A Day in the Life of an AA: Jordan F.
No one day is the same here at JT. My day-to-day tasks vary yet always keep me on my toes and ready to tackle the next project that’s thrown my way.
My name is Jordan Foster and I am a recent graduate of Purdue University, where I earned my B.A. in Public Relations and Strategic Communication, as well as a minor in Spanish. Soon after graduation, I moved to Chicago (big move for an east coast gal) in pursuit of opportunity – the opportunity to prove myself as an aspiring public relations maven. Luckily for me, JT was willing to give me this opportunity as a Public Affairs Account Assistant.
In my role, I juggle a number of projects, whether it be working on a specific client, new business research or sometimes digital endeavors. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again, but no truer statement has been made about PR – “No one day is the same.” In light of this statement, I will try my best to walk through a typical day in my life as an AA at JT.
8:30 AM Daily Media Clips
I, like all other AA’s, start my day with daily media clips (typically, we are all in the office and at our seats before our set start time because overachieving is a way of life for us). Clips consist of monitoring recent client mentions in the news. It’s a fairly expeditious task once you’ve mastered it, but my personal definition of morning clips includes: a desktop full of Twitter/Facebook screenshots, a notepad full of quotes and page numbers, hours of meticulously reading and editing posts and, ultimately, a 100+ page report. To say the least, I’m lucky if my clips are finished before noon.
12 PM Miscellaneous Projects
The majority of my projects come from new business. Prospective clients will contact JT, and it’s my job to create the briefing reports on these potential clients. From the outside looking in, these reports may appear tedious. From the inside looking out, these reports are an opportunity to learn about various industries, as well as create an extremely useful document for JT. When I see an email from Jessica, VP of Business Strategies, I know that a briefing report is in my future.
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Lunch
I can’t forget to mention lunch, which usually takes place somewhere within this window of time. Our office is located in River North surrounded by a plethora of possible dining options (I suggest Tallboy Taco!). Weather allowing, AA’s walk to a nearby park to eat and obsess over other park-goers dogs.
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Non-profit outreach
My afternoons sparingly consist of outreach for a national non-profit that is a client of ours, Blessings in a Backpack. Non-profit organizations hold a special place in my heart, so I sincerely enjoy working on behalf of this client. You may be wondering, well where is the glitz and glamour in that? On any given day, I could be chatting it up with a mayor. Who else can say that?
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM Brainstorms
One of my favorite things that JT does is collaborative brainstorm sessions. Brainstorm sessions take place in a conference room filled with JT employees, snacks and ideas. For me, brainstorms are awe-inspiring because I get to see ‘it.’ I get to see how the PR world works and how groundbreaking ideas are concocted. My favorite brainstorm event was a pro bono session, which lasted about three hours, resulted in inspired strategies and left me with my creative juices flowing.
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
The end of the day is approaching, and my inbox is being filled with last-minute tasks to be completed before COB. This last hour is when I come face-to-face with the fast-paced reality that is PR. I tap into my creative side to author top-line analyses or open my AP Stylebook to proofread a press release. Ending the day with a sense of accomplishment is a constant as an AA at JT.
Fun with the AA’s
Work hard, play hard. That’s our motto as JT Account Assistants. At the end of every week, we start our Friday’s with Curiosity Conversations. These conversations allow us to sit down and have honest and open conversations regarding monumental happenings in the world or in our lives. It’s a very informative session, as we all as a way that we, as AA’s, can get to know each other on a more personal level.
We also love birthdays, or any celebration for that matter. If your birthday falls on a workday, expect balloons, treats, singing and the like.
As I said before, no one day is the same here at JT. My day-to-day tasks vary and always keep me on my toes and ready to tackle the next project that’s thrown my way.
Public Affairs
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