Path to Prosek: Moving to the dark side… Then moving to the other side of the world.

Storytelling has always been a part of me. Ever since I was little, unlike other kids who preferred Disney or Nickelodeon, I liked watching the news – the unfolding, developing nature of breaking news, to be specific. I also had a particular interest in the thrill of hourly radio bulletins, which in my opinion, are (still) the best source for the most up-to-date information.

It makes sense – my late grandfather was the very first six o’clock news presenter for the news organisation I ended up working in whilst at university, and the same organisation I went on to work at as a breaking news radio reporter for three years.

I earned my Bachelor’s of Communication at New Zealand’s Auckland University of Technology, majoring in journalism. Contrary to popular belief, New Zealand is its own country, not a part of Australia. I’d be ballin’ if I got a pound for every time someone has asked about my ‘Australian’ accent during the 18 months I’ve lived in London (more on that later).

At University, the journalism major was VERY separate to the PR Major… At that time, if you’d ever told me that I’d end up in PR (and loving it!), I would have laughed in your face. From what I knew, PR meant sending annoying emails about the latest beauty products to publications that are not relevant whatsoever. During my time as a journalist, this was the exposure I had to PR professionals, and it would cause many daily eye rolls from me and my newsroom colleagues.

I look back now, and my opinion is drastically different. Just after Covid, I was feeling stuck, looking for a change, and lucky enough to be taken a chance on by a Singapore-based communications agency who was opening up a New Zealand office. I was just the second employee, and had the privilege of watching and supporting the NZ arm of the company evolve and thrive. Calling this experience a baptism by fire would be a major understatement – starting in a new industry, during a time where everything was virtual and the majority of my colleagues where based in a different timezone, was no easy feat. But easy is boring, right? So, I grabbed the challenge by the horns and joined the ‘dark side’ of PR – not knowing if I’d even enjoy it. Spoiler alert, I LOVED it.

18 months went by, and it was time for another change. I followed the ‘Kiwi dream’ and packed up my suitcases to move to the other side of the world… London. Coming from small town New Zealand, this was pretty nerve wracking and totally out of my comfort zone, but hands down, it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made.

Now to Prosek… AKA arguably the best place to work (bias, much?). I never ever thought I’d work in financial services – I’d never had any exposure to the industry, and frankly, never really cared about it. Once I started interviewing with Prosek, meeting my now amazing colleagues, my opinion changed again – a common theme in my short career so far. Prosek has pulled me right out of my comfort zone, in the best way possible, and helped me realise that I CAN learn new things… and the fact that I failed high school maths, doesn’t mean I can’t work in finance.

It’s now been just over a year, and I still cannot quite fathom how much I’ve learnt about my clients, their industries and the media landscape across the UK, Europe and the US. I’ve worked really hard to get up to speed, which has been made immensely easier by the kindness of my colleagues and their willingness to champion my career (although my accent continues to get affectionately made fun of), and earlier this year I earned a promotion to Account Supervisor.

Turns out PR is more than sending irrelevant emails and writing dull press releases.. who knew? It’s strategic, it’s managing multiple stakeholders, it’s working as a team and putting on your best advisor hat to help your clients succeed, and so much more.

It’s also responding to the ever-changing news landscape – which I’ve always known I’ve loved. The changes and volatility I’ve witnessed in my short career are massive – remember that news organisation I mentioned I cut my teeth at? It no longer exists, and many of my good friends I made during that time no longer have jobs in the industry.

I still have so much to learn, and I’m so excited to do so. On what I do know, as PR professionals, it really is our job to adapt accordingly and work alongside journalists towards common goals – not view each other as ‘the dark side’ and vice versa.