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Communications: Advertising, Marketing & PR

There are a broad spread of creative, critical, analytical and strategic roles and working environments within communications. Opportunities within advertising, marketing, and PR sectors are open to graduates from all degree disciplines. Across these interrelated fields, the goal is to effectively connect with and engage audiences, especially paying customers, to achieve business objectives, whether promoting ideas, products, or services. You could work in-house for large corporations, public sector organisations and the third sector, for an agency on client accounts or as an independent consultant.

Some careers will suit a creative skillset, with a passion for communications and building client relationships. Others are more focused on data analysis and working across an organisation on business strategy. This variety can be found across seemingly similar-sounding organisations, such as marketing agencies. Or across roles with the same job titles, for example, Marketing or Account Executive.

Sector overview and areas of work

Communications (Comms)

Communications centres around conveying information in the appropriate tone for multiple audiences. Comms roles can be creative and analytical. Roles can include content creation for websites, marketing materials, newsletters and social media, as well as more traditional communication channels.

Advertising

Advertising involves strategy, planning and research, developing and implementing creative ideas to target audiences to persuade them to take a desired action (i.e. making a purchase). Roles can include campaign idea generation, campaign development and analytics.   

Marketing

Marketing is an umbrella term for roles focusing on consumer behaviour and customer satisfaction. Marketing roles include product or campaign development and promotion, marketing strategy, communication plans and content creation, both on and offline.

Public Relations (PR)

Public relations is focused on managing an organisation’s image and relationship with customers, employees, the media and investors. This can involve writing press releases, organising press conferences, managing media inquiries, crisis planning, and reputation management.

Sector careers advice

For more insight into this sector and further overviews of the main areas of work in the communications: advertising, marketing and PR sector, visit the sites below: 

For sector statistics, please visit the Media (including Advertising and Marketing) Industry Report on My Career Zone Digital.

Sector news and insights

If you want to research this sector further, the following web pages may be helpful. 

Career Zone resources

External resources

Information and links from professional bodies

If you have studied for a related degree, check if your course is accredited by one of the professional bodies. Being a member of a professional body is voluntary. However, it can be valuable for developing networks, continuing your professional development, and generally keeping up with what's happening in the sector. You don’t need to be a member to access lots of helpful information.

Advertising

Marketing

Public Relations

Making contacts

Making contacts is essential for success in this and other sectors. Many jobs in this field come through networking and speculative applications (this means reaching out for opportunities that aren’t advertised). You could start by speaking with the experts, finding out what they did after graduation, and contacting them for advice using the Career Mentor Scheme or Ask An Alum.

Find out if any Exeter alumni are working in this sector that you can get in touch with to gain insights and learn more with the LinkedIn Alumni tool. 

Start networking to build contacts.  Attend events, comment on blogs and follow professionals on LinkedIn.  Attend a skills session to develop your networking skills and knowledge.

Events

Recruitment fairs, open days, talks, and events give insights and opportunities to make contacts. Make the most of the opportunity to meet with employers and experienced sector professionals to learn about job opportunities and industry knowledge and to get inspiration for pathways to pursue. 

Keep up to date with and register to attend upcoming events on Handshake. If you have not activated your account, select the Single Sign On (SSO) option and follow the instructions onscreen.

Job roles

Explore some of the popular roles in the sector by visiting the job profiles below. Each profile covers typical duties and responsibilities, entry requirements and the key skills required for the position. It is common for companies across the sector to use job titles differently, and some organisations may combine roles, particularly small companies and start-up businesses.

Communications

Advertising

  • Account Executive/Manager: Generates creative ideas for campaigns and manages client relationships, ensuring campaigns meet their objectives.
  • Creative Director/Art Director: Involved in the creative process, developing advertising concepts and creating innovative campaign content.
  • Data Analyst: Analyses data to measure advertising campaign effectiveness and provides optimisation insights.
  • Advertising Account Planner: ensure the right tone and messaging are used for target audiences within advertising campaigns.
  • Media Planner/Buyer: Select relevant media channels and negotiate ad placements to reach and impact audiences effectively.

Marketing

  • Digital Marketing Specialist: Focuses on online marketing channels, including SEO, SEM, social media and email marketing. This can include content creation. 
  • Marketing Assistant/Executive: Supports the team with all marketing-related administration.
  • Market Researcher: collects and analyses data and information to enable clients to make informed decisions.
  • Web Content Designer: Creates, organizes, and optimizes digital content to enhance user experience and ensure consistency across web platforms.
  • Web Designer: Supports technical and graphical aspects of website building, determining both the look of each page and how the website navigates and feels overall. You may also be responsible for the maintenance of an existing site.

Public Relations

  • Event Coordinator: Organises and manages PR events, including press conferences and product launches.
  • Media Relations Specialist: Focuses on building and maintaining relationships with media outlets and securing positive media coverage.
  • Public Relations Assistant: Supports an organisation's reputation by crafting and distributing press releases, organizing events, and handling media relations.

Sector-specific vacancies can be found and researched through the links below.  Remember to filter job searches with key words such as ‘marketing’, ‘advertising’, ‘analytics’, ‘creative strategy’, if there are particular roles that interest you.  If you are undertaking general research and don’t have yet a preference on specific jobs, keep the search open and allow yourself to be inspired.

 

You can find more communication-based roles on the media, publishing and journalism sector page.

Skills employers look for:

Many specialist and transferable skills are required for communications, advertising, marketing and PR.  Some roles have a strategic, logical and analytical focus, whilst others are more creative and design based.

Below are just some of the skills that many of the roles in the sector require.

  • Communication is key. Roles in this sector require communicating verbally and in writing with people of all levels, from colleagues and clients to wider audiences.
  • Creative and critical thinking to provide solutions for businesses.
  • An understanding of marketing campaigns and a love of brands.
  • Digital fluency. The ability to use digital tools and platforms, navigate key online platforms, critically evaluate online information, and effectively engage in online communication.
  • Ability to work autonomously and within a team, working well under pressure and tight deadlines.
  • Open-minded and curious with a logical and lateral approach to thinking.
  • Innovative and entrepreneurial mindset.
  • Creative design skills (for creative roles)

Work experience and placements

You can develop the skills required to work in these roles and sectors, in and alongside your degree, using online platforms, social media, and discussion groups on LinkedIn. Engage with relevant discussion forums. Recruiters will be looking for evidence of your interest in the sector.

Getting a graduate role is competitive. Gaining relevant experience in the workplace will not only make your applications stand out but will also allow you to develop new skills and gain valuable insight into the sector.

University of Exeter Employability Schemes

These employability schemes can help you find or enhance your work experience and build valuable network connections.

  • Career Zone Internship schemes: Internships can be beneficial, allowing you to gain experience so try to get relevant vacation work or placements.  
  • Pathways to Marketing: A sector-specific training programme consisting of courses and a paid week-long internship in June or July each year.
  • Ask an Alum: A fuss-free way to connect with University of Exeter alumni to ask career questions.  
  • Career Mentor Scheme: A popular employability scheme which matches a student or graduate with an experienced professional for sector insight and one-to-one career advice and guidance over a 6-month period. 

Finding part-time work

Many students work part-time during their studies. Part-time jobs are often in the hospitality or retail sector, where you can gain transferrable interpersonal, communication and teamwork skills.  

Search for part-time work here:

  • Handshake (filter ‘part time’ and by your location).
  • General job sites such as Find a Job or Indeed (filter on “part-time” and “Exeter”).
  • Identify and call local businesses in your local area with your CV to ask about part-time jobs.
  • Attend the part-time/casual jobs fair at Streatham Campus and/or Penryn Campus.

Virtual Work Experience

  • Forage provides short virtual internships in a range of sectors, with opportunities to connect with employers.
  • The Bright Network provides virtual internships in various sectors and fast-track opportunities for graduate programmes and internships for virtual-intern alumni. Look out for the Bright Network annual June internship week.

Speculative applications (finding and approaching companies for opportunities)

As jobs are not always advertised, developing your networking skills and applying speculatively can be useful. This means approaching companies directly for an opportunity.

Gaining experience in a communications role within advertising, marketing, or PR is possible through various options. Creative marketing agencies can offer short-term projects that allow you to gain knowledge and experience in specific areas, such as campaigns, market and customer analysis and content creation. Perhaps you’d like to gain experience in-house within the marketing department at a larger organisation, shadowing an experienced staff member. Or maybe a small start-up business appeals to you. Be sure to understand what you are offering each company, along with the ask for experience. 

  • Research and make a shortlist of companies you would like to gain experience with.
  • Identify what roles people hold in the company. Are there any exciting campaigns or projects running or coming up that you’d like to be involved in or support?
  • Create your tailored CV and cover letter, clearly outlining what you are asking of the company and highlighting what you can bring. What’s your unique offer?

The websites below hold company directories which can be a helpful place to start, when researching potential companies of interest. 

Internships

Internships in the UK are usually, but not always, designed for undergraduate students, so do read application criteria carefully. The internship does not necessarily need to have ‘marketing’ or ‘advertising’ in its title and could be in any sector which will help you gain relevant transferrable skills.

Whilst opportunities to gain experience through internships and work experience are commonly found through speculative approaches in the advertising, marketing and PR sectors, the sector-specific sites listed in the section above may direct you to some advertised internships – often at larger, more established companies.

Any of Career Zone's internships with an element of office / administrative work will be useful experience if you want to work in administration or management.

Further information here on Target Jobs –‘What is an internship and how do I get one?’

Volunteering

Voluntary work experience will allow you to develop your communication, organisation and other skills. Consider leading marketing or PR campaigns for a student society, charity or new business owner. Contribute creative ideas and innovative approaches to day-to-day business operations at an established and growing business. Demonstrate dynamic ways of using new technology to innovate and increase productivity. Perhaps you might also be able to analyse data or make suggestions for improved processes, which would provide useful experiences for a career in consultancy. 

Graduate jobs and schemes

A graduate scheme and a graduate job are both employment opportunities for recent graduates, but differ in structure and purpose. Competition is strong in these dynamic sectors, especially for entry-level positions.

Graduate schemes

A graduate scheme is a structured programme providing comprehensive training and development within an organisation, typically involving rotations through different departments or roles within an organisation, allowing graduates to gain a broad understanding of the business and develop diverse skills. 

Graduate Job Opportunities

A graduate job is an entry-level position that requires a degree. Training will be provided; however, as with any job role, it will be less formal and focused on ‘on-the-job’ learning. Graduates are typically hired for a specific role within a department with the expectation of being able to contribute to the role immediately, without the rotational experiences that are part of graduate schemes.

The following links can be useful resources for finding advertised vacancies and researching employers.

Advertising and PR agencies, or in-house roles, are more commonly graduate jobs at assistant level rather than a scheme. Many graduates also enter marketing as a marketing assistant within a central marketing department or another part of the organisation. For general information about finding graduate opportunities, please visit our Graduate Jobs page, and for a list of general job search engines, please visit our general job sources page.

Finding companies and potential opportunities

As jobs are not always advertised, developing your networking skills and applying speculatively can be helpful. You may find the following prompts a useful place to start:

  • Research and make a shortlist of potential employers leading the way in the field in which you want to work.
  • Identify companies whose culture and purpose align with your passion and values.
  • Explore company structure and roles. What opportunities do you see for possible job roles or work experience?
  • Create your tailored CV and covering letter, clearly outlining what you are asking for and why they should consider you. What are your unique selling point(s)?

Explore further techniques and strategies for identifying and approaching potential employers on our Researching Employers page.

Make the most of our comprehensive programme of skills sessions throughout your studies, on topics including networking essentials, communication skills, job hunting,  job hunting and writing an effective cover letter, to support your direct approaches.  

Further sources of support

For further advice on finding graduate opportunities, visit our finding a graduate job page.

If you are an international student, visit our web pages for help finding opportunities both in the UK and globally.

To find opportunities outside the UK use GoinGlobal. Log in using your university email address. The worldwide country guides cover everything from job search resources and CV guidelines to cultural advice and visa information. Watch a short training video on how to get the most from GoinGlobal (4 minutes 20 seconds).

Further study and professional development

Some individuals decide to undertake further study to build their skills and knowledge of the sector. Not all roles or employers will require this, so it is important to research entry requirements and employer preferences before committing to additional training or qualifications. You can gain professional qualifications after graduating, which can show your commitment to and interest in the industry. Use the sites below to research your further study options.

If you would like to pursue postgraduate study before entering your chosen sector, please visit our Postgraduate Study page for more information about choosing further study. If you are unsure whether further study is for you, you may wish to attend our ‘Postgraduate study: is it right for you?’ session, which runs termly. Find these advertised on Handshake.

Further information

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Many major graduate recruiters have proactive policies and processes in recruiting graduates from diverse backgrounds. To find out the policies and attitudes of employers that you are interested in, explore their equality and diversity policies and see if they offer ‘Guaranteed Interview Schemes’ (for disabled applicants) or are recognised for their policy by such indicators as ‘Mindful Employer’ or as a ‘Stonewalls Diversity Champion’.

The UK law protects you from discrimination due to age, gender, race, religion or beliefs, disability or sexual orientation. For further information on the Equality Act and to find out where and how you are protected and what you need to do if you feel you have been discriminated against, visit the Government’s web pages on discrimination.

To learn more about how to share details of a disability with an employer and the support you can receive applying for jobs and work experience, visit our equality and diversity page.  You can find Disability Confident organisations that are actively changing behaviours and cultures within their businesses, networks and communities.

Further information

  • Creative Access – career-long access, training and support for under-represented communities in the creative industries.
  • CIPR Diversity and Inclusion Network – The Chartered Institute of Public Relations has a dedicated network to promote diversity and inclusion, offering resources and events.
  • SheSays – a global network focused on the advancement of women in the creative industries.