Since 2014, Amy Keen has worked at Harrogate-based marketing agency Extreme.
She initially started her career in journalism in 2005 as a press office assistant, involving work with various regional and national titles.
After crossing over to PR, she has held various senior roles across the industry before joining Extreme.
She built up the agency’s PR team and has since branched out more into content SEO, brand building and storytelling in her role as Head of Brand and Content.
Here, Amy shares her career journey, tips and advice.
How did you first get into your industry?
I always wanted to write, so I chose to study journalism at university as a way to ensure I could do it for a living. I went on to build up a decent portfolio as I studied, with some bylines in local and regional press. I even managed to score some work experience at a national. Alas, when I graduated, junior journo jobs were few and far between, so when I was offered a three-month internship to work on comms and PR for the Great Yorkshire Show, I jumped at the chance. I used all of my transferable skills, just on the other side of the industry and then I never looked back. As long as I was writing, I was happy, so PR became my job.
What do you love about your job?
I love writing about different things, using content as a tool to impact how audiences react to brands, and build affinities with them. It’s really exciting to see content – be that PR, websites or brand stories – perform and have the desired outcome for your clients. That never gets old. It also helps that at Extreme, where I have now been for over eight years, we have such a great team – they’re a huge part of what I love about my job. My role has grown with me and now I work mostly on brand and content, but PR is still in there too, it’s just more varied now.
Who – or what – has inspired you in your career?
I don’t think there is one person or thing, but as a creative person in a creative industry I feel most confident, competent and able when I am engaging in activities that feed my brain. I can write and think of ideas better, for example, when I am actively engaged in reading more, listening to music I love or spending time out of work doing things I love/feeding my interests. So I would say creative pursuits inspire me, as do people I see embracing their own and sharing their experiences.
What are the biggest challenges about your job?
I think the biggest challenge can sometimes be changing pace, although this is also what makes the job exciting. Things that were once fail-safe methods change (often quickly) and no longer apply and you have to be willing to change your approach and broaden your understanding. Other than that, it has been becoming a manager for me – so progression. This isn’t because I have lots of people to manage, or because they are hard to manage, it’s just because I’m a writer/content person not a natural leader. I have had to work hard on organising myself to build and run a team – but the people I have been lucky enough to work with have made that much easier on me.
What skills have been the most crucial to you succeeding in your career so far?
Communication skills across the board. You have to be willing and able to sit in rooms with people at all skill and experience levels and share your thoughts, with rationale and reasoning. Those communication skills are also what will separate good and poor marketers; if you know how to communicate in different ways and with lots of different types of people, you can market to them too, and therefore, do your job well.
What was your first salary and what could someone getting into the industry expect to earn nowadays?
I think my first salary was around 14k (this was some time ago). I think the entry level can vary so much depending on your qualifications and/or experience, but also where you live. The best thing to do is look at realistic job roles in your area and cross reference yourself with those expectations. There’s nothing wrong with having confidence to go for things if you can demonstrate the skills needed to pull it off, but comparing salaries between a northern small town and London for example, will always lead to disappointment.
What education or training would be most useful for someone looking to follow your career path?
I think this has changed a lot since I went to university. A degree seemed non-negotiable when I was applying to jobs, but now, many more people learn on the job so vocational courses, internships etc can be great routes too. It’s important to choose the route that works for you, but also one you enjoy. Again, look at your dream job role online. What are people asking for? What experience do they need? Work towards that with a clear path in mind and remember it doesn’t have to be completely linear, as long as you can demonstrate those skills when needed.
What advice would you have for someone looking to follow your path?
Try lots of different elements of the creative industries if you can. Be prepared to work on some weird projects, but importantly keep focusing on the type of work that fulfils you the most and that you enjoy the most – that’s the good stuff. It can be hard, but if you’re working on content or campaigns you love then it’s always worth it. Be willing to learn more, all the time. There is no one person who is over everything in marketing at once – everything moves fast, so work with your colleagues in other disciplines and learn from them, share experiences and knowledge as much as possible.
