For several years now I have known that I wanted to work in political campaigning. I wanted to work somewhere where I could make an impact on the world around me, where I could meet and influence key stakeholders and have the opportunity to shape the narrative surrounding the greatest issues facing my generation. For a long time, I saw myself doing this through a political party, but it is for these reasons that I love working at Portland.
Given my background in local politics, I applied for the Corporate team, where I am currently working. I have loved using and building on my research skills to write audits and reports, and was pleased with how quickly my work was being sent to clients. The Local team has been incredibly welcoming, a common theme at Portland, and I have appreciated receiving daily feedback on my work and progress.
When applying for Graduate Programme, I remember focusing on local-level PR, and in many companies, this is all I would have done. What is great about Portland is that whilst I have had the opportunity to work in an area that I am truly passionate about and enjoy greatly, the Graduate Programme allows me to rotate across four incredibly different and exciting departments at the company.
Before starting in the Corporate team, I completed my first rotation in Government Advisory, a constantly buzzing environment where every day was as interesting as it was unpredictable. I soon grew to love tasks based around social media, and when I made this clear to my line manager, he responded by giving me a large role in the creation of our weekly Twitter plans. This was my favourite task during the rotation, and what I really appreciated was feeling like my opinion was heard and valued.
Throughout my time at Portland, I have never felt afraid to ask questions or reach out for help when needed, as there is an inevitable learning curve to any new job and Portland is an organisation that celebrates interest and rewards enthusiasm.
To read more about our Graduate Programme click here.