“I went from just literally being a temporary press officer to being in charge of this account."

One moment has set the tone for Laura Oliphant, founder of PR agency Stand’s career. Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say, one sound; the jangling of keys.

With a career spanning over 25 years, Oliphant was the managing director at comms agency Kindred (2000-2010) but when she was presented with the keys to start her own agency Stand in 2012, she grabbed the opportunity with both hands. But, this wasn’t the first time she had been handed a set of keys to an opportunity brimming with possibilities.

The context

Oliphant’s moment took place in the early 90s, when having graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Sunderland, she took a year off to travel and secured a job on her return. This was the start of what was about to become a long, successful career in public relations. Thinking back to herself that time, Oliphant chuckles: “I didn’t purposely have PR in my mind [as a career]. I’m just opportunistic.”

The moment

“I didn’t know what to panic about first. I would have been 22, I [suddenly] had a red sports car and I was clueless about the job.”

“I was fresh back from travelling and needed a job. I got a temporary position as a press officer for a month-long RSPCA fundraising campaign – a run from John O’Groats to Land’s End. A few weeks in, the account manager left suddenly and I was thrown the keys to a company car and was told I was heading up the whole account.

But Oliphant, by her own admission, was not experienced enough for the role. “I had run the uni magazine, spent a few years in student politics and completed a couple of internships. That was literally all I had when they threw me the keys and said I needed to get myself down to [the RSPCA offices] in West Sussex.

“I didn’t know what to panic about first. I would have been 22, I [suddenly] had a red sports car and I was clueless about the job.”

For some, that experience could have made them shy away from the world of media and PR — and rightly so. But for Oliphant, when opportunity hands her the keys to a red sporty company car; she hops in the driver seat.

The RSPCA spent a nice chunk of change on the whole affair, and her job was simple. Get coverage and raise money. But little did she know that a few weeks into the run, Oliphant was about to hit the PR jackpot.

“We talk about defining moments and this was one. We found out Princess Diana was visiting Tiverton [a town in Devon along the route] at the height of the Diana frenzy. We got a picture of the Princess of Wales meeting the [event participants], which got us on the front page of most of the tabloids

The takeaway

“It’s crazy that experience still shapes how we support graduates and new starters."

It’s nightmare fuel for a new starter. 

There you are, turning up for work as a fledgling PR professional. By lunchtime? You’re in West-bloody-Sussex.

“I went from just literally being a temporary press officer to being in charge of this account. It was big in terms of money and responsibilities and I just wasn’t prepared for it. I lost count of the times I ran to the loo in tears.”

“But it gave me exposure to what agency life is like. No two days are the same and you have to come in, grasp any opportunity and believe you can cope.”

It has made Oliphant very mindful of the graduate experience at Stand. “It’s crazy that experience still shapes how we support graduates and new starters. Yes it is about giving capable people the chance to learn on the job, but not about throwing them in with no life jacket and waiting to see if they sink or swim.

“I have a simple mantra: work hard, be nice to people and good things will happen. That's all I did. I worked really hard, was nice to people and was honest about my abilities. I‘ve applied that to our graduate schemes and [onboarding new starters], we are really supportive.”

But was the urgency of the experience what made her triumph, and should people learn through similar methods? Oliphant says: “It’s a balance. [You should provide] loads of opportunities to learn, but not in a way that makes people feel like they are completely out of their depth.”

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