Graduating student lands role at one of UK’s leading Public Relations agencies

The 25-year-old from Lagos, Nigeria joined Citypress’ Manchester team as an Assistant Account Executive earlier this year following a memorable experience at Salford in which he took advantage of every opportunity presented to him.

Femi became the first person in the history of his course to win at the Create Student Awards in June, the University of Salford’s prestigious awards ceremony for students across the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology.

He scooped the International Student Award in recognition of his outstanding work as a member of the University’s communications team, but also as a relentless go-getter who secured many external opportunities to enhance his understanding of the industry and better prepare him for a career in public relations.

These opportunities included securing mentors through the Creative Access and ITV Mentoring Programme and The Taylor Bennett Foundation as well as placements at Citypress and at Manchester-based firm We Are Indigo.

He secured the permanent role at Citypress in September, weeks after he handed in his final project which looked at the benefits and challenges of artificial intelligence within the public relations industry.

In the role, Femi seeks to secure media coverage for the agency’s array of clients, by writing features, commentaries, press releases and liaising with the media on a daily basis.

Femi said: “I was so happy when I got the news that I’d got the job at Citypress. As soon as my placement started there, I knew I just really wanted to work here. It just felt like it would be the perfect place for me to continue my career journey.”

He arrived in Salford after studying for his undergraduate degree in Mass Communication, majoring in Broadcasting at Lagos State University. Salford was his first choice option as he was drawn to the opportunity to study at MediaCity, home to some of the UK’s biggest broadcasters, such as the BBC.

Femi added: “Salford really stood out to me because of the ability to study at MediaCity. I was also really drawn to the practical experiences I would get on the course and the creative opportunities it presented to make connections with other partners in the media industry.

“I reached out to a few graduates who had done the course to see what they had done and that really helped sell it to me as well.

“As soon as I arrived, it felt like a community, all of the staff and other students were very kind, loving. It felt like a nice environment for me thrive and grow in.”

On his Create Student Awards win, Femi said that the award ‘capped off’ his whole Salford experience.

He said: “I really wasn’t expecting to win so when I did, it taught me to really take pride in myself and reflect on everything that I had done over the last year to get to that point.”

On graduating, he said: “I’ve been able to achieve all my goals and done so much in the last year and it all came from going to Salford. I’m really not sure I would have been able to have achieved it all if I had gone to another university.”

Femi remained resolute in his passion to work in public relations throughout his time at Salford and says that he learned to maximise any opportunity he could get to improve his employability.

“I was always asking myself over the year ‘how am I different from everybody else?’” he said.

“This was why the course was so great as it allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone, reach out to others and just see where it could take me. My goal was to give my all to every task and then let that hard work show when it came to looking for jobs.”

His advice for current PR students seeking to secure a role in the industry is, “Try to utilise every opportunity you have and sometimes go out of your way to find more opportunities. Go to speaking events, networking events, do anything that makes you feel like you’re moving forward on your journey.

“Also, use LinkedIn as if it was your Instagram. It’s a great platform to help you get where you want to be so use it to the best of your ability.”