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A Day in the Life of an End-Point Assessor: Sarah Colombini

Hello! My name is Sarah and I am a Founder Member of social enterprise PR agency Campaign Collective. I am also an End-Point Assessor for AIMs Public Relations and Communications Assistant and Event Assistant apprenticeship standards. I work remotely and live in Devon with my husband, two daughters and spoilt black Labrador! Here’s a little insight into my world…

6.30am – Wake up, watch BBC Breakfast to catch the headlines, whilst scanning the headlines of other main news outlets and checking socials for client related news and updates. 

7am – Wake my daughters and feed them breakfast whilst news is still on in the background.

8am – Take my daughters to school and walk my black Labrador on the beach or in the woods. Whilst out walking I run through my to-do list for the day and check emails.

 

8.50am – Back home I reply to any client emails that have come in overnight. A new business lead has been forwarded to me as a potential client, I check out their website, do a quick Google news search and look at their socials to gain a brief overview who they are and what they currently have in place for comms. I start a document that outlines key links ready to review later.

9.15am – This morning I have a PR and Communications Assistant end-point assessment (EPA), so I start preparing for it. I’ve already marked the Project Report, putting all my comments and notes into the marksheet but it is time for a refresh, so I re-read the Project Report, cross-referencing with the marksheet and pre-prepared questions. Is there anything else that should be added? Have I got enough questions to ensure that all the pass criteria are able to be fulfilled? Any questions that I can ask that will help the apprentice reach the distinction criteria? Once I am fully satisfied that I am ready for the assessment I make sure that I have the right login details for the online assessment and have my ID pass to hand.

9.55am – Make third cup of tea of the day and wait for the apprentice to join the call. 

10am – Undertake the EPA introductions, making sure that the apprentice is put at ease, mentioning the weather in Devon, and joking about the fact that my Labrador is in the room with me hoping that the postman won’t arrive and make him bark.

11am – I go back to the marksheet and review in the context of my notes updating it where necessary. I don’t finalise the marksheet at this point as I like to ensure that I have all the information and have the opportunity to come back with a fresh mind. I will review the marksheet and recording of the EPA tomorrow. 

11.30am – Back to my emails, a journalist has emailed asking for images to accompany a press release that they are writing following a launch event that I ran last week. I go back to them with a link to the images and check that they don’t need any further background information, quotes or statistics to support the press release that they are writing and also check when it will be due out. 

12.00pm – I put the radio on and have lunch with my husband.

1pm – First coffee of the day, to drink whilst on a weekly call with one of my campaigning clients. The call is a check-in of actions from the previous week and to make sure that we are on track with all the plans. We are currently in the planning phase for a research report so in advance of the call I make sure that I have a full update from the researchers and confirmed that we are on track to write the press release and produce the supporting social media toolkit.

2pm – Call with the business development team. It’s our weekly check in of new business leads, client wins and successes or issues with current clients. I update them on the potential lead I had through this morning and gain insight from the team.

3pm – I nip out and collect my daughters from school.

4pm – I come back to the new business lead and review the notes I made first thing. I then email them arranging a call with the potential client and check that they are happy to sign our ethical agreement and clarify the budget and timings. I check my emails and respond accordingly. Finally, a check in of the news agenda/calendar for tomorrow to make sure nothing new has broken, it hasn’t, so tomorrow I will be able to finish marking my EPA from today.

5.30pm – Last check on updates on client socials.

I love being an assessor, it’s massively rewarding, and I find it fulfilling to help the next generation of PR professionals.


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