Giorgio Rondelli

Employer : IKEA 
Area of work : Public relations 
Qualifications : Public relations, IULM University of Milan

I chose to do my degree in public relations because I was interested in the variety of subjects the course offered, including marketing and economics. As part of my degree I had to complete a placement and mine was with IKEA’s press office in the UK. After graduating, I was lucky enough to be offered a permanent job with them.

My job

My main responsibility is promoting the image of the company and its values to the media. This involves dealing with all enquiries we receive, marketing the business and its products through press releases and brochures. I work in a deadline-driven environment, liaising with journalists, who may have requested information or interviews, and our PR agency. All external enquiries are handled through our office. This means we field a lot of emails and telephone calls as one of the first points of contact for the company. My working hours are normally 9.00 am to 5.30 pm but this can vary if we have a big project to get done. For example, our catalogue is being launched in August and things will get busy as the launch date approaches.

Working environment

I love the constant interaction I have with people and the relaxed, friendly working environment. It gets really hectic at times, especially when working to tight deadlines, but this can be quite stimulating.