No two days are ever the same for press relations guru Dina Fouad – and she wouldn’t have it any other way
Written by: Charlie Kennedy
The life of a PR is by no means an easy job; organising and planning events, befriending media members and pleasing clients is enough to keep anyone busy on a daily basis, but the confident and chirpy Dina Fouad – a senior account executive at PR agency MCS Action FZ LLC – takes it all in her stride.
“I’ve lived in the UAE my whole life. My family are Egyptian, but have lived here for thirty years, so I’ve grown up watching the UAE get bigger and bigger in terms of status and events,” says the 26-year-old with a smile.
“I knew by the time I was ready to go to University that I wanted to go into marketing. So I chose to study at the American University Dubai,” she explains.
Not shy of hard work, Fouad took it upon herself to start searching for a job the minute she started university. While taking a job in a local bank for three years – a job she admits was strange for her – Fouad kept searching for the first rung on the career ladder.
“Working in a bank was unusual for me, especially since I dislike anything to do with numbers! But it certainly motivated me to continue looking for the right job.”
“Once I graduated I wanted to do something related to my degree so I started applying everywhere for anything PR and marketing related.
The determination quickly paid off.
“I quickly got two calls for interviews; one from MCS Action and a call from another PR company. I wanted to keep my options open so I went to both of them. MCS Action instantly felt right – everyone was friendly and welcoming.The second company was a completely different story; the interviewer sat me down and told me to basically forget about my social life! Needless to say, it wasn’t a tough decision!” she laughs.
So what does the day in the life of a PR involve? Fouad works on the small but ever-active sports team within MCS Action.
9am: Although Fouad admits she “hates routine” her day always starts at her desk. “The first thing I do upon getting in to the office is check emails – there are always plenty to go through.
10am: “We sit down regularly in the morning for a briefing to discuss what needs to be covered that day. Working in events it’s important to prioritise tasks and also make sure that we’re not crossing over anywhere.”
11am: After the briefing, the team are off and about working on their set tasks for the day.
“No two days are ever the same, which I love. It would be boring being desk-bound all the time,” says Fouad. I’ve been with Action for two and a half years, and I’m still having a blast,” she smiles.
"As our days vary so much I always keep a diary as there’s always the need to write something down in this job."
1pm: Lunch is never missed at MCS Action – something that Fouad really enjoys. “We like to gather around for lunch – it’s a little like a big family at work, which is lovely. MCS Action is a big company – and we’re the fun sports team within the team. We like to take a breather and catch up with each other without talking work."
2pm: After lunch it’s time to hit the phone. “Most of my media relations work takes place after lunch – that’s when we can get most people on the phone.
“It can be a bit of a challenge calling up everyone, trying to get their interest and explaining what the event we’re working on is all about. We always try and speak to the editors – making sure you’re speaking about the event to the right person – someone who can make that call on coverage, is important. It can be tiring, but it’s really a lot of fun. Once we’ve made the call we then follow up with emails.
5.30pm: At the end of each day we give each other a bit of a mini update – communication is very important when there’s a lot of organising involved.
6pm: Working hours in the office are over, but Fouad admits that work never really stops. “My phone never stops ringing,” she laughs. You never really mentally switch off – sometimes I brainstorm ideas for events in my sleep!” We do work weekends from time to time but we’re pretty flexible. I love my weekends though, I look forward to them every single week. I like to relax and not have to talk to too many people – I spend all week doing that!”
Final thoughts: “Being sports focused I’ve learnt so much during my time at MSC Action. I honestly didn’t have a clue about sport – but having worked on events including the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, the Laureus Awards and the Adventure Challenge we now joke about my expanding sports knowledge – it’s come a long way!”
We often don’t have much time to work on an event; sometimes we get a month’s notice or less, so it’s important to stay calm and not get stressed easily.
There is always something happening in Abu Dhabi and I think it’s set to get bigger and bigger. I love being involved in the action of planning an event. I just love the fact that I’m really into what I do and that I love my job – how lucky is that?
