As part of the launch of this year’s mentoring scheme, we spoke to several of the ‘Class of 2020’ about their experiences. Alex Rowe was mentored by David Holdstock, Director of Communications at Local Government Association.
Corporate comms to me has always felt like a bit of a man’s world. In the decade or so that I’ve been working in the PR industry, many of the top decision makers I have encountered, especially at C-suite level, have been men.
As a young female professional, building trust and rapport with these high-flyers became a perennial challenge. I would second-guess myself and even lie awake at night obsessing over every detail of the advice I had given.
It was a crisis of confidence that age and experience has helped me to conquer, but certainly highlighted my need for strong female leadership. And in this respect, I’ve been pretty lucky.
My first MD, who took a chance on an inexperienced graduate, taught me everything that I know about PR. She was patient, kind, but more importantly, a highly skilled and ambitious communicator. In the five years that we worked together, she consistently pushed me up and out of my comfort zone, rewarding me with increased responsibility. It had an early, but profound impact on my career ambition.
This experience is one of the main reasons I applied for the Women in PR mentoring programme, where I was paired with David Holdstock, Director of Communications at Local Government Association.
In David I was fortunate to find another mentor who recognised and nurtured my ambition. Over the course of the programme, during a frantic and uncertain year, David helped me to hone in on what I wanted to do next and how I could achieve it.
This gave me the confidence to apply for a role that just a few short months ago I wouldn’t have considered myself qualified for. It was a dream job with the chance to manage a team and be more involved in the business side of the agency. And I bloody got it.
I’m now into my fourth week at my new job at THREESIXTY Communications, having spent the last few weeks navigating the challenge of starting a new role remotely. Thankfully my friendly (and very talented) new team has helped me to feel very welcome.
Thinking back on my professional life a year ago, if I was to single out one thing that the Women in PR mentoring experience has taught me, it’s to embrace my ambitions, whatever those might be, and encourage others around me to do the same.
It is easy to become your own biggest barrier, but more often than not you can achieve a lot more than you think. Sometimes all it takes it a little nudge from someone you admire, or clicking ‘submit’ on one application button *hint, hint*.
A huge thanks to Women in PR / PR Week, my mentor David, and each of the role models from my past who have helped me get to where I am today. Corporate comms isn’t just a man’s world, it’s mine.
