Describe your current role and responsibilities.
I work at Reach Solutions, the commercial arm of national media owner Reach PLC (Daily Mirror, Express, OK! Magazine, Manchester Evening News etc). I work within the Invention Team, which is the creative content studio at Reach Solutions. As a planner I use what we know about our audience and our titles to shape creative strategies and content campaigns for national brands. I work collaboratively with teams from across the business including editorial, marketing and insight.
Why did you decide to study Fashion Communication at Northumbria?
I loved the variety of modules available across the course, giving me experience with lots of different disciplines within the fashion and media world. I also loved Newcastle as a city and really wanted to be a student there!
What are the most useful skills that Fashion Communication taught you?
As well as experience across different disciplines (Events management, trend forecasting, styling), I loved that the course gave us hands-on experience with Photoshop and InDesign. It's not a required skill in my work but I know it has set me apart in interviews and it is something I still use from time to time - it's very useful to know! In final year it was invaluable to look at building a portfolio, writing a CV and generally getting ready for entering the industry.
Did you get any work experience / internships while studying?
I had experience working backstage at Vauxhall Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week, and at a Newcastle-based trend forecasting agency Trend Bible.
What is the one piece of advice you would give this year’s graduates?
When you get an internship or a job, throw yourself in head-first - ask lots of questions (Because there's no such thing as a stupid question!), meet people from different departments, always show that you're willing to help out in any way you can.
Describe Fashion Communication in three words:
Diverse, Inspirational, Creative.
