A Journalism graduate has secured a job promoting Leicester as a destination for businesses and visitors – starting with marketing a city centre Christmas ice rink.
Shahanna Sheikh completed her Journalism and International Relations degree at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) in July and began her new job a fortnight ago at Leicester City Council in the marketing team.
Shahanna Sheikh (right) with fellow graduate Laura Nicoll
The 21-year-old from Leicester, who, after graduating, spent the summer travelling around Europe with her family, said: “I had never even thought about the possibilities of working for the council but it’s honestly been a dream come true.
“Not only do I have the chance to use my journalistic skills, but this job has given me the opportunity to learn and develop new skills as well.”
One of Shahanna’s first tasks has been to promote the ice rink which the council is bringing to Jubilee Square from December 9 until January 8.
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She initially saw the job of Graduate Project Officer in the council’s Place Marketing Team advertised on the indeed.com jobs website at the beginning of August.
“I applied on a whim just before going on holiday, thinking I’m not going to get this, but I have nothing to lose.
“The job description seemed to be everything I was looking for – it entailed PR, communications and content writing.”
A month later she heard back that she had been shortlisted for an interview. Shahanna said that because she had been away she had almost forgotten that she had applied.
“Two days after my interview I had a phone call saying I’d been successful and that the council would like to offer me the job. I was absolutely ecstatic!"
Shahanna, who boosted her employment prospects while studying by gaining a two-week work experience placement with DMU’s media office, said she was really enjoying her new job, based at City Hall in the city centre.
“Every day is a new task, a new story and I cannot wait to grow and develop my role further.”
Posted on Wednesday 25 October 2017