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CPL | Sun, sweepstakes and stallions

When I arrived at CPL’s offices one Monday in July, I was a little uncomfortable. It was the start of the hottest week of the year and my cycle in had been unforgiving.

Thankfully, once through the front doors, CPL staff could not have done more to make me feel at home (not least thanks to the air-con). The whole office was friendly and welcoming, and I was able to plunge straight into work with the editorial department.

Being treated as an equal while on work experience was refreshing and it was great to feel like I was contributing to something meaningful. By and large, I split my time between copy editing for Parking News and copywriting for a new CPL client. Editors Louise Parfitt and Tracey Lattimore were both very supportive about this work and gave really useful, concrete feedback.

As a recent graduate, interested in becoming a professional journalist, it was a real gift to work with so many experienced journalists. Everyone was incredibly generous with advice and it was interesting to see the full process behind the creation of CPL clients’ magazines, websites, social media and videos.

I also worked with the design studio and got a behind-the-scenes look at the redesign of Impact, the Market Research Society’s flagship magazine, and, in my second week, accompanied CPL’s Darley account team to help set up the annual stallion parade at Newmarket.

The atmosphere in the office was relaxed and fun; a World Cup sweepstake, strawberries and cream for the Wimbledon semi-finals and a well-deserved lunch trip to the Plough and Fleece on a particularly sweltering Friday afternoon – I only wish I’d got the memo about #WaistcoatWednesday.

For anyone interested in journalism, publishing, marketing or design, CPL is a great place to get experience; the work is meaningful, the atmosphere is great and, most importantly, the coffee runs are distributed very democratically.

If you are interested in work experience at CPL get in touch with phil.minett@cpl.co.uk

Daniel Gayne
is Work experience
at CPL

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