How does your usual day look like?

I wake up around 7am. I do a quick phone-email-Slack check to make sure there isn’t anything urgent that needs to be picked up. Once I’m ready, I take the Northern Line, grab the papers (City A.M., Metro and Evening Standard), and get to our central London office by 9am.

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I have a mocha and a pastry, and I deep dive into news and emails - both of which I’ll keep an eye on all throughout the day. (I’m all for the Inbox Zero method, so I’ll have quick, regular looks at my emails every hour or so, reply to those that require short responses, delete any unnecessary ones, move others to relevant folders, and keep only those that require further action from me.)

As is the nature - and beauty - of working in PR, no two days are the same. We are supporting companies and collaborating with media all over the world, so mornings are usually focused on Asia and Europe, while the afternoons are dedicated more to North America.

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A usual day could consist of some meetings (internal and/or external), planning, drafting and/or reviewing different types of content, pitching media etc. I usually have a late lunch and a walk, then come back and use the second part of the day for activities that require me to be my most productive self.

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I leave the office around 6pm and meet friends, try new places for dinner, see a show, go to yoga, or I come back home and do some life admin. I check emails and Slack a couple of times more in the evening, and reply to anything that can’t wait until the next day.

I then start to wind down, read a few pages (or more), then fall asleep (usually after 12am).

What are the things you like the most about your job?

The people. The people in our team, the people in the companies we work with, journalists, content creators, collaborators. Engaging with them, building together, obtaining results together. For me, this is - and has always been - the best part about my job.

What are some of the skills you utilise the most in your day-to-day at work?

Attention to detail, Creativity, Decision-making, Empathy.

What was one of your happiest day in your career and why?

One that will forever hold a very special place in my memories is the launch of “Cismigiu, mon amour” - a local community project that included a video series promoting the vital necessity of rehabilitating the oldest park in Bucharest with a greater responsibility and care for nature.

The creative project was initiated and put together by Ioana Nicolescu, a dear friend of mine, and it was all done with 0 budget and 100% heart from each and every person involved in its making.

As I had already relocated from Bucharest to London at that time, I worked remotely, pro bono, to successfully develop and implement the PR and media plan (including a launch event). What a day that was!

What was the toughest career decision you ever made?

Years ago, I quit my successful agency career in Bucharest and bought a one-way ticket to London. Or as someone wiser said to me at the time, I choose to become a small fish in a big pond, rather than remain a big fish in a small pond.

What is something you had to learn to become better at your work?

Talk less, listen more.

How did you get to become an Account Director at Gallium Ventures?

I started my career as a journalist at the most influential cultural newspaper in Romania. After a few years, I switched gears and joined a boutique PR agency, leading our work with top brands such as PANDORA and Cineworld.

I then moved to London, pivoting again - I went in-house at Veolia, where I focused on the recycling and waste sector. (I will never forget the first time I went out with the BBC News crew, to film our key workers, only one month after the pandemic started...)

Two countries, two burnouts and over a decade of working in the industry later, as I was thinking (again) of quitting the hustle and bustle of the PR world, I got offered a position at Gallium Ventures - a global communications consultancy, which operates in the tech space, working with companies such as Flo Health, MediaTek, Identity Digital or Chipolo.

From day one, Heather Delaney, our agency's MD and founder - has become my mentor and friend. At Gallium, she has carefully created an environment where I - along with the team - can truly explore, grow, test our creativity, celebrate our successes, as well as learn from our shortcomings and turn them into opportunities for improvement.