rs111995
Oct 27, 2018
Scholarship / Meeting and interacting with new people allowed me to develop excellent interpersonal skills [3]
Hi Holt, thanks for the feedback. Below is my revised essay. Thanks.
Pursuing a career in public relations requires strong networking and communication skills. The position itself revolves around building relations in the media industry. By nature, I like to consider myself as a social and outgoing individual, and my profession presents me with the perfect opportunity to widen my expertise in the media network.
During my first public relations position, my understanding of media relations was only theoretical but was never applied in real life. I had moved to Dubai, a thriving city known for its skyscrapers and diversity. I was eager to adapt and expand my social network. Seeing my co-workers acquire strong relations with journalists in fashion and lifestyle publications such as TimeOut Dubai, Emirates Woman and Esquire, motivated me to build and hone my own networking skills. I handled various fashion clients including Ted Baker, PUMA, and BCBGMAXAZRIA, all of which required me to research and reach out to bloggers in the fashion scene via email or social media for photo shoots, product reviews and fashion show invites. Maintaining relationships with bloggers was fairly easy, considering they enjoy the sponsorship so it was a mutually beneficial opportunity for both the client and the blogger.
An example worth mentioning during my second job is the opening of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi; the newly opened theme park is a client I handle that debuted in Abu Dhabi this past July. The park is considered the first Warner Bros. branded indoor theme park in the world, and as part of planning the grand opening event I was required to invite media personnel from all of the UAE, UK, Germany, Russia, China, India, KSA and Kuwait. This was a lengthy process of confirming RSVP's and liaising with journalists to organize interviews with spokespeople, flights and hotel bookings, but was a great networking exercise.
Reaching out to journalists in the target markets was part of a great team effort. I coordinated with the company's offices in London, Moscow, Beijing, Delhi, Riyadh and Kuwait City to connect with journalists, and this in turn allowed me to strengthen my relationship with colleagues in the wider network. Their knowledge of the different markets guided my media relations and presented valuable insights.
Confirming media attendance in the UAE was an easy task, due to the strong relationships I've built through pitching features, sending press releases, organizing interviews, working on CSR campaigns or even inviting them to coffee. By the end of the event, my team and I were able to confirm a total of 200+ journalists from print, online and broadcast outlets including Sky News Arabia, CNN, CNBC Arabia, Forbes and The Sun, amongst other top tier publications.
I found the success of this project highly rewarding, working with media personnel from various markets taught me the uniqueness of each market, and how operations on one side of the world are carried out differently elsewhere. The knowledge and skills I've gained, specifically handling a project as immense as Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi taught me a plethora of skills in relationship building. Other than that, I have well-established relationships within the UAE and GCC media, and I will be delighted to provide Chevening scholars and alumna with insights on PR and media relations in the Middle East, as well as organize brainstorming sessions to discuss the changing trends in PR including creative growth, integrated communication, digital presence and personal branding.
Hi Holt, thanks for the feedback. Below is my revised essay. Thanks.
Pursuing a career in public relations requires strong networking and communication skills. The position itself revolves around building relations in the media industry. By nature, I like to consider myself as a social and outgoing individual, and my profession presents me with the perfect opportunity to widen my expertise in the media network.
During my first public relations position, my understanding of media relations was only theoretical but was never applied in real life. I had moved to Dubai, a thriving city known for its skyscrapers and diversity. I was eager to adapt and expand my social network. Seeing my co-workers acquire strong relations with journalists in fashion and lifestyle publications such as TimeOut Dubai, Emirates Woman and Esquire, motivated me to build and hone my own networking skills. I handled various fashion clients including Ted Baker, PUMA, and BCBGMAXAZRIA, all of which required me to research and reach out to bloggers in the fashion scene via email or social media for photo shoots, product reviews and fashion show invites. Maintaining relationships with bloggers was fairly easy, considering they enjoy the sponsorship so it was a mutually beneficial opportunity for both the client and the blogger.
An example worth mentioning during my second job is the opening of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi; the newly opened theme park is a client I handle that debuted in Abu Dhabi this past July. The park is considered the first Warner Bros. branded indoor theme park in the world, and as part of planning the grand opening event I was required to invite media personnel from all of the UAE, UK, Germany, Russia, China, India, KSA and Kuwait. This was a lengthy process of confirming RSVP's and liaising with journalists to organize interviews with spokespeople, flights and hotel bookings, but was a great networking exercise.
Reaching out to journalists in the target markets was part of a great team effort. I coordinated with the company's offices in London, Moscow, Beijing, Delhi, Riyadh and Kuwait City to connect with journalists, and this in turn allowed me to strengthen my relationship with colleagues in the wider network. Their knowledge of the different markets guided my media relations and presented valuable insights.
Confirming media attendance in the UAE was an easy task, due to the strong relationships I've built through pitching features, sending press releases, organizing interviews, working on CSR campaigns or even inviting them to coffee. By the end of the event, my team and I were able to confirm a total of 200+ journalists from print, online and broadcast outlets including Sky News Arabia, CNN, CNBC Arabia, Forbes and The Sun, amongst other top tier publications.
I found the success of this project highly rewarding, working with media personnel from various markets taught me the uniqueness of each market, and how operations on one side of the world are carried out differently elsewhere. The knowledge and skills I've gained, specifically handling a project as immense as Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi taught me a plethora of skills in relationship building. Other than that, I have well-established relationships within the UAE and GCC media, and I will be delighted to provide Chevening scholars and alumna with insights on PR and media relations in the Middle East, as well as organize brainstorming sessions to discuss the changing trends in PR including creative growth, integrated communication, digital presence and personal branding.
