If you’re stuck for a last minute Christmas gift, the Quest team might just have the answer.

We’ve now launched our campaign for perfectholidayhome.co.uk - an online competition run by a British ex-pat couple to sell their $1.25m holiday home in Florida.

The winner will be chauffeured from the airport to their fully-furnished ‘perfect holiday home’ in Orlando. Set within 5-acres of landscaped gardens, it features a luxurious rock pool, panoramic views and five bedrooms. And it can be yours for just £25.

As we all excitedly await the Christmas break our lovely clients ICM Creative have compiled their own video tribute to the Twelve Days of Christmas. Having always struggled with the order of the ‘geese-a-laying’ and ‘maids-a-milking’ it’s good to see they’ve thrown caution to the wind and devised a new version.

Well done to the team!

The amusing story of Republican congresswoman Ileana Ross- Lehtinen hanging up on President elect Barack Obama in the misguided belief that it was a prank call has catapulted this woman’s profile up the media Richter scale.

Obama, soon to be the world’s most powerful man, was given short sharp shrift just 60 seconds after calling Ross-Lehiten to congratulate her on her re-election. At this stage we can forgive the congresswoman her naivety for thinking it an elaborate hoax from a local radio station.

As a PR professional passionate about effective communication, faux par numero deux, which saw Ross-Lehiten hanging up on Obama’s chief of staff when he phoned to stress that Obama’s call was for real, was a disturbing reaction from a high ranking politician who is the most senior Republican woman in the US Congress.

Surely by then the penny, or dime, should have dropped?  It then took a third call from the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee on which Ross-Lehiten sits, to persuade her to speak with Obama.  

So when you receive a call telling you that Gordon Brown is on the line….     

Yesterday’s Pre-budget report has been the subject of intense media speculation about what it may contain - and funnily enough, when Alistair Darling opened his red box surprises were hard to find.

The Chancellor’s PBR had been comprehensively leaked before the Parliamentary statement this afternoon - unlike any other budget before. But what did the government stand to gain?

Following my recent lecture at Leeds Met I promised to help people make their first moves in to the hugely competitive PR jobs market.

Over the course of the next few weeks I’ll do a few posts on topics such as handling interviews, writing CVs and what to expect from your first few weeks and months in a job.

We often receive speculative approaches from both students and those already in work - and so I’ve seen examples of how - as well as how not - to do it. Here are my top five ways of ensuring yours stands out from the rest.

1) Research, research, research. The way to a new employer’s heart is to show them that you care about them and have taken time to learn as much as you can. Knowing why you want to join a team before you send in an application means that you become more focused as well - rather than adopting a spray and pray approach. (NB this remains valid for your PR career as well - research journalists before sending a media approach and tailor it to their needs). Call the company beforehand to ask them who the best contact is for speculative approaches so that you don’t waste time by sending it to the wrong person.

2) Keep it short and sweet. The people you are approaching will doubtless have several other priorities the day your letter or email arrives and they will not spend time reading War and Peace. Pick out three key areas that demonstrate how you understand the company and that ‘sell’ your achievements and personality.

Last night I enjoyed the great opportunity to be invited to conduct one of Leeds Metropolitan University CIPR guest lecture slots, giving over 100 first, second and final year undergraduates an insight into my experience with an in house PR, a full service agency and a boutique business to business PR specialist.

Among them were some familiar faces who have or are about to undertake work placements with us and it was a refreshing chance to share the knowledge I have on the different roles that students can expect to be carrying out once they graduate.

I promised a series of blogs over the coming weeks to follow up my lecture and will make the first one later this week reiterating the varying PR career paths open to people. I will also offer some advice on completing CVs, covering letters and tailoring your applications to ensure yours is picked up by potential employers.

In the meantime, thanks to those that gave up their free Monday evening to listen to me and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. For those of you who weren’t there then there will be a video to view on the internet shortly.