What does a day in financial PR actually look like?

During our eight-week internships at Vested, we got the chance to experience financial PR and communications first-hand, from following the overnight news to pitching to journalists and learning how the industry works behind the scenes.

Here’s a snapshot of a typical day and some of what we learned along the way.

9:00am: Coffee, news and client briefings

We started with coffee and a scroll through the overnight news and our media tracker, flagging anything that could matter for our clients.

Monday mornings brought one of our favourite parts of the week: a team briefing on the biggest stories and how they might affect our clients. It taught us a lot about how the industry reads the news.

10:00am: Media intelligence

Most mornings involved tracking journalist moves and filtering them down to what was actually relevant to our clients.

It might sound small, but it taught us a lot about how the financial press works and how important it is to know which journalists and publications really matter.

11:00am: Pitching

A good chunk of our time went into media pitches, working with colleagues to find the right journalists for interview opportunities.

It was a lesson in patience: the right match matters much more than the number of names on a list.

1:00pm: Lunch

Lunch was usually together, and we often ended up learning as much from casual conversations as from anything more formal. Sometimes it turned into a longer chat about the industry, a client or what was happening in the news that week.

4:00pm: Follow-ups and drafting

Afternoons were a mix of following up on pitches, updating trackers and drafting notes for review.

We were also introduced to tools including Muck Rack, Signal AI and Qwoted, giving us a practical insight into how PR teams work day-to-day.

What we learned

One of the biggest things we learned was how much we were trusted to get involved from day one.

We joined weekly editorial meetings with the UK and US teams, discussing news cycles, PR strategies and developments across client accounts. We were encouraged to ask questions, contribute ideas and get involved in developing opportunities for clients.

At first, speaking in a room full of experienced professionals felt daunting. But it quickly became clear that our contributions were valued. Asking questions wasn’t seen as a weakness, it was part of learning.

We also had the opportunity to attend events and training sessions, and speak to people across the organisation about communications, journalism and media. Alongside the day-to-day experience, it gave us a much clearer picture of what a career in financial PR could look like.

After eight weeks, we left feeling more independent, confident and communicative, with a much better understanding of financial communications and where a career in PR could take us.