Rachel's Story

From PR and events to a career in broadcast

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Rachel Aitken began her career in events before building nearly a decade in PR in London and Manchester. After experiencing burnout, she moved into an in-house marketing role that offered greater balance and the space to rethink her direction. Alongside her corporate career, she is now pursuing her long-held ambition of broadcasting as a TV and radio presenter, podcast host and speaker.​

What do you do now, and what does your current work involve?

By day, I work for a large global corporate business within marketing. By night / weekend / any spare moment really, I am chasing the presenter’s dream. I am a TV and radio presenter, podcast host, writer, guest speaker and voiceover artist.

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What do you regard as your first career or the path you originally started out in?

I finished university in Aberdeen and quickly found that I was a lost puppy. I had no idea what I wanted to do and thought all my friends, who seemed to have grad schemes sorted very quickly, had it all figured out. They had jobs lined up overseas and in London, but I really just was so lost. I think that’s common for so many, but it can be a really lonely place. I panicked and started frantically handing out my CV, landing a brilliant first job in events in my hometown of Edinburgh.

I loved it. At 21, I was travelling the world with huge artists and creating beautiful event spaces in places like Iceland and Germany. These were places I wouldn’t necessarily have gone to and there I was, halfway up a snowy mountain with huge clients. It was the dream, or so everyone kept telling me, but truthfully I found living back at home very isolating, with all of my friends off on their own adventures. I always had itchy feet and just knew I had to leave where I was originally from.

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A year later, and although working, still feeling lost, the dream events company went into liquidation and overnight I started frantically sending CVs to all the major events and comms companies in London.

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Have there been any other careers, roles or industries you’ve worked in along the way, including any detours, pivots or unexpected chapters in your career journey?

Almost immediately after being made redundant from my first job in Edinburgh after leaving university, I headed down to London to join lots of my friends who were having a ball. I landed a job at the world’s number one PR firm and began an almost 10-year career in communications.

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I worked in London and then moved north to Manchester, joining the second largest and world-renowned PR firm and staying for five years. I enjoyed the fast pace, the camaraderie, the ever-changing days, the variety of clients, constantly meeting new people and ultimately making lifelong friends.

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That is something you can easily do when you work for PR agencies and I think it’s why people endure the brutality of this sector (it can be seriously brutal!) for so long.

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Looking back across your career so far, what prompted some of those changes in direction?

I used to walk past Hits Radio every morning when I worked in Manchester, being the PR girl supporting my clients’ prep for Question Time, BBC Breakfast, This Morning… you name it. But there was always a part of me that wondered if I could be in front of the mic or camera rather than putting someone else in front of it.

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However, even though I am fairly confident, when it comes to my own abilities I would never have allowed myself to dream too big and just cracked on with the job I knew and at the time really loved. I say at the time because I did reach a point of total burnout, which was a huge catalyst for coming out of PR.

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The team I was in turned quite hostile, the hours became unmanageable, and I found myself having what I now know to be panic attacks. Something had to change, and so I quit on the spot, hanging up my PR hat in pursuit of something called a “work-life balance”.

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Were there particular moments, opportunities or realisations that encouraged you to try something different?

My partner and I knew we always wanted a family but I just knew that the PR lifestyle wouldn’t allow for it unless I changed course. So, two weeks after having a final panic attack in the office due to the huge amount of pressure I was under, the CVs were once again handed out and I landed a brilliant job with the most incredibly understanding boss, working in-house within marketing.

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Within a few years of working for this incredible team, I got married and had my first baby. It was during this time and pregnancy that I gained the confidence in myself (due to not having a job that ran me totally ragged!) to work out what I really wanted to do, inspiring the greatest career pivot yet, pursuing my dream of broadcasting.

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What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when changing path?

It is still ever-changing. For me right now it is finding the balance of juggling motherhood, the corporate job and pursuing my passion for presenting, seeking out as many opportunities as possible.

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My husband and I don’t have a support network, with most friends and family living in Edinburgh or London, so finding that balance is really tough. I think this is where the age-old tale of “parent guilt” really comes in. You feel guilty when you're not there for every moment with your kids but you have to take the opportunities when you can (because you also really want to!) and just know that you're not just doing it for you, but for your family too.

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What helped you most in navigating those career transitions?

Having great people already established in the industry to have brilliant conversations with, who will say yes when I trepidatiously ask for a call or a coffee.

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Mainly, though, I could not be doing this if I didn’t have the utmost supportive partner. I absolutely would not be able to do half of this without having a very balanced relationship. We split everything (bar cooking, my husband definitely takes on more of that by a country mile than me!), we lift each other, move schedules for each other so the other can be there for our littles and truly, I know I am very lucky.

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Without such support at home, I really couldn't be juggling as many plates and still be as present a mum and wife as possible.

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What has surprised you most about where your career has taken you?

Broadcasting recently at Wrexham FC with Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Disey in front of me was a huge pinch-me moment. Honestly, I still cannot quite believe it. To play a very small part in a club that is making history in front of our eyes is truly an honour.

What practical advice would you give to someone who is considering a career change but isn’t sure where to begin?

I would start looking at those who inspire you in the field that you are looking to get into. Look who they follow, who their agentcies are and what their career history was. Start writing all these contacts and information down.

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Reach out to these people too. We live in such a day and age where you can really get hold of anyone on social media and, if not the person themselves, their representatives. More people than not want to help, so reach out and start asking how they did it and what advice they can give you.

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Volunteer also. Don’t wait to get paid, you have to do the free graft before anything else. Mainly, make sure you really want to make this change because if you aren’t getting paid but still don’t care, you know this is definitely the change for you.

Looking back now, what key lessons or reflections would you share with others thinking about changing careers?

It is basic but you have to go for it. When I was seven weeks pregnant with my daughter, I had this almighty shift to go for my dreams, because if I wasn’t proud of me, why would she be? It took me to be in my thirties and in that moment to realise that I was just coasting along. Whatever you believe, what we do know is this isn’t the dress rehearsal.

If you have any indication about changing direction, don’t wait. Send the email, send the voice note, make the call. If it’s a no, there will be a yes. Do it, keep going, you won’t regret it.​ It’s in fact why I set up my podcast, The Crossroad, to talk to people who have walked these shoes and thrived, to inspire anyone to just go for it.

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To follow Rachel’s work and podcast, find her on Instagram at @rachelaitken_presents and @thecrossroadpod