My name is Riyah Uddin, and I am currently an intern at Tyto PR. In this post I discuss my experience of interning at Tyto, what it has been like working at a location-agnostic PR agency and how I adapted to remote working.
For many people, working from home has become the norm since the start of the pandemic. This is also the case for me, as I spent the last year completing my university degree from home.
When I first heard about Tyto’s remote setup, I didn’t really think much of it. Considering the current situation with Covid, I was expecting to intern at a company remotely. However, after learning more about Tyto and its location-agnostic model, I realised that the way Tyto works is very different to other companies, and I was very intrigued by this set up.
Tyto is a pan-European agency which means that the company works across Europe, mainly from the UK, France, Spain and Germany, and because of the company’s location-agnostic model, team members have the opportunity to choose where they want to work from without being confined to an office.
Transitioning from student life to a location-agnostic job
Many companies have offices in different countries with their own teams who, mainly, work confined to their own home but what I find so fascinating about Tyto is how everyone works as a collective force across nations and time zones.
Although I find every week at Tyto interesting with lots of exciting things going on, I think the first couple of weeks were especially exciting because I had the opportunity to understand the location-agnostic dynamic better and learn how other team members feel about it. Because of the flexibility this model provides, I have been able to work with people from all over the UK, France, Spain and Germany.
Even though I have previously experienced working remotely, having completed a remote internship experience and finishing off my studies at home, I was a little apprehensive at first with the idea of starting somewhere new without meeting with the team in person and working in an isolated way. I wasn’t anxious about the idea of working remotely but I think it was more about whether I would be able to understand everything and do the job well. I would say I’m someone who works and learns better by watching others so the idea of starting a new role without having other team members around – especially because this is my first experience of working in PR – was, initially, a little strange.
How to adapt to working remotely in your first job?
What helped me overcome my anxiety over this was how welcoming and helpful everyone has been. It was, also, great to learn about the co-working spaces available where we are able to meet team members and work together. I have had the opportunity to go to one of these offices a couple of times and it was really nice meeting a few team members in person and getting to know more about them and their experience at Tyto.
My time at the co-working space also allowed me to see that just because this is a remote job, it does not mean you have to work alone, and there are many opportunities available to meet with co-workers.
I remember a year ago, I had a conversation with my uncle, and he told me how he didn’t think young people could learn or gain anything by working remotely. At the time I wanted to disagree, however, I didn’t have much experience of working remotely so I couldn’t really comment on this. Since starting at Tyto, I would definitely say that there’s a lot to learn from working remotely and you can gain just as much as you would working in an office surrounded by colleagues.
It comes down to having supportive people around you and really learning to communicate well with other members of the team. My colleagues have been especially great when it comes to this. For example, when I am given a new task to complete or briefed on something, they really take the time to help me understand and they are very patient about answering any questions I may have. Keeping lines of communication open and asking lots of questions are a key part of having a successful experience with remote working.
Moreover, I think what has made my experience at Tyto so wonderful is the fact that the whole team is so kind and understanding, and I really believe the company culture is amazing here. From internal meetings to virtual lunches, Friday drinks calls and Drag Queen bingo, at Tyto we’re given the opportunity to have fun, learn and socialise on a regular basis.
Additionally, throughout my first month, I have enjoyed speaking with different members of the team about their journeys in PR and their roles at Tyto. A lot of these conversations have been very inspiring and have made me feel really excited about what lies ahead for me.
Overall, I would say that my first month at Tyto has been remarkable, I am learning so much and enjoying the work I’m doing. It has, also, cemented for me that working in PR is something that I want to continue doing.