Internship in the time of Covid-19 

Hi everyone!

I’m Ellie and I have just returned to the Flourish Team after finishing another term at University. While I was only supposed to be back for a few weeks during the Easter break, Covid-19 has had others ideas and it looks like I’m here to stay for the foreseeable future!

I’m going to tell you a bit about what it’s like to do an internship online with Flourish, but first, let me tell you a bit more about how I got here.

This is my second stint with the Flourish family and I have to say that it’s been a different experience so far to the one I had last summer. Back then, I had just completed my first year studying French and Spanish at Durham University and had also spent a couple of weeks teaching English as a foreign language to the locals in Costa Rica.

So, joining Flourish was going to be another new experience. As a languages student, communication is a large part of my degree and something I study and practice on a daily basis. After reading up on what working as a PR entailed, it seemed like a great fit and I was excited to get stuck in with the team.

I spent four weeks at Flourish over August and September immersing myself in agency life. One minute, I was putting together media lists and drafting blogs, and then the next I was attending meetings up in London or chatting about the industry over a cup of coffee at lunch. I learnt a huge amount over the month and had a lot of fun doing it! So, when Harriet asked whether I’d like to come back over the Easter break it was a no-brainer but, things haven’t been entirely as expected…

Since being back, instead of in-person morning pow wows at Flourish HQ, we’ve been swapping ideas online over group meetings with me sitting at my kitchen table. And sadly, end of the week drinks doesn’t feel quite the same when it’s the virtual pub! However, despite the change in location and social distancing measures, everything still seems just as busy here at Flourish as we all react to the Coronavirus crisis.

It means we’re all having to work more independently- although there’s always help at hand thanks to our regular video calls. But if I’m really in trouble I can always bounce ideas off the dogs who sit at my feet all day!

Nevertheless, the team is powering on in these difficult days and I’m finding it remarkable how everyone is coming up with new and innovative ways to combat the crisis and ensure we can stay in contact with our clients- even if it is only virtually for now- and keep business running as usual. We are living in interesting times and although the no.1 goal is to stay safe and keep healthy, I’m learning a lot and look forward to what the coming weeks bring.