A few years ago, when I moved to London from Budapest, I was studying interior design history for my degree. At the same time, I secured a PR assistant job at a creative agency. After graduating and having worked in the world of PR I then had an idea, or maybe it was a gut feeling, that I wanted to do master’s degree which would improve my knowledge in communications.
So, I ended up at the University of West London where I studied ‘Advertising, branding and communication’. I genuinely loved the course and I wanted to keep working in the exciting world of PR.
At the time I was creating PR reports for several clients and had the chance to get familiar with interior design PR, and some truly amazing brands. But the problem was it wasn’t thought-provoking enough for me; I wasn’t being challenged. This led me to the decision to look for other opportunities in a brand-new field.
Unexpectedly, I got a phone call from a recruitment manager, who introduced KBPR to me. Then the following week I was at an office near Liverpool Street talking about my experience, and the world of pensions and investments (of which I knew nothing). I remember saying to the Managing Director “Pensions is as new to me as America was when Christopher Columbus found it.” That must have resonated as the interview was one of the longest job interviews I have ever had; we laughed and talked for well over an hour about pensions, hobbies, food, just about anything really. And the next week I got the job!
What I didn’t expect was that the fun part was just around the corner…
I usually introduce my work life as before KBPR and after KBPR. Before KBPR, I didn’t know what it meant to work for a company who passionately does what it does on an everyday basis. I’ve now been at KBPR for almost two years, and I consider this the true start of my working journey. I have worked my way up to an Account Executive, with my main roles being to carry out industry research and competitor analysis, whilst “taking care of” our clients press coverage and supporting the KBPR team as we expand. And you know what? I love it!
Getting into the pensions and investments world was more than fascinating, but it was also full of challenges, and I challenged myself by accepting this role! I realised I was learning more and more with every single day about the industry and my capabilities, and I was evolving into someone who truly belongs in this industry.
During the pandemic we became not only a stronger team but a family, and this was essential for me as I was working back home in Hungary away from everyone else. Lucky for us, the pensions world kept on moving, we stayed busy, and we all moved online – interacting, connecting, and working online. I loved watching the industry become digital and finding new and interesting ways to log press coverage and interact with clients.
Now, if anyone would ask me the question: “Is it hard to work within the finance industry?” I would say you know what yes, it is, but I love that. It is an incredibly fast-moving sector, not that kind of “boring” everyday job some people assume it to be. Yes, it challenges you, but in an interesting way. It isn’t just about working on government announcements or pension schemes; you can get to work on some truly remarkable projects and meet with great and intelligent people (hopefully more so in person now that restrictions have lifted).
