Public Affairs and yesterday’s Budget provided me with a taste of the manic nature of politics. Edelman’s analysis, available here, was produced and sent out yesterday afternoon in double quick time.
Now, there were no fireworks - Alastair Darling focused on ’stability, stability, stability’ and weathering the current economic storms so we’re prepared for the future. This might seem like a sensible plan but it earns him no sympathy from the press. This is well evidenced in today’s national newspapers who continue to refer to him as the Puppet Chancellor. Today’s newspapers are a key starting point for anyone looking to get an idea of the real impact of the Budget - the devil is always in the detail, and the finer points, such as benefits and tax, are explored in commentaries, interviews, etc.
So, how will this Budget affect young people? Perhaps a more pertinent question is ‘does this Budget affect young people particularly’? With many recent social problems, eg binge drinking, healthy eating and rising house prices, being put on the shoulders of youth, it would be surprising if measures were not laid out in the Budget. But we already know that it was all about stability rather than making great inroads in these problem areas.
A few key points:
- Alcohol prices are up. Beer by a few pence, wine by 14p and bottled spirits up by 55p.
- Fuel will go up by 2p a litre in October, and another 0.5p in 2010.
- For those interested in getting on the property ladder, the Government has opened up affordable housing schemes so key workers, such as nurses and teachers, and first time buyers will be able to borrow money from shared equity schemes when they can afford to buy 50% of their home. And pledged to spend on building more affordable housing.
- There will be no stamp duty for those in shared ownership schemes until you own 80% of the property.
- Capital Gains Tax will be 18% which hits businesses hard but there are concessions for entrepreneurs. This links in with the Government’s pledge to increase spending on the academies schemes which targets over 16s who have left school, and encourages them in business. This is a triumph for Peter Jones, of Dragon’s Den fame, who has supported these schemes for instilling an American style ‘I can’ attitude’ instead of the British ‘Can I?’.
And finally, something for our grandparents - Winter Fuel Allowance for the over 80s has been increased.
No fireworks but stability will be difficult enough to achieve - inflation is up and Darling has promised to bring it back by next year. Increased costs affect everyone and it will be interesting to see whether this promise can be delivered amongst a turbulent political, and economic, backdrop.
January 24th, 2008
Posted by Amna
So, we’re almost at the end of our rotations and I can barely believe it how quickly time has flown. It feels like only yesterday that we were sat in reception, waiting to greet HR and trying to make a good impression on everyone who walked past. Five months later, we’re no longer the newest kids on the block and people even call us by our names, instead of referring to us as ‘the grads’! I’ve got another week in JCPR, the consumer division, before I’m permanent in my chosen department. I’m looking forward to being settled and using the experience of the past few months to its full advantage. It has all come round so quickly!
The scheme has been great for getting to know the inner machinations of the different departments, different types of PR and Edelman, as a global company. Personally, its been a steep learning curve. I had little, to no, PR experience when I applied and was thrilled to be offered a place on the scheme despite this. I’ve found that the best way to learn is by being ‘on the job’, rather than reading or hearing about other people’s experiences. People always ask what PR actually entails and its nice to finally give a coherent answer, and explain a little about the different types, corresponding to department. It allows me to have a broad view of the possibilities available within PR, how people work and how it is all interlinked. My interest in PR has always been specialist but I have appreciated the opportunity to witness so much PR activity, from compiling the press list to hearing about pithy new business pitches. It is too often forgotten that this scheme helps you learn about business, and its world, as well as the specific industry. This was particularly useful for me because my previous jobs were overwhelmingly based, or dealt with, the third sector.
A fellow grad pointed out that we would soon be welcoming the new grads. Probably sooner than we think, judging by the rapid onslaught of January. I await the title of ‘old grad’ with bated breath.
December 4th, 2007
Posted by Jessie
Here are five useful pieces of advice for any of you filling in application forms right now. This advice is particularly aimed at those of you filling in the Edelman Graduate Application form (obviously!), but certain tips are universal.
No spelling errors! Spelling mistakes provide such an easy excuse for someone reading your application to dismiss it without having given it a fair trial. They can argue it demonstrates a sloppy attitude, lack of care, attention and all sorts of negative connotations about you as a person, which really aren’t fair or true. It’s very easy to make the odd spelling error, so the best advice is double, triple, and if necessary, quadruple check your application. It’s really good to get a friend or parent to check it too - they’ll often spot what you might not have on your third read through.
Be clear and concise: Keep your language simple and (unlike me here) reasonably formal, whilst not sounding pompous. A well-written, cogent application will be much easier to read than a long, convoluted one, especially for someone who can be reading hundreds of applications in an evening. Also, make sure you lay out your application neatly and clearly. Obviously it’s a case of filling in the boxes, but sometimes you might make things clearer by using bullet points, regular spacing, (brackets): colons… Do make sure you use the right grammatical constructs in the right place though. Not doing so can again make you a rather easy target for rejection, which is really not what you want after spending hours on an application.
Answer the question: Again, this is a universal rule. However, the Edelman Graduate Application does have some quite specific questions, like asking you to list relevant work experience. This does not mean list every job you’ve ever had. This will not look impressive if not all those jobs were PR or media-related. If you have no PR or media-related work experience - you probably should have a little if you’re applying at all - but if not, explain that in your answer. Then, write about the most relevant, or best work experience that you do have, such as if it was for an interesting company, if you had lots of responsibility, if there was some media relations work and so on.
Think about the angle: I was given this advice by someone who had run their own successful PR company for 20 years plus. She said that you often sound more convincing about your interest in PR if you demonstrate a particular leaning towards a specific area, be it Financial, Public Affairs, Technology… The application allows you to direct your answers to show this certain interest, why you have it, any work experience you have relating to it. If you really don’t have a clue about which Edelman department interests you the most, that’s fine, but think of other ways in which you can transmit your enthusiasm for PR and Edelman.
Finally, do try to have some fun with your application. This probably sounds unlikely, but if you seem enthused, interested and possibly even excited about what you’re writing in your application, it’s far more likely to come across to whoever’s reading it. They’ll be convinced of your interest and the outcome is likely to be favourable. Also, Edelman’s Graduate Application is a reasonable length with questions which allow you to show off, so go for it!
Good luck with it all.
November 15th, 2007
Posted by Rachel
For the last few weeks I’ve been working in the Corporate team and boy have they kept me busy! One of the major things that has occupied my time has been Get Safe Online . Get Safe Online is a not for profit, government backed internet safety campaign, and this week is Get Safe Online Awareness Week! In fact, this particular project has been something that all the grads who have passed through Corporate have worked on, but luckily for me I’m here right in the thick of it! So I thought in honour of Get Safe Online Week I would share a few hints, tips and facts about online security!
The internet - What would we do without it?! We use it all day at work and then as soon as we get home the first thing we do is turn the computer on so that we can check Facebook. Also thrown into the mix is internet banking, online shopping, Ebay browsing (and the inevitable buying when you see that thing that you really don’t need for such a good price) etc etc. What I’m trying to get at is that we use the internet in so many ways, and often have so many of our personal details on the internet, it’s important to that we remember that there are people out there who could take advantage of this. The results of the study published by Get Safe Online this week show that one third of all internet users are registered to a social networking site. This is not hard to imagine – I bet not many people reading this know people who aren’t members of one of these sites – Facebook and MySpace undoubtedly the most popular in the UK. Now please don’t get me wrong, I am not about to tell you to immediately block all of these sites because you’re putting yourself at risk blah blah blah. We’ve all heard it before! I used to hear it from my Dad – before he joined Facebook 
What I am going to say is that you really shouldn’t put information on Facebook (or any of these sites) that you wouldn’t tell the person standing next you at the bus stop. Did you know 34% of 18 – 24 year olds have posted confidential or personal information on their online profile? Why should the whole virtual world know your address, phone number or e-mail address?? Would you ever shout them out to the entire crowded tube carriage in the morning rush-hour? I think a big fat NO is probably the answer! And why is the answer no? Because you don’t know them from Adam – they’re complete strangers!
Facebook does have the necessary settings to ensure that your details are safe - my advice to you is to use them! That especially goes out to people in the Midlands and the North West where about one in five of you do not set your privacy settings at all! I don’t want to scare you but all a hacker would need to steal your identity is your name, date of birth and where you live – put your hand up if these details are readily available on your profile page. I would sheepishly have to admit that up until last week I had this information available on my page – although I am careful that only my friends can see my profile, and I only accept people as friends if I actually know them! Now it’s not all bad – nearly 90% of 18 – 25 year olds DO use their privacy settings, so give yourself a pat on the back if you’re one of them! Have a look here for more information from the good people at Get Safe Online.
Another thing that came out of the Get Safe Online research was that almost one in four use the same password for all websites. Let’s think about this logically for a second – that’s like having one key for all your doors – imagine if you lost it and someone made a copy. Talk about keeping all your eggs in one basket - automatically your house, car and possibly work are all at risk. Now imagine that the same key also unlocked all of your bank information, credit card details and personal e-mails!! No matter how carefully you looked after that key there is no way that you could 100% guarantee that you wouldn’t lose it. Me personally, I don’t even keep my car key and house keys on the same key ring just in case I lose it. “Ok, we get it”- I hear you say. Good – so use more than one password, but the next piece of advice is to make them interesting. The Get Safe Online research shows that 13% of you will use the name of a family member or partner as a password (girls – you’re twice more likely to do this than the guys). This is not a very sensible idea – hands up if you have your relationship status and partner’s name listed on Facebook! Or if the ‘how we know each other’ section says ‘so-and-so is my sister’? To someone who really wanted to crack your passwords, these details wouldn’t be very difficult to find. Have a look at this for more information on creating a strong password.
One final word for you Geordies out there – 50% of you have used a social networking site to search for an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend – this is by far the highest in the whole country! Whilst we’ve all done a bit of Facebook stalking, I’m pretty sure that this is probably not the greatest of ideas!
Finally, just a mention that the 2008 Edelman grad scheme is now open for applications!
Be Safe! 
October 22nd, 2007
Posted by James
Well, with a full six weeks at Edelman behind us, I think I can safely speak for all the grads when I say we have all settled in nicely. So much so in fact, that I have started to find myself dropping in some hastily learnt PR-speak when chatting to my friends, only to be confronted by the same bewildered look I am sure I was sporting when we were first being told about PR2.0 on our first day back in September.
But once you do begin to get your head around ‘new social media’ and the ‘conversation space’, you quickly start to notice that, far from being airy terms with little real-world grounding, these ideas actually have genuine momentum.
Take a prime example from the last few weeks.
Radiohead, one of the UK’s major rock acts, released their seventh album In Rainbows as a legal download via their own website. But this was a download with a twist. We, the consumers, were given the opportunity to decide our own price for the download. The band did not even offer a recommended or a minimum price, they left the valuation of the album entirely down to the individual. If you wanted to pay 0.00p you could. Or if you wanted to prove to yourself what a committed fan you are, you could have chosen a deliberately inflated price tag running into the thousands, or maybe even the millions (though this may have led to question marks over your sanity, as was the case with one Tory donor last week).
Personally, I chose to pay £6.45, which is about what I expect to pay for an album these days, and I suspect that this middle ground, guilt-free approach will have found favour with many other fans as well. But the point is, we had the power to choose. In many ways, you could say In Rainbows represented the dawn of ‘Consumerism 2.0’, an age where consumers directly value the content of what they purchase. Consumers have always held the balance of power in the marketplace, but now they yield that power with greater individual freedom than ever before.
Of course, this can over-stated. I do not expect to walk into a Soho bar any time soon and be greeted with the question “So, how much do you want to pay for this pint?” Radiohead were in a unique position to offer their fans the choice - they had just ended a six-album record deal with EMI, which had propelled them from a local Oxford pub band to a globally acclaimed rock act, and were financially secure enough to be able to adopt such a risky strategy. Few other bands will ever find themselves in that position.
Nevertheless, there are some signs that In Rainbows does offer a glimpse of the future. For a start, the media coverage that surrounded the band’s decision made for phenomenal PR. Virtually every national newspaper in the UK covered the story, music websites were inundated with fans reaction, and even GMTV reserved a brief morning slot to plug the album. Make no mistake, consumer choice is a buzz topic for the media, and Radiohead tapped into that brilliantly.
Furthermore, the move proved that anyone or any company that has the courage to offer something genuinely new and innovative will be far better placed to take a seat at the conversation table, that sacred place where every business dreams to dine. Why? Because, contrary to what advertising would have you believe, you cannot force the man or woman on the street to talk or care about your brand. You have to give them a reason to do so. Only then will you become part of the conversation, and only then can you begin to harness the benefits of consumer trust.
Radiohead certainly earned my trust. I have been enjoying In Rainbows since the day of its release. Damn fine album, by the way.
October 1st, 2007
Posted by Jessie
Now that Rachel’s set us off, I thought I’d offer my two penny’s worth on the first four weeks of our Edelman graduate scheme. What’s particularly struck me is just how much I have to learn, especially about things like the PR 2.0 movement. I definitely consider this steep learning curve that I’m embarking upon a good thing. After all, it would be depressing to start off in an industry and know it all already – there would be no challenge or excitement in that.
Fortunately, having chatted with my fellow Edelman grads and met some more just embarking upon their PR career, I know that I’m not the only one, on occasion thinking: I don’t understand what everyone’s talking about!
Acronyms… OK, technical-ish terms, more or less, but PR 2.0 and new social media forms – the new PR buzz movement / latest tool… all a little vague for me. However, I am getting to grips with it thanks to blogging presentations making up an important part of our introductory training. I’m even a fully signed up member of netvibes.com and here I am… blogging!
“So what does it all mean?” is no doubt what most students / graduates, considering applying to the graduate scheme with Edelman (and by the way, you definitely should!), and reading this will wonder. From what I have gathered to date, PR 2.0 is about the use of new social media forms (blogs, social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube etc) for PR purposes. It is the art of communicating a message by engaging in conversation with the consumer, allowing them to respond, rather than bombarding them with aggressive advertising, or journalists with press releases.
To sum up after my first four weeks, bar a little expected confusion, I’ve had a great time as a graduate trainee at Edelman. Everyone I’ve met and worked with has been as friendly and helpful as I could have wished. Also, it’s good to know that there’s lots to learn and lots of exciting developments in the PR world. It would be dull to be entering an industry where everything was common place and static. In general, I’m so grateful that my graduate training is being conducted in a welcoming office without horrendous scary tests and exams. Yes, it’s info overload, but it’s info that I really want to get into my head and I like the way in which I’m able to do so.
September 25th, 2007
Posted by Rachel
One of our “responsibilities” as Edelman grads is to write a regular Edelman grad blog. I suppose this is to give some sort of insight to any potential future Edelman grads out there, so I’ve bitten the bullet and decided to kick off this whole Edelman grad blogging adventure! I warn you in advance, I’ve never done this before so I apologise if this turns into some kind of waffly mess. Two degrees later I seem to be pretty good at waffling!
Let me start by introducing myself, I’m Rachel and I am one of 5 graduate newbies. Please don’t be put off by those pictures… none of us are really that scary looking. It’s a dodgy camera honestly (I hope). We’ve been at Edelman for just over 3 weeks now and I’m happy to report we’re all still smiles.
It seems to make sense that the first blog should start at the beginning, so that is where I will start! If you’re looking at this page to begin with you may be thinking of applying for the Edelman grad scheme. I remember “um-ing” and “ah-ing” over the prospect of another application form and then deciding that one more couldn’t hurt (besides it was definitely more exciting than whatever uni work I was doing at the time). Several weeks after submitting the form I received a call (whilst I was in my university library… yes, I was the annoying one pretending to whisper but actually just talking at a normal volume in a whispering voice) asking me to take part in a telephone interview. Now I don’t know how many of you out there have had telephone interviews in the past but they’re definitely the best kind of interview. At no other time will you ever be able to do an interview in the place of your choice, wearing whatever you want, with all your notes surrounding you… Imagine being able to go to a job interview in your pyjamas, with no make-up on, on your bedroom floor (obviously any guys reading this may not fully appreciate the “no make-up” part, but you get the gist). Several days after the wonderful experience that was the telephone interview, a big envelope arrived in the post inviting me to an assessment day. Now, I’m sure those of you who have never been to one of these is imagining something horrific…I know I was, but actually the Edelman assessment day was anything but horrific. It was (I won’t lie) slightly draining and a little stressful but it was also, in a funny kind of way, quite fun, especially getting to meet a lot of people who share similar interests to you. A couple of weeks later my job search was officially over! One of the best things about the timing of all this was that by April I had a job secured for September… trust me, it really takes the pressure off! Finally no more nagging from my parents about when I was going to get a job and earn some money! As the end of the summer neared the nerves steadily began to set it… when did I become old enough to start a real job? I guess the wise wise people in HR realised that we would be feeling nervous because the Friday before we started they organised a grad lunch where we all met each other and last years grads. This definitely had a calming effect on me! At least now when I walked in on Monday morning there were a few faces that I instantly recognised as friendly. Suddenly the prospect of starting work didn’t seem quite as scary!
My first 4-week rotation is in Healthcare (and it will unfortunately be coming to an end at the end of this week). To be honest, I really didn’t know what to expect! My scientific knowledge reaches as high as GCSE Double Science… I enjoyed it then but my strengths always lay in the Arts (I’m sure there are things to be said here about the English school system but I’m not in the mood for that kind of rant luckily for you). I’m pleased to report that my somewhat lacking scientific knowledge has made absolutely no difference! As everyone in Healthcare seems to say… people in this department have backgrounds in all different sorts of things! I suppose the grad experience is pretty similar across the departments… media monitoring, researching, and generally learning how the department works. Thrown into the mix is a very detailed and really useful training schedule, which just helps you understand Edelman, and PR in general, a little bit better…. I’m sure one of the other grads will go into this a bit more in another post. Overall the first few weeks have been pretty good, so no complaints here!
I guess that’s me done for now! Hopefully it hasn’t been too long and rambly (is that even a word?)… tune in next week for another exciting instalment exploring the lives and loves of an Edelman grad!
April 5th, 2007
Posted by Charmaine
Not sure where I read about this (probably some career advice website…) but this is a very useful hint for graduates who recently attended a graduate assessment day or interview.
If you feel that there is something insightful or newsworthy you would like to add to your presentation, written assessment or interview, it’s never too late to say so by sending an email to the company and outline your after thoughts. This shows that you have really thought about it even after the assessment.
That said, spamming HR or relevant contacts is not advised.
For those who have recently attended a grad assessment days, do share your comments here.
Otherwise, enjoy the Easter break! Happy Easter, everyone!
March 28th, 2007
Posted by Charmaine
Ok, so it has been two weeks since St Patrick’s Day but this doesn’t mean Waxy O’Connor is not one of the most interesting pubs to go visit, especially if you fancy a bit of Irish twist to your evening (or getting very lost after a few too many drinks in the maze and then find yourself standing in front of a giant tree in the middle of the pub…)
Since joining the Technology team, some very exciting things have happened. I went to Barcelona to attend the 3GSM World Congress exhibition and have recently helped organise a St Patrick’s Day drinks event for another client.
Guinness (and others) were flowing all night at Waxy O’Connor starting at around half past six when journalists begin to arrive. We had the pleasure of meeting the lovely ladies from ShinyShiny.tv, MTV interactive and Penthouse magazine, and even our very own Stephen Davies.
You’re probably now guessing on the motive behind the drinks event, as I was too when quizzed by several journalists. To be very honest, there is no sneaky motive. The whole point was not to showcase the latest gadgets and shout about how wonderful our client is, but to provide an informal networking opportunity and help our client build relationships with the media. And that is an important part of PR.
Knowing the media is a very important aspect in our jobs. In this season of PR graduate jobs hunting, applying and going to interviews, do make the effort to get to know some key media for the sectors you’re interest in. Oh, and you may surprise yourself at how much more media savvy you become if you start scanning through a different national newspaper every day.
Last but not least - start drinking Guinness if you don’t already!
March 14th, 2007
Posted by Tom
I can remember the days when I knew less about blogging than I did about 18th century France. A telling insight into my modern world then, when it turns out that I now write for two blogs…fortunately I still know a little about Louis XVIth and the often embellished-upon tale of the fall of the bastille!
For anyone who is interested, I am now writing for the political animals over at Despatchblog.com. These blogs will, unsurprisingly, have a more sociopolitical bent with my first foray into the arena being a piece on the current situation in Mugabe-manned Zimbabwe.
Swing by and have a read!
Tom
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