This post is written by Julia Cooke, whose two-week internship at Bite UK has given her an introduction to our Business Practice.

Walking into an open-plan office and being introduced to the 50 or so names and faces, while desperately trying to remember at least five of them, turned out to be probably the most intimidating task during my time at Bite. The office met my expectations of how I thought a public relations company should ideally look and the relaxed atmosphere of everyone calmed the nerves, which I considered to be impressive when at all times every employee sits no more than 30 metres away from the directors’ table!

When asked by Jamie Foote on my first morning what rapid response was, my answer included words along the lines of security alarms and police unit call outs… I think he would agree my knowledge of the communications world has come a long way in two weeks! In fact, after this week’s media review session with the team, I have begun to realise that reading a newspaper will never be the same again. Every article or headline now read is filtered with the thoughts of: is this relevant for any of Bite’s clients? How could I frame a response or comment back on this topical issue?

It’s true when they say it’s the little things that count. I now understand the importance of making sure all our media information is up to date. Knowing your target media for a PR company is vital as a missed journalist or publication is a missed opportunity for a client. As a result, I have become very friendly with a number of media directories and means of identifying a target audience.

I have thoroughly enjoyed getting thrown in at the deep end with no prior experience of the PR world and being trusted to contribute towards work for Bite’s numerous clients through briefing documents, media audits and press lists. One of the highlights, apart from almost beating Jamie at table tennis (21-19), has been to see how an article I flagged to the GB Group team on a rapid response task has subsequently led to two secured opinion article opportunities with key publications.

I view the world of business marketing and advertising as a space where there is a lot of ‘noise’, and while every company wants to have their part to play in contributing to it – from what I understand – the job of the PR firm is to listen to all of this ‘noise’ and realise when an opportunity emerges for a company to be heard: when it is relevant, at the right time and will make the most impact.

My degree in Politics taught me that information is power and money, but attention is the scarce resource, which not only politicians want but PR companies seek to capture for their clients in the marketplace. Bite has opened my eyes to the constantly transforming world of PR which has adapted to the shape of the future and the power of social media, as only the Twitter training sessions and Google+ vs. Facebook debates have proven to me during my time here.

I would like to thank everyone at Bite UK for making me feel part of the team. I’ve had the most invaluable two weeks of work experience possible and will be sad to leave. With one my year to go until the end of my degree this opportunity has whetted my appetite for a career in PR and given a direction for my future goals.