Corporate Affairs graduate recruit Harry Neicho reflects on his experience at News UK

In March last year, another email from the graduate employment website Milkround landed in my inbox. But this one really stood out from the crowd – it offered the opportunity to join the Corporate Communications Graduate Scheme at News UK. Here was my chance to work for a company that’s at the heart of a fast paced, exciting industry that sets the agenda, and be part of the team that give it its voice - I was sold.

After a gruelling full day assessment centre including one-on-one interviews and a group task, I was ecstatic to be offered the role.

Along with 17 other new graduates taking positions in areas including The Sun and The Times editorial, Business Development, Commercial, Finance, IT and Marketing I joined the business last September.

We had survived ‘Graduate Bootcamp’, an intense two-week overview of the entire business, where we solved tasks for every department across the organisation, including pitching stories to The Sun’s news conference. Seeing our article about Peterborough United’s young footballing prospect Christian Burgess appear in the paper the next day was the biggest highlight.

I began my role within the Corporate Affairs team, working across internal and external comms, but focussing my efforts on the News Academy, News UK’s exciting programme to inspire 16 to 18 year olds to become the next generation of journalists.

Since then, I have met leading politicians from across the political spectrum, from Michael Gove to Tristram Hunt. I’ve also travelled around the country from Glasgow to the East end of London, and across the water to Belfast and Dublin, speaking to students about an exciting career in journalism. I even got to dine at the Mansion House with The Lord Mayor of London at a summit to tackle youth unemployment.

Variety and new experiences are a daily part of life at News, with my role ranging from designing adverts one minute, to writing stories for our intranet and pitching to news outlets the next.

Just last month, I took part in a job swap with Golin PR agency to give me a fresh perspective of how PR works, from the agency side. My time there was a real eye opener, sitting on the other side of the fence and pitching client stories to the press rather than receiving queries from journalists in our press office. I returned with many ideas to put into our own communication strategies.

I meet regularly with the other 2014 graduates as we share our experiences over lunch, or an after work drink. We also get together for monthly training, organised by the Learning & Development team, with topics ranging from improving our influencing skills to managing our careers.

As I look to develop my career further, I am particularly grateful to have been paired with Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Duncan, as my mentor. Having access to someone on the executive board of the company shows how much News UK values its graduates. He has been invaluable in offering advice, and sharing his wealth of experience in the industry with me.

The coming months are guaranteed to be as fast paced and diverse as the last, with many of us rotating in our roles to get a full understanding of our respective teams. No doubt there will be many more challenges, opportunities and deadlines to keep us occupied!

You can find out more details on the News UK Graduate Scheme on the new Graduate website.