By Andrea Modica

Trying to explain in just a short blog what it means to work in a PR agency might seem an easy task to complete. I mean, I could simply use the dullest terminology you usually find in a work description: a fast-paced environment, where one day is never the same as the other, or I could simply describe to you a typical day at work. But again, that would be too easy.

I started working at Incus – part of The Bespoke Group – in August 2022, an unusually hot summer for UK standards, and to think that I relocated here from Sicily for the cool weather. Having accepted the position of PR Account Executive, I can honestly say that I felt this was the place I wanted to be. Every member of the team was welcoming and during the first three weeks they provided me with the basic knowledge to work on the accounts I was assigned to.

I spent the first month asking the Account Managers and my Line-Manager so many questions that I seriously thought I wasn’t cut out for the job. But, in this company you can ask as many questions as necessary and people will always be happy to help you out. Regardless of their seniority, they will always provide the answer you are looking for in the most humble and simple way possible.

Mark Twain said: “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. To that I would add: “Find a company that promotes you and you will find yourself smiling more often than you would expect.”

Although this might sound a little mushy, if I look back at myself when I joined the company and compare it to the person that I am know, there is quite a difference. I’m still the noisy, easily culturally offended prototype of Italian – but as an Account Executive at The Bespoke Group, I’ve gained self-confidence thanks to the support offered by my peers and managers.

Since I started, I have undertaken progressively more complex tasks which I completed, initially with my manager’s supervision and now with just their final approval. This is the best kind of empowerment a newbie could hope for, as in less than three months, I could already see enormous self-improvement. And this progression doesn’t stop with me, it’s evident elsewhere across the business.

During my time here, another PR Executive has been employed and three of our Account Executives have been promoted to Junior Account Manager positions after just a couple of years with the company. This is the kind of fast-paced environment I want to be in; one that leads by example, where people are rewarded for their hard work and are more than happy and willing to share their industry knowledge and PR experience to develop those around them.

If I was told three months ago that I would be attending and supporting Incus clients at an overseas tradeshow, I would have laughed at you. But, as it was, thanks to my Manager’s belief in support, I recently found myself at Formnext in Frankfurt. Who on earth would send a newbie with no more than three-months’ experience to the world’s largest tradeshow for 3D printing/additive manufacturing? Apparently, a company that values its employees and invests in their training. And boy, that experience was something – seeing the latest 3D printing technologies up-close, meeting our agency’s clients and starting more meaningful relationships with leading trade industry journalists.

As my time at Formnext taught me, you can talk about something for hours, but it’s always better when you experience it. This is definitely the company I can see myself with over the next five to ten years, as I acquire more knowledge and experience new opportunities.