My day
6.30am: My alarms go off, I have two. The second one is placed at the furthest end of the bedroom, so I need to physically get out of bed to turn it off. Caffeine fixes follow on from there.
7.30am: I flick through my emails and news updates, before jumping on the rather crowded South West Trains overland from Wimbledon into Soho, with my headphones in, it’s mind over matter and I reach Carnaby Street by about 8.20am.
8.30am: I go straight into a meeting with a PR manager who works for a consumer tech brand, who has a dream CV but itchy feet. She tells me about her desire to progress to senior PR manager/head of PR level and I present her with, not one, but two interesting job briefs.
9.30am: Back with the team, we discuss the live in-house and agency roles we are currently recruiting for and the suitable applicants we have put forward for the opportunities.
10.00am: I set off to meet a client in the media sector for coffee, whose PR director has just resigned. The company’s office is nearby so I don’t have to remove my heels to get there!
11.30am: I return to catch up with the rest of the PR Moves team armed with the new brief. We put our heads together to think of the most suitable candidates for the position who are already registered with us and Natasha quickly writes up an attractive advert which goes out on the usual PR online job boards and social media sites.
12.30pm: I listen to a voice mail from a candidate who has just come back from an associate director interview I organised for her at a fashion PR agency. She sounds very enthusiastic. It’s a second round.
12.35pm: Just before I have a chance to call her back, the phone rings and it’s the fashion PR agency saying what a perfect-fit candidate she is and can I confirm her salary expectation and notice period as they would like to offer her a permanent role working across three of their luxury fashion brands.
12.40pm: I call the candidate who is over the moon and says that her notice period is one month but as she still has holiday outstanding, she may even be able to shorten it to three weeks. She will accept £58K plus the benefits package which accompanied the job description.
12.50pm: I relay the happy news to the Fashion PR agency and they set about drawing up the offer letter.
1.00pm: I nip out to grab a juice to keep me going, as I have a late lunch scheduled with an associate director I placed in an FMCG role two months ago.
1.15pm: I send three CVs across to a client who is seeking a new consumer technology senior account executive to work across one large EMEA account and another tech account connected to the automotive industry.
1.30pm: I respond to our group marketing manager, David, regarding a survey we are currently researching about public relations professionals.
2.00pm: I head out to meet the associate director at Busaba Eathai on Wardour Street and he tells me that the role is going very well and it looks like he’ll be needing my help in another way soon, to help him recruit for a new team member as they have just won a new beverage account.
3.30pm: Back at my desk, I check my emails, two new briefs have come in for an interim senior press officer role at a children’s charity and a publicist role at a broadcaster. I share the new positions with the team and we start brainstorming ideas of who will be the best fit before starting the calls!
4.30pm: There’s an e-mail reply from the PR manager I met at 8.30am, and she has asked me to put her CV forward for one of the roles we discussed. I write a profile about her skill set and suitability for the head of PR position in question and send her CV to the hiring manager.
5.00pm: I sort out my meetings for the next days, it’s a candidate-packed day as we’ve had such a good response to all the roles we have on at present. I am meeting four PROs; a beauty account director, a B2B tech senior account manager, an entertainment PR manager and a charity press officer.
5.45pm: I leave the office and drop into a drinks reception hosted by a PR agency for its preferred recruiters. The MD gives a presentation on upcoming talent needs and I take two new briefs home with me.
8.00pm: I met up with an old friend for dinner and surprise, surprise, she also works in PR and is thinking of moving. I get my pad out.
11.00pm: I don’t need much persuasion to curl up in bed, but just before I do, I set my two alarm clocks!
Eleanor Karadimitriadis, head of PR Moves at Career Moves Group
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