I joined Hudson Sandler in January 2021, initially as an intern shadowing and supporting the natural resources team. Joining during the Covid-19 lockdown was difficult in some ways, meeting most of my colleagues on different client teams on Teams and Zoom and there were only a few of us going into the office each day but I thought it was important to be there for the first few months to learn from those around me.
Within a month I joined the team permanently as a Client Executive and was assigned to a wider range of clients from sectors including retail and consumer, industrials, professional services and mining. I found it really interesting working with clients across such a broad range of industries, and learning how the different teams approached different issues and transferring these skills and experiences to my other clients.
I liked the fact that, when I joined, Hudson Sandler allocated me to a broad range of clients with very different scopes of work, with companies listed on the London Stock Exchange where we managed their financial communications to privately owned businesses where we advised on their corporate communications. Working on a spread of different types of client accounts enabled me to learn quickly the different capabilities that we offer, and it allowed me to find out what I liked doing and where I saw my future within the business.
About a year in, I decided that I preferred the capital markets clients and working in financial communications, and Hudson Sandler was great about reallocating my client portfolio to allow me to work on the types of clients that I was passionate about. Since then, I have generally focused on capital markets accounts, although I am grateful that when I joined I worked on corporate accounts too as this has meant I can manage corporate campaigns and accounts where needed.
In April 2022, I was promoted to Senior Client Executive and in October 2022 to Client Manager, taking a more active role in managing my accounts alongside the directors and partners. Depending on the size of the account teams, for some of these, I worked directly under a partner and often being the client’s primary point of contact, whereas in larger teams I work more closely with other more senior colleagues to manage the day-to-day running of the account and ensure workstreams are delivered on time and to a high standard. In October 2023, I was then promoted to Senior Client Manager.
I would highly recommend Hudson Sandler as a place to begin a career in strategic communications, I was given exposure to a broad range of clients and project work with companies in very different situations meaning I learned very quickly how different businesses should communicate in different circumstances.
The company gives graduates the opportunity to engage directly with clients, which a lot of larger agencies don’t do so early on. There are also plenty of training and development opportunities, with a combination of dedicated and on-the-job training being provided. Hudson Sandler really prioritises its people, there is a great culture, it’s very sociable and a great place to work.