International Publicity Intern Review

I loved my placement at HBO within the Warner Media franchise. I was given so many opportunities to challenge myself and develop my professional skills. I had the ability to work on many PR campaigns for upcoming HBO TV shows. The team were incredibly social and made me feel like a part of the family from the outset. I also had the opportunity to gain work experience from the Warner Media sister companies including Warner Brothers and CNN. I had the most incredible time on placement, and the role fully helped me to establish my future plans and direction.

At HBO, I was fully integrated into the team from the outset. I was made to feel like a valid working member and not just the intern. My opinions, advice and ideas were always taken into consideration. I felt valued and supported constantly by my colleagues. As our team was small, it had a family bond and we were all very close. I felt I could approach any member easily for advice, guidance and support.

During my time at HBO, I felt fully supported and mentored. I had a weekly meeting with my line manager to discuss my achievements, how I was coping and a general catch up. This time was also used to check in on me personally. I also had monthly meetings with my boss to discuss goals, learnings, opportunities and challenges. Additionally, I had a external mentor from another company within Warner Media, we met quarterly to discuss alternative working opportunities and gave me a chance to discuss work with someone who has a different perspective.

From the outset I was thrown into work. I had general daily duties which kept me occupied. In terms of the PR campaigns I assisted on, these were dependent on when a show was airing. The role was like a wave, there were moments when I was incredibly busy, balancing four or five tv shows and campaigns and there were other times when I just had one. In the downtime, there were always administrative duties to be getting on with and if not, there was the opportunity to catch up on the content!

During my time at HBO, I was always trusted with my own projects and work. In the first three months, I was guided and lead and effectively shadowed the other publicists. As soon as I had learnt the ropes and understood the industry more I was trusted to work on my own and take responsibilities from the publicists. As I became more experienced I had the opportunity to assist on press junkets, coordinate talent interviews and liase with journalists.

During my time at HBO, I had the opportunity to develop as an employee and an individual. I learnt both skills that are useful for work and personal life skills. I changed and grew as a person, including developments in confidence for example. The skills I gained on placement have changed my outlook on the way I approach work tasks and will affect the way I tackle my degree in my final year. I will be more organised, structured and methodical in my studies and i will actively seek work and new opportunities alongside my studies.

The office had a great atmosphere. As our team was quite small we had a close knit bond with everyone and social activities were always being planned and coordinated. We ensured there was always a team activity to look forward too to keep morale and spirits high. There was a very solid support system in place which made coming into work an enjoyable experience. In terms of the wider office, there were opportunities to socialise with members from other teams including coffee dates and office parties.

Warner Media and HBO coordinated the placement extremely well. I felt looked after and had an extremely good support system with placement advisors, HR, management and other interns. We had quarterly training sessions in areas such as public speaking, post-placement career opportunities and maximising opportunities. We also had meetings prior to starting to introduce and familiarise ourselves with the team, company, office environment and other interns. In terms of set up, we had a weekly handover with the interns from the previous year who introduced us to our responsibilities.

My team invested in me through training programmes, event opportunities and work challenges. I was given the responsibility of assisting on many premieres and events and the team invested their time and energy into teaching me the ropes to ensure I had the most enriching internship.

In terms of future career prospects, within the wider company there is opportunity for growth and development at entry level. Within my team at HBO, due to the reduced number of employees and international element there is not room to enter in at a lower level.

The social scene at Warner Media including the Warner Brothers Interns, CNN interns and Turner Interns was incredible. All members were fantastic at organising events, parties, birthday gatherings and team bonding exercises. Despite being in separate buildings, there was a good morale with all the interns. At HBO specifically, our intern bubble was great, we were constantly organising things to do together.

I chose to commute into work, this was expensive but more affordable and feasible option for me than living in Central London. On average I spent around £500 a month in travel costs including the train and public transport in London. In terms of socialising, Soho and Old Street are popular areas in Central London and therefore expensive. Activities including nightlife are more expensive than the average places. Eating out including lunches, and coffee shops are also expensive.

Initially, when I first started to work at HBO our office was located in central London in the Soho region. The nightlife was great, with many bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants in the surrounding areas. The only downside was the price but this was solely to do with the location being a main tourist area. Midway through my placement, our office moved to the Old Street area, a stones throw away from Shoreditch. This area also had great nightlife and was more affordable than Soho.

Outside of work, there were opportunities to volunteer within the local community, there were monthly bulletins advertising opportunities and days out. There was an events committee which organised fun external trips including the theatre for example.