How I got into communications and campaigning

It’s National Careers Week (4-9 March 2024) and we’ve been thinking about how we can help young people considering a career in communications and campaigning. 

Campaign Collective members each have more than 10 years’ experience in a range of PR, communications and campaigning skills. But each of us has had a unique journey, which shows there can be many paths into a career in this area. 

We asked our members to share their own journey, which we hope will inspire and inform budding campaigners:

Sarah Colombini, Campaign Collective founder member, always knew she wanted to pursue a career in PR:

“I did a degree in PR & Media back in the 2000s then, through general admin agency work, landed a temporary job in a London PR agency, which led me to gaining a place on their graduate trainee programme. I stayed with the agency for seven years going from graduate trainee to Account Director. I then relocated to Devon and freelanced before setting up Campaign Collective.” 

Founder member, Simon Francis, began his journey into campaigning in his teens:

“While I’ve campaigned on issues since being a teenager, turning activism into a career takes some doing. I was lucky in that university was free for me so I was able to spend four years in Edinburgh where I campaigned on issues such as equal rights for the LGBTQ community alongside my degree. After that I landed a job working in IT public relations which helped me learn professional skills, albeit in a sector I knew little about. I then moved through the ranks of PR agencies til Sarah, Heather and I had the confidence to set out on our own and make campaigns our full time jobs!

“The great thing about campaigning is that skills you learn in all types of jobs can apply to working on a campaign. So you don’t need to go straight into working for a large charity. In fact, in some ways I’d say getting experience in the corporate world is a positive advantage to campaigning effectively later on.”

Heather Rogers, founder member, took the graduate scheme route after a few years of post-university work experience:

“When I left university I worked as a translator at a German picture agency before being promoted to the role of bilingual picture researcher. I soon realised, however, that words were my real forte and was lucky enough to bag a coveted place on the Band and Brown Communications graduate scheme at the ripe old age of 25. I remained with that agency for nearly a decade – rising to become Group Account Director before taking the leap to the world of freelancing and finally joining forces with ex Band and Brown colleagues Simon Francis and Sarah Colombini to found Campaign Collective in 2016.”

Louise Akers began working in charities and the public sector:

“I started my campaigning and communications career by working for a mental health charity and being inspired by the difference the campaigners can make to the lives of vulnerable people. I then worked at an NHS psychiatric hospital followed by communications roles for national and international health, disability and human rights charities before becoming a consultant and a member of  Campaign Collective. I now have the privilege of working for a number of charities and social enterprises on campaigns which have a real impact on people’s lives.”

Ian Morton gained experience through agency and in-house roles:

“It took me a while to secure my first paid PR role but persistence finally paid off when I secured a junior position at an agency in my hometown. I then moved to an in-house press office role in London and made the transition to campaigns, which I really liked as it involved PR still, but also public affairs and social media. I now see myself as a campaigner through and through, working on things like the environment, homelessness, football and education. I’m fortunate enough to be able to pass on my ‘wisdom’ to the next generation of campaigners and comms professionals, through my role as an apprentice assessor and skills coach.”

Nicola Putnam knew she wanted to work in PR, but first gained experience in other fields:

“I started my career in communications in the 1980s against the challenging backdrop of a recession. I had my sights set on working in a PR agency, but graduate trainee roles were hard to come by, so instead – with an English Literature degree in my pocket – I headed to Italy where I used my love of words to teach English as a foreign language.  

“But my ambition to work in PR continued to burn and, returning to the UK, I managed to secure an entry-level job as an editorial assistant and runner on a weekly journal at Macmillan publishers. This gave me a springboard to my first real PR role, marketing baby products and over the counter medicines.  After a second career break to bring up my family, I began a new comms chapter within the NHS and public sector, ultimately working on national PR campaigns with senior civil servants and ministers.”

The PRCA has more information on the different routes into PR and the skills you will need for a successful career in communications. 

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Supporting the next generation of communications professionals is a core part of Campaign Collective’s social purpose. Many of us work with apprentices on the PR and Communications Assistant apprenticeship standard, either as mentors or end point assessors.