Curious to know what different people do all day at their 9-5? We’re investigating job titles and diving deeper into day-to-day tasks to get the low-down on exactly what those roles really entail. Not sure how much to ask for your raise? Wondering what a VP in finance does in the afternoon? We’re uncovering the details behind jobs, along with the salaries and tasks that come with them, to help you figure out what you’re interested in. Below, read about how a woman working in communications spends her day.
Age: 33
City: New York
Industry: Communications
Job Title: Vice President
Years of Experience: 9.5
Salary: 105k
What does your job title mean?
Running PR campaigns and ongoing media for several clients, which includes managing each client’s team, delegating tasks and establishing deadlines.
What is your morning routine?
I wake up around 6:30am. After my shower, I read a few morning newsletters. I’ll glance through emails to ensure nothing urgent is happening. I leave home around 7:15/7:30am and use my subway commute to read – I read about a book a week usually.
At 9am I am…
I usually get to the office around 8:30am, so by 9am I am halfway through my coffee and reading/responding to all my emails to set up for the day. I am big on inbox zero so I have to trash all of the unnecessary emails and get through all newsletters first thing.
At 11am I am…
Every day is different, but 11am is a popular time for client calls or internal team meetings to ensure that all work is moving forward accordingly. On days I don’t have meetings, I am reviewing my team’s pitches/writing and pitching the media myself as well as updating team to dos and client strategies.
What does lunch normally look like for you?
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and I definitely need a full meal, but I usually eat at my desk and work through lunch–although, lately I have been trying to take this time to read personal emails, interesting articles and do any research/vendor calls that I need to get done for my upcoming wedding.
At 3pm I am… 
I have 3pm client calls on Tuesdays and occasional Wednesdays, but if I’m not on a call, I am usually researching/pitching media for client coverage. Sometimes, this is also the lull in the day where the team just chats and catches up or does a few stretches to break up our day.
At 5pm I am… 
Trying to wrap up everything I have due and set myself and my calendar up for the next day/rest of the week.
When does a workday end for you? 
Our hours are until 6pm – sometimes we work late, especially if I know I’m going to be out of the office later in the week, but generally most of our team leaves by 6:15pm. I like to clean up my desk and block time on my calendar for tasks that need to get done the next day so I feel prepared coming in the following morning.
What do you do after work?
I run a book club once a month where we try out restaurants around the city related to the novel we’re reading. Sometimes there are media or client events to staff and it’s always hard to turn down happy hour or a glass of wine with friends after a long day, but generally I just go home and make a simple dinner salad and watch my DVR.
What do you do before bed?
Ideally, I try to go to bed around 10:30pm, but occasionally I’ll get sucked into a show on the DVR and end up going to bed closer to midnight.
Is there anything you’d like people to know?
I think a job, like life, is what you make it. PR is rarely ever as glamorous as people think and there are always going to be bad or hard days in any industry, but it’s really important to wake up and walk into work with a positive attitude each day.
 
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