Two Minutes With…Alice Clegg, Junior Consultant, MRM
We catch up with Alice Clegg, who joined the business a year ago and has been recently promoted to junior consultant, on how the housing crisis is affecting renters, why she joined MRM and her love of Museums and the pub.
Tell us about yourself
I studied History for my undergraduate degree at The University of East Anglia in Norwich where I stayed on to complete my MA in Modern History during which I specialised on German cultural History. I worked in a Pub all throughout university and before joining MRM I worked part time as a porter at a private school while I volunteered as a Collections Assistant in the Schools Museum. Basically, I spent a few months carrying dirty laundry around and delivering post.
Aside from my job at MRM, I am currently a Volunteer Museum Assistant at The Museum of Brands on the weekend. If you can’t find me there, I will most definitely be down the pub! I try to squeeze the museum in around everything else I love like going to gigs, cooking with friends and the occasional spot of wild swimming when I get the chance.
What was it that interested you about the MRM internship?
I had never initially thought about PR as a career, but I was at a point where I wanted to move to London and I couldn’t do voluntary work forever, so I started to look at my options. MRM seemed to have a good ethos from my initial research and, coming fresh out of my MA I was keen to get experience at a company that had an approach I agreed with and a positive work environment. Then I looked into PR and the FS industry and realised that I could be a good fit.
What have you enjoyed the most from your first year in financial PR?
I am a people person and so I have enjoyed building relationships both internally and externally.
What issues do you think are most important for personal finance media at the moment?
Obviously, the cost-of-living crisis is something that is occupying everyone’s mind at the moment, but I think it is important to focus on those most at risk. People can’t afford to heat their homes, pay rent, fuel their cars, eat etc. and I think it is important for the PF sector to not only acknowledge this and apply pressure on bodies that can do something about it, but to also provide resources and support to those in this situation.
What is the best personal finance tip you’ve learned since joining MRM?
The best investment you will ever make is your pension!
What have you found most surprising about financial services during your time at MRM so far?
That it is rare to have a background in finance and most people actually come from a humanities background like myself.
What is one tool/gadget/app you can’t do without for working?
It’s boring and basic but I can’t live without my notepad, I’ve been through about 5 since I joined MRM!
What one thing would you do if you were Prime Minister for the day?
I would put a rent cap in place – as a young renter in London I’m experiencing the current housing crisis firsthand and it is just not sustainable and unfairly effects individuals based on their socioeconomic position. People are getting pushed out of cities and in turn pushed away from opportunities that might otherwise be available to them.
What is the one column or website that you read every day?
I’m on MOB Kitchen everyday browsing for new recipes and food inspo.
What would you do if you received a windfall of £10,000?
Get myself on the first train to mainland Europe and go interrailing for 6 weeks…then be sensible and put the rest in my pension.