New PR trainee at HeadlineAffairs – Making communications a profession

March 13, 2015 – Communication is everywhere. We all communicate basically all of the time, sometimes strategically, and mostly subconsciously. But communication as a profession? Or even calling? To me, that’s an exciting thought. And always has been. In my new role as PR trainee at HeadlineAffairs, I have the opportunity to spend a year learning the communications and PR craft “on the job” while getting a sense of how the sector works. Add to that a great view over the rooftops of Munich.

I gained some first professional experience while working for the communications department of a big German media company and the press office of the German embassy in London. However, overall, my academic background is a little less straightforward: After completing a first round of studies in political science, economics and business administration in Munich and London, I moved to the United States to obtain a two-year Master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution. Over the past years, I spent a good amount of time researching different facets of international and local conflicts, including at think tanks in Washington and The Hague. My passion for communication, however, has never quite left me.

Now that I have completed my studies I look forward to acquiring some hard PR skills, supporting my colleagues and making communications my profession. I am as excited to gain practical insight into ‘classical’ media and public relations as I am about learning the particulars of public affairs or crisis communications. Judging from my first few days, working with the HeadlineAffairs team promises a very steep learning curve indeed.

Katharina Nachbar