My Placement Year So Far – Hollie Crowther.
And just like that… I have already completed 8 months of my placement year here at ilk. From the shy uni student who walked in back in September 2025 to now, a confident PR Executive, I have already learnt so much and progressed both professionally and personally.
As this is my first ever full time or some would say “big girl job” the first-day nerves were off the scale, but that all went away once I met the team. I was apprehensive to step into the real world of marketing after two years of lectures, essays and a typical uni-student lifestyle (lie-ins every day, pub quiz Thursdays, and wild nights out most weeks).
The first couple of weeks were a shock to the system; nothing can prepare you for the pace of agency life. Believe me… it’s fast! But I was ready for everything that came in my direction, whether that be creating a media list or coming up with ideas for campaigns. I was excited to give this my all and make the most of this opportunity.
So here’s an insight into what I have been up to…
During my time as a PR Executive, I have written press releases for a variety of clients, developed healthy relationships with the media, been part of many end-to-end campaigns, presented during client evaluations, and the list goes on… Recently, I helped to secure 126 pieces of coverage and 105 backlinks for our client Sanctuary Bathrooms in the space of two months, the most we have ever secured in that timeframe! I also played a big part in both Generation Logistics and The Residence Collection hitting their quarterly KPI’s.
I have seen my confidence improve massively in the work I produce and presenting in meetings. In a recent brainstorm, I presented my ideas and later found out that they were chosen, which was a huge confidence boost and amazing to see that I’m making a positive impact on ilk! If you had told me on day 1 that I would be presenting in front of a room of people, I would’ve wanted to crawl into a ball and HIDE!
Primarily, I have been involved in all things PR, but I’ve also ventured into Social and Creative Account Management, gaining additional knowledge that I can carry forward into any future roles.
In just my fourth week I had the opportunity to go on a shoot for one of our clients, Generation Logistics, where we had to approach students at the University of Leeds freshers fair to ask them quick fire logistics based questions; these short-form videos are some of the highest performing videos, and I can’t believe I was a part of this! To further explore the social side of marketing, I spent “a day in social” learning how to create a social calendar and how to schedule content on various platforms. In the past couple of weeks, I have been given the responsibility to be ilk’s TikTok guru, which I’m definitely going to have a lot of fun with.
Jump to now, not only have I had the opportunity to gain valuable marketing knowledge and transferable skills, but I have also met some amazing people along the way. I am so grateful to everyone at ilk for supporting me and teaching me about all things in agency life. I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment so far!
After being on the fence about whether or not to do a placement year, my time here has clarified that this was the best decision, and I would encourage everyone to do a placement year! I’ll admit…it is nerve-racking, but it will most certainly push you out of your comfort zone to help you succeed.
From passing my probation to receiving employee of the month, I can’t wait to see what my final 4 months bring and to keep building on this amazing learning experience.
