How I Got My First PR Job at a Feel-Good Agency: Lem-uhn

The Comparison Trap

There’s something disorienting about life after graduating. One day you’re celebrating the end of exams, and the very next, your LinkedIn feed is filled with 100 announcements: “Thrilled to share that I’ve accepted a role at…”

This was me, sitting in my childhood bedroom, shutting the laptop, and wondering what on Earth I was supposed to do next. 

In summer 2024, I’d just graduated from the University of Leeds with a First Class Honours degree in Sociology, something I was super proud of and worked hard to achieve. But, any sense of pride quickly turned into feeling stuck and confused. What did it mean? What did I actually want to do with my life from hereon?

I watched my friends pack up and move to London for their new jobs, feeling like I was lagging behind. Unlike most of the people around me, I hadn’t applied for grad schemes, and I was in no rush to either.

My Year Away

During university, I spent a lot of my free time working and saving with a very specific goal in mind. I wanted to travel. Not just for a few weeks, but for a full year of exploring while focusing on self-development. I knew that before heading into any kind of career, I needed to understand myself better first, broaden my perspective, and find what lay outside the bubble I’d always known.

My year away gifted me so much more than just memories. To kick it off, I took on the challenge of walking 500 miles across Spain, and learned so much about who I really am. As the year progressed, and I travelled more, I started to get a real sense of what kind of work would make me feel fulfilled: something purpose-driven, creative, and people-oriented. 

The Dreaded Job ‘Hunt’

Upon my return, however, I was accompanied by a familiar dread. When I got back home, it was goodbye to the post-travel glow and hello again to the job hunt treadmill. 

Sitting down to start making applications, I was instantly overwhelmed by hundreds of wordy job listings, each one demanding “2+ years of experience” for what was supposedly an entry-level role. 

I didn't want to panic-apply to anything and everything, although tempting, because I knew this wouldn't work and wouldn't get replies. With this in mind, I made a conscious choice to be more intentional, knowing, now more clearly, what I wanted out of a career.

People call it a ‘job hunt’, but I started to realise how unhelpful this framing was for me. The word hunt implies chasing, competitiveness, and scarcity as though there’s only a handful of job opportunities everyone’s fighting to secure for themselves. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised I wasn’t on a hunt, I was searching for the right fit. I didn’t want to just find any role; I wanted to find one that I felt truly aligned with.

So, I asked myself some key questions:

• Does this company’s purpose align with mine?

• Will the kind of work I’m doing there be fulfilling?

• What are my non-negotiables? 

  
  

If you’re reading this and feeling behind, you’re not. Sometimes, slowing down is the most productive thing you can do.

Once I started searching with these things in mind, everything shifted. That’s how I came across Lem-uhn, a refreshing, feel-good PR agency whose ethos instantly resonated with me. Their focus on employee wellbeing, authenticity, and meaningful work felt like the perfect match to my values.

Rather than sending a generic CV, I carefully tailored my application. I don't think luck got me this job; I think it was about alignment. Taking my time after graduating, to pause, travel, and reconnect with myself and find out what I truly wanted meant I was ready to pursue opportunities that matched who I was becoming. Below, I share my tips on how I got my first PR job at feel-good agency Lem-uhn!

Top Tips For Applying To Your First PR Job:

1. Do your homework. Research the agency thoroughly. Read their recent campaigns, client stories, and blog posts. Find the ones that genuinely inspire you, discuss why, and connect them back to your own interests, experiences, or thoughts. Show that you’re applying with intention. True curiosity and sincerity will come through if it's there.

2. Show your excitement. I think employers can tell when you’ve written something because you have to versus because you want to. Let your enthusiasm and personality show, not in a forced way, but by explaining what excites you about them specifically, not just PR itself.

3. Be human.

This applies to every point! In 2025, most people are using ChatGPT to help polish their CVs and cover letters, meaning everyone’s CV is starting to sound, eerily, the same: “I’m a results-driven, detail-oriented team player who thrives in fast-paced environments.” 

Are you, really?...

The real differentiator isn’t that clever phrase you didn't think of yourself or an AI-polished paragraph; ironically, to sound human right now is one of the best ways to stand out. That authentic, maybe a little imperfect sentence just might be what sticks, making you more memorable. Finding your own way of saying something only you could say is key.

4. Reflect the company’s voice. Every agency has its own personality, style and culture. Lem-uhn’s tone was warm, friendly, and authentic, so that’s how I wrote. If you’re applying to a bolder, more fast-paced agency, maybe keep your style punchier and confident. Adjusting your tone shows emotional intelligence and adaptability to different writing styles and audiences.

5. Interview time! All being well so far, you’ve hopefully reached the stage where you are offered an interview. The interview process at Lem-uhn didn’t feel interrogatory or high-pressure, nothing like the intimidating experiences I’d imagined. It was an open and honest conversation with people who genuinely cared about the kind of positive PR they’re doing.

I was interviewed remotely, which is becoming more commonplace these days. Of course, it’s quite different to meeting and connecting in person, but a few small adjustments in how I prepared helped me go into the experience feeling more confident.

Top Three Tips For Acing Your First Job Interview:

1. Treat it like an in-person interview

Smile lots, and be yourself. Energy definitely transfers even through a screen. I also remembered hearing on a podcast about how showing open palms subtly signals warmth, openness and friendliness. So, using your hand gestures and having open body language are things to take into consideration when doing a remote interview. Show your warmth and competency.

2. Take notes

During the interview, I took notes on key points, things to circle back to, and questions that came to mind. Doing this shows you’re considered, diligent, and able to demonstrate the desire to understand and be understood better, qualities valued in any PR and comms agency.

3. Do ask questions!

When asked if you have any questions, say yes! Referencing things mentioned earlier in the interview shows you’ve listened, you’re thinking expansively, and you’re comfortable holding the panel to account for their answers. It shows you care to be cared about! I also asked if they had any feedback on my answers. Engage. It’s a two-way conversation, not a test!

Reflections

We’re living in a strange time. Everything has been made faster, smoother, and more efficient, even down to how we write and present about ourselves can be taken effortlessly off our hands. But in this new era of AI-polished cover letters and perfectly optimised CVs, your perspective, your personality, your small quirks, they’re what make you memorable and interesting.

So, if you’re reading this feeling a bit lost, stuck, or uncertain about what’s next, you’re not alone, and you’re certainly not behind. You might just need to take a pause, stop comparing yourself and rethink things. Be clear on what you stand for, what excites you, and the kind of workplace that aligns with that. And, sometimes, going left when everyone else seems to be going right helps you find exactly what you’ve been looking for.