Marketing, PR & Communications
Whatever your degree subject, a career in marketing or PR is a popular option with Royal Holloway graduates. Our next week of events focusing on this popular sector will take place from the 17-21 February 2025. In the meantime, you can still access useful resources here, as well as two recordings from last year's events.
We held two online alumni panels, which you can watch back under "Webinars to Watch" below:
- Careers in Digital Marketing
- What is PR?
Samsung also ran an in-person session on Careers in Marketing and the opportunities available. Victoria Nevitt, Head of Product Management & Commercial Operations - MX B2B at Samsung talked about the skills that they look for and their educational programmes. You can read the slide presentation here.
Alumna Abigail Lightfoot's 3 top tips for students looking to work in digital marketing and PR are:
- Know your industry as well as you can, keep up with industry news, trends and changes so that you can prove your knowledge to your clients, and come up with the most relevant and newsworthy topics, and look for spaces for them to contribute in.
- Build relationships with journalists - know their niches and interests, so you can tailor pitches to them and improve your likelihood of securing coverage. Journalists are far more likely to respond to personalised, relevant pitches than a one-size-fits-all approach.
- Listen and learn as you go. PR is all about communication, being able to speak and write effectively but also listening to others and collaborating on ideas. Don't be afraid to ask or embarrassed of being unsure, PR is a rapidly changing industry and everyone is unsure at some time or another!
Abigail also runs a company called, LittleBlackBook which is a great, free-to-view resource for any students striving for a career in marketing, advertising and the creative industries.
Beginner's Guides
Useful Resources
Direct Marketing Association: You can find lots of useful information on their website and why not take their quiz: What Type of Marketer are You?
Distinctly Agency:
Which role is right for you?
Prospects is also a useful website, where you can explore the different roles in a sector. From Digital Copywriter to Social Media Manager and Marketing Executive. You can also check out the Marketing Jobs they have listed.
Moodle sector guides
You can find lots more useful resources on the careers pages of Moodle, including the Sector Guide on Marketing Careers.
Watch back recorded sessions
One of the reasons a digital marketing career is so exciting is that because the field is constantly evolving as different platforms are introduced. A digital marketing manager is always scoping out trends and seeing how they impact discoverability. The panel was led by Dr Lucy Gill-Simmen, Vice-Dean for Education & Student Experience, School of Business & Management.
Listen to alumni working in this field as they share their experiences and top tips:
- Ola Kowalska (MS Digital Marketing 2022) Digital Marketing Assistant - Deviate Digital - Deviate Digital
- Miki Ponjevic (BSc Music 2017 & MSc Digital Marketing 2021) Freelance Growth & Marketing Consultant
- Kaja Matusik (MS Digital Marketing 2021 & BA History of Art and Visual Culture and Comparative Literature & Culture 2020) Digital Marketing Manager - Fashion Retail Academy
- Stef Stefanova (2022 Business Management, Marketing and Related Support Services) Digital Marketing Assistant - NHBC - NHBC is the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK
Watch the recording
Hear from alumni working in PR as they share their experiences and top tips on working within PR.
The panel was led by alumna Ammarrah H (BA French & History @ RHUL) & (PGDip Law @ University of Law) Account Director at Byfield, DEI & motivational speaker | Women's Mindset Coach| Sports Co-Lead + Social Media at South Asian Heritage Month | Ex Fitch Ratings
Speakers:
- Cameron Leitch (2020 BA History, Politics & International Relations @ RHUL) & (2021 MA Public Policy Analysis, UEA) Policy and Public Affairs Executive at the BMRA
- Ashna Syal (2021 Classical Archaeology & Ancient History @ RHUL) Account Executive at Harvard
- Abi Lightfoot (2021 BA English & Drama) Junior PR Account Manager at LBB Online - Little Black Book
- Natalia Jan ( 2021 BA English Literature & 2022 MSc Politics & International Relations: Media, Power & Public Affairs) Account Executive at Ranieri Agency
Watch the recording
Is a career in Social Media or Influencer Marketing something that interests you? This type of marketing is hugely popular and forms part of a cohesive digital marketing plan to help get brands in front of their target audience. Hear from alumni working in this field, as they share their experiences of working within a digital community. Watch the recording here.
Alumna Jarmila Yu is founder of the award-winning strategic marketing consultancy, YUnique Marketing Ltd
Personal branding is the process of creating a brand identity for a person or a company. As the name suggests, this is a brand for you or your business. Jarmila explains why YOUR personal branding is key when applying for jobs. Watch the recording here.