Aidan Coils

Aidan joined the team in October 2017.

“My experience of interning with Niche Works has been a very enjoyable one. To some, internships are synonymous with making the coffee and doing the lunch runs but this is definitely not the case here. Within my first week I was being challenged with tasks such as helping with press releases, creating new visual content on graphics packages and even drafting a script for a radio ad.

The diversity of their client portfolio ensures that no two days are ever the same and the range of projects that you may be given is as exciting as it is varied. I have also been lucky to be with Niche Works during some very exciting campaigns including one which was featured on STV News.

The small team environment at Niche Works proves to be a huge benefit to the internship experience as Fiona and Stacey are always more than willing to help or to answer any questions you may have. Their support and guidance through the process has been invaluable to me and I am very grateful for their time and patience.

This three month internship has helped me to both identify and develop my strengths and weaknesses in a practical environment which is not something that many students have the opportunity to do while at university.

In terms of career prospects I can honestly say my CV has improved tenfold because of my time here and I have even be invited to take part in several interviews as a direct result.

If you are looking to develop your skills in PR and marketing then Niche Works is absolutely the place for you.”

Mary Taylor

Mary joined the team in January 2017 and holds a degree in French and Hispanic Studies from the University of Aberdeen.

“It’s hard to try to pick just one word to sum up my time here at Niche Works. Both Fiona and Stacey have been so welcoming and helpful, the work has been challenging but rewarding and the experience has been invaluable. Perhaps the best word to describe my three months is irreplaceable.

I choose this word because of the wealth of information and skills that I have learned over the three months I have been here. Having the bare minimum PR experience when I arrived I feel a lot more comfortable with everything related to PR and marketing now I’ve come to the end of my internship. Not only have I been able to brush up on my writing skills, get to grips with press releases, create social media posts and media lists, I also understand the theory behind a lot of the work I have been doing thanks to Fiona and Stacey. This, along with the portfolio I have built, are both extremely valuable and I can’t thank Niche Works enough for giving me these!

As an intern at Niche Works you won’t be stuck making coffees, your input is valued and called upon each day, you are challenged each day and you also get great opportunities to go to photo calls that appear in The Times the following day!

I would thoroughly recommend an internship at Niche Works, you won’t regret it!”

Rebecca McLernon

Rebecca joined the team in October 2016 as part of her PR and Marketing degree at Queen Margaret University.

“If I had to describe my experience at Niche Works in one word it would be inspiring. Working at Niche Works has made me realise even more that I want to work in PR and marketing after I graduate. Being able to work within a small team was extremely beneficial and a great way to gain experience.

Fiona and Stacey were amazing to work with and made me feel so welcome the whole way through my internship. I have been able to develop and learn so many new skills and gain a lot of confidence in myself and my work. It was great to work in a company where you learn so much about the industry and be in an atmosphere where your work and efforts are taken seriously and into consideration.

Niche Works is a fun and enjoyable company to work for and I would completely recommend it! My internship has given me a lot of fantastic material to include in portfolios for the future, and many new interests and skills to take forward for after I graduate.

It’s pretty impossible to narrow my experience down to 200 words – the whole three months has been great and I am very glad I chose to complete my internship here!”

Georgina Wilson

Georgina joined the team in August 2016. Originally from South Africa, she holds a degree in marketing communications. Georgina also works as a yoga instructor at Tribe Yoga.

“Since moving to Edinburgh my internship at Niche Works has been the most humbling introduction to a new city. Both Fiona and Stacey are the most welcoming and warm people to work with. Not only did I learn a lot within the agency, I learnt a lot about Edinburgh and Scotland through all of the work I did for Niche Works’ clients.

I have been fully involved with all of the operations within the company and I got a real grasp of the day-to-day running of a PR and marketing agency. Although I was taken on as an intern, I felt straight away part of the team with the opportunities, responsibility and the trust I was given throughout my time.

I feel I have accomplished a lot through this internship and it comes down to the dynamic work we are given as interns at Niche Works. We were given tasks on each of their clients, boosting our writing skills throughout all of the different forms of communication used, conducting research, developing marketing plans, and the best part about it all is the feedback given on the work we do.

It has been a privilege to intern at Niche Works and I feel so confident within myself for the next steps I make in the working world. It is an experience where you will be challenged with the most positive impact.

I couldn’t be more thankful and it will be the most memorable experience I have had!”

Hannah McConnachie

Keen photographer Hannah joined the team in June 2016 and holds a degree in Media from Queen Margaret University. Hannah now works as a marketing executive with Cullen Property.

Prior to my internship with Niche Works, I lost self-belief after a confidence shattering interview with another company. However, three months down the line, my internship with Niche Works has developed my determination, my writing ability, my understanding of the industry and restored my faith in myself.

Niche Works is a fun, dynamic and incredibly hard working PR firm. My three month internship has been a whirlwind – a great whirlwind. There have been many highlights and opportunities which I would never have experienced if it wasn’t for joining the Niche Works team. Being a keen photographer, I was lucky enough to attend three different client photocalls with press photographers. These were key experiences in my understanding of how to make photography newsworthy. Many of my own images were also featured on client social media sites, newsletters and even alongside client coverage in The Skinny and well-known Edinburgh blogs.

Although my initial interest in PR is more visual, my goal was to develop my grammar and writing skills. Hearing the word ‘press release’ is a task I used to utterly dread. However, with the patience and guidance from the Niche Works team I’ve developed a greater understanding and my love for writing is starting to flourish. From writing blogs and newsletters to press releases I’ve gained a wealth of writing experience.

Being a part of the Niche Works team for three months was highly rewarding. I felt a huge sense of pride seeing work I helped contribute to grab front page coverage in The Edinburgh Evening News, as well as coverage in The Metro. For anyone who wants to gain experience in a fabulous industry and work with inspiring people – Niche Works PR is for you!”

Rebekka Moore

Rebekka joined the team in May 2016 after graduating with a degree in International Business and Marketing from Strathclyde University.

“Fun. Fast. Diverse. These are definitely the words I would use to describe my time here at Niche Works. Over the past three months I have gained great insight into the busy day-to-day running of a PR agency- and I’ve loved every minute of it! Working in such a close-knit team has really made my experience here so memorable, and from day one I was encouraged to be hands-on with all aspects of the agency’s work.

My love of writing has only increased whilst being at Niche Works. Creating great content has always been my favourite part of marketing, and Niche Works has given me the opportunity to really get my teeth into many different forms of writing, whether it’s a social media post, a newsletter or a blog. And since each client targets its own unique audience, it gave me the freedom to experiment, making it all the more interesting. This alongside many other tasks I was given during my time here- including attending photo calls and sitting in on client meetings- has improved my confidence in working in an agency environment, and I am lucky to have had the opportunities that I have had here.

I would thoroughly recommend an internship at Niche Works to anyone who wants a genuine agency experience and to work within a great team. You definitely won’t just be the intern getting the coffee here (in fact there is a rather fabulous coffee machine in the office that you can help yourself to)!”

Nicola Kinghorn

Nicola joined the team in March 2016 after graduating with an MA in International Business Management from Heriot-Watt University.

“My time at Niche Works has gone above and beyond my expectations, from start to finish I have felt my skills and confidence grow and develop. While university will lay down the foundations and teach you the basic fundamentals of your chosen field of study, gaining internships such as the one Niche Works provided truly opens your eyes to the real working world.

My three month internship at Niche Works provided me with the best opportunity to observe the day-to-day operations of how a marketing and PR agency works and runs. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend key meetings with clients, practice my press release writing skills, manage our client’s social media accounts and put my creativity and initiative to use in numerous ways such as formulating possible social media campaigns for some of our clients. Due to Niche Works’ diverse client portfolio no day is ever the same, but being able to manage this diversity while balancing time constraints with creativity is what I found to be key in producing high quality deliverable’s.

The Niche Works team is an incredibly welcoming and tight knit one, and as an intern I was given a great deal of trust, freedom and responsibility from day one. Being a part of various team projects and seeing how the team works cohesively together to create great work was not only motivating, but also extremely valuable for my career development. I will miss everyone at Niche Works and couldn’t recommend the internship programme enough for any graduate looking to further their career within the marketing and PR world.”

Stuart Milne

Stuart is a philosophy Masters graduate from the University of Edinburgh. Stuart wanted to broaden his PR experience with an interesting range of clients and joined the team in March 2016 before securing a job with a PR firm.

“After only five weeks with Niche Works, I was contacted by a former employer to take on my first full-time contract and take another step on the PR ladder. Having spent the past six months of my life devoted to making this happen, I am of course delighted. Now, “all” I need to do is make sure I don’t slip and, hopefully, get a firm grip of the rungs.

I’m undoubtedly still quite wet-behind-the-ears, without a single PR qualification to my name, but my writing’s developing and my understanding of the workings of an agency along with it. This is in no small part thanks to Niche Works and the great experience they’ve been able to offer me.

Though I’ve managed to steer clear of the typical PR caffeine trap, I’ve had my hand in just about everything else. From releases and media lists to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, the work of a busy agency was extended to me to roll up my sleeves and have a go. All of this culminated with a photo-call in the glorious Edinburgh sunshine this week, which had tourists and the press happily snapping away.

On top of the first-hand work in writing and researching, Fiona was keen to get me to grips with the theory behind what we do in the industry. I started the internship with a grasp of what to do in certain situations but I now understand, more fully, why we do it the way we do.

That’s really made a huge difference for me. My confidence to put into action what needs to be done has grown hugely and, as a result, I’m a faster, more efficient and better worker. So, on behalf of myself and, no doubt, the people I’ll work for in the future, thank you!”

Ethan Rathore

Ethan is a recent graduate of Sports Studies and Journalism from the University of Stirling. Ethan joined the team in late 2015 before securing a marketing assistant position with a company outside Edinburgh.

“After graduating I was lucky enough to secure a three-month internship with Niche Works in Edinburgh. I am extremely passionate about pursing a long-term career in PR and marketing so I jumped at the chance to take on this opportunity.

I was quickly involved in carrying out research on behalf of Niche Works’ clients. It was a really interesting insight and fuelled my enthusiasm due to the diverse range of clients Niche Works work with. Before long, I was helping find useful and relevant stories for various client social media pages, writing copy for e-blasts and newsletters, and designing small advertising banners. As well as this, I also got opportunities to attend photo shoots and design social media planners. This experience led me to securing a fantastic role as a marketing assistant with a highly reputable organisation just outside of Edinburgh.

I cannot recommend Niche Works highly enough – it’s a lovely office environment where interesting ideas are constantly shared and you’ll be given responsibilities from the word go. I would urge any university or college student hoping to pursue a career in PR and marketing to get involved and I wish everyone at Niche Works all the very best for the future!”