We spoke to Sophie, who is a Senior Account Executive in our Strategic Communications team, about life at PHA and how she has found her first few months with the agency.
Q. Welcome to PHA, Sophie! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
A. I’m 26, from South Wales and have been living in London for around two and a half years. I studied German BA at The University of Nottingham and have worked in PR since graduating in 2016, both in-house and agency side. My experience has already been extremely diverse, from learning the arts of corporate, B2B and internal PR in my first role, to consumer health for client Boots UK in my last. About a year ago I decided it was time for a change, so started searching for a new role in the B2B/corporate realm which would allow me to exercise my love for writing. Luckily, I was in the office for a few weeks before lockdown began, so had a good chance to get to know my new colleagues in person before we were all stuck behind our screens! Getting settled into a new role during the pandemic could have been challenging, but I can honestly say both my teammates and the wider company have been extremely supportive at every point. I feel totally settled and I’m really happy I made the move.
Q. What have you been working on during your first few months at PHA?
A. My work at PHA is extremely varied, which I absolutely love. In Strategic Communications there is no typical client. This means we get to work with a huge variety of sectors and I’m consistently having to challenge myself to learn new things. That’s something I love about PR – naturally, you have to be an expert in the sectors your clients operate in, so you become knowledgeable in the most weird and wonderful things. My clients include high profile campaigners, cutting edge med-tech businesses, international charities, and world leaders in medical cannabis….to name a few. One minute I’m writing an opinion piece for a national newspaper, the next I’m researching for a white paper, or listening in on a fascinating client interview. The work is fast-paced, fun, challenging and collaborative – I could talk about it for hours, which is definitely a good sign!
Q. Now that you know your team mates a little better, how would you describe them in three words?
A. Best in class.
Q. What are you most excited about achieving at PHA?
A. PHA is consistently supportive of your personal development and you are really given the power to mould your role into what suits you best. You’re also encouraged to be entrepreneurial and bring in new clients in areas which interest you, so I’m excited to pin down my own niche. PHA employs several ex-journalists and editors, meaning the company has a real newsroom mentality and a breadth of knowledge and experience which I think other agencies would have to turn to external training for. I’m looking forward to absorbing all of this and continuing to build on my knowledge of the UK media.
Q. Tell us one thing about yourself that might surprise us!
A. I learnt to walk on my toes and have never quite been able to kick the habit…
