by Emma Cameron | Sep 19, 2024 | Agency Life, Public Relations, Social Media
“What do you want to do after college?” “Are you planning on interning?” “Will you get work experience during the summers?” These are daunting questions that many young people hear. Of course I want job experience, but how do you go from having no job experience to landing the gig of your dreams (without a mental breakdown along the way)?
I began to panic this spring as my peers secured impressive summer internships. I spent all of March and April researching agencies and cold emailing PR professionals. That’s when I found it — the holy grail — Amy Rosenberg’s LinkedIn profile. We went to nearby high schools, the same college and even were in neighboring sororities. I immediately opened Outlook and wrote to Amy, introducing myself and emphasizing our similar paths. She responded promptly and was extremely friendly. Weeks later, she offered me an internship at Veracity.
Getting the Job
Securing this internship was a great relief, but it also taught me that you don’t always need others’ connections to succeed professionally. While I think it’s awesome when family or friends can help get you a job, it’s important to remember that you can still thrive without that convenience. I feel very lucky to have found someone with whom I share so many similarities and who took a chance on me. Sometimes, all it takes is a bit of bravery to make the connection yourself!
Calm Down!
When the internship started, a new challenge came about — I was incredibly tense, and it took me about half the summer to lighten up. Could you blame me? This was my first internship and I wanted to excel. The schedule was different, and the routine was unconventional compared to anything I was used to in high school or college; I had so much independence. It was also an adjustment because Veracity is remote, so I never met my two mentors, Amy and Cailyn, in person.
My perpetual stress started causing issues when I couldn’t focus on anything, and I didn’t feel like myself. I was going through the motions without critically thinking about my tasks, almost like I was on auto-pilot for the day. Yes, it’s important to do what is expected of you, but staying authentic is equally crucial. I realized that when I allow myself to relax a bit more, I can do my job better, think more clearly and tap into my creativity. With my nerves in check, I noticed another challenge creeping in — perfectionism.
Beware of Perfectionism
As I settled into my routine, I realized I wasn’t using my time as efficiently as possible because I was constantly second-guessing myself. I would have saved time if I had finished an Instagram graphic after three revisions instead of 80 or written the press release in 30 minutes instead of three hours. I’m not saying that precision isn’t important, but when it crosses over into unproductive perfectionism, it can cause issues and waste time. Realizing that perfectionism was holding me back, I was eager to get my hands on the actual PR tools that would push me beyond my comfort zone and into real-world learning.
My PR Toolbox
One of the first things I did in my internship was work with Muck Rack, a PR software database that can be used to look up journalists and news outlets. Once I got access, I immediately felt so official because this was something you couldn’t get from a lecture or a classroom.
Amy and Cailyn taught me how to create coverage reports, build media lists and write a press release. How cool is that!? These real PR experiences, paired with reading chapters from Amy’s A Modern Guide to Public Relations, were monumental during my internship. They gave me a foundation of PR that I will fall back on in the future. I ended up working on a pretty substantial media list for a big conference in October, and even wrote parts of the corresponding press release. It’s a bizarre feeling when you get included in a project or task that feels so professional and out of normal reach, but a thrill unlike anything I’ve experienced.
Research Research Research
While media lists and press releases taught me PR fundamentals, I quickly learned that none of it would be possible without extensive research. Understanding our clients and their audiences is the backbone of everything we do, making research a skill I’ve been refining. This critical thinking involved questions like: Where is the client located? How old is their audience? What local events do their audiences attend? What podcasts could this client guest star on? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Because of this, I acquainted myself with Google and relied on spreadsheets to organize information.
I found myself online more during this job than ever before. I also felt very “in the loop” with local and national news because of how frequently I checked up on those outlets. To nobody’s surprise, this experience made me better at reading the news, something I now will intentionally build into my routine.
Creativity in PR
The internet wasn’t just a place to research during my internship, it also became a platform to showcase my creativity. I created social media graphics that challenged my graphic design skills by experimenting with different colors and layouts. I also developed my writing style, finding the right balance between being professional and letting my personal voice shine through. Plus, I got to practice incorporating emojis and hashtags into social media captions to effectively convey my messages.
I deeply appreciate Amy and Cailyn allowing me to express my personality through my work this summer. These projects were challenging at times, but seeing them come to fruition was incredibly rewarding. Through this, I’ve come to appreciate how PR is such a thoughtful field, where hard work and creativity truly pay off.
Just the Beginning
As long as nine weeks sounds, this summer went by in the blink of an eye. I now understand how the job works and what the workload of a PR pro looks like. Veracity gave me a glimpse into the world of PR, and I am thrilled to take what I’ve learned back to school. I’m even more excited about my PR courses because I will now have context. If we study domain authority in class, I now know that it means how likely a website is to appear in search engine results or if we have to create a press release, my AP style writing has improved.
PR, social media and digital marketing are VAST. As I step into the next chapter, I’m more motivated than ever to continue exploring, challenging myself and finding joy in the unexpected moments. This is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to see where the journey leads!
by Talia Smith | Sep 19, 2016 | Digital Marketing, General, Posts, Public Relations, Resources, Social Media
One day during the last month of my internship at Veracity, I found myself alone in our quaint, sunny office in Portland’s Bakery Building with a brief pocket of time to myself. I admired my desk and the large computer monitor displaying a press release I wrote. I scanned our generous downtown view. I noticed my notepad that was clean with fresh yellow pages on my first day at the office was now disheveled and running out of pages after six months. Just like my notepad, I arrived on my first day as a clean blank page and left brimming with new skills, connections and a love for public relations.
How did this happen? I’m only 21-years-old with an associate degree. I was told that I would be lucky to work at a gluten free bakery when I moved from New Jersey to Portland, and yet I attained a dream internship at Veracity. I wrote press releases and blog-posts, communicated and pitched ideas to media outlets, spoke with clients and attended meetings. This is real work that many people my age will not touch for years.
How did I get here? It started when my hours were slashed at my previous retail job. I had an entire unpaid week off that helped me realize that I would rather be paid nothing if it meant gaining experience in writing and public relations. Life is too short to be sidetracked from doing exactly what you want to do. Thanks to Veracity, I was able to both gain invaluable experience in PR while collecting a stipend that will help pay for my tuition at the University of Oregon this fall.
For those looking for a dream PR internship, here are five tips to help the process go as smoothly as possible:
1. Think of an internship as an investment in your future
When I first arrived in Portland, my initial goal was to find a job where I could work as many hours as possible and make the highest wage I qualified for. I was preparing for a gap year between community college and a four-year university. What I didn’t understand at first is the jobs I applied for would not help me propel my prospective career in PR. Yes, I’d save up money and keep busy, but I wouldn’t have the real world PR skills that I do after interning at Veracity.
I urge anyone in a similar position to opt for an internship in your desired field over a well-paying job when you are first starting out. Many times they are one in the same. Just as a college degree is an investment in your future, the right internship will broaden your palette of skills, introduce you to a network of professionals in your field and act as a stepping stone to the career you are seeking post-college.
2. You can apply to companies that aren’t necessarily hiring
My internship search reached peak frustration when I applied to companies via job posting websites. Due to the fact that almost every unemployed, college-educated person in the Portland-metro area floods to websites such as Mac’s List, PDX Pipeline and Indeed, I did not hear back from any of the internships I applied for using these outlets. The moment I picked up the phone, my luck began to change.
First, I searched for all the PR firms within my immediate area and composed a list. Next, I cold-called each office and inquired whether they would be interested in hosting an intern. I received some no’s, but mostly yes’s—or at least someone willing to take a look at my resume. Many PR companies don’t necessarily have an established internship program, but from my experience, most were open to the possibility of hiring an intern. These cold-calling phone calls usually ended in a “please send your resume to this email.”
When sending the resume and cover letter via email, be sure to mention who you spoke to on the phone. I couldn’t believe how well this worked for me. I went from absolutely zero responses to having three scheduled interviews in the same week.
3. Customization is key
When I was hired, Amy told me she was not looking for an intern but reconsidered after reviewing my cover letter. I think it’s because I was really enamored by Veracity when I viewed the website. I knew that this would be the perfect place for me to work so I made sure to read over Amy and Mike’s biographies, client testimonies, blog posts and more. I put a lot of time and effort into making sure the cover letter was interesting—not generic—and also included specifics about myself and how I could be of use to Veracity.
Take the time to research a company you want to intern for and convey that knowledge in the first paragraph of your cover letter. Go on to write an interesting and eloquent inquiry explaining that although you have a lot to learn, you also have a lot to offer and list specific skills. Cover letters provide an excellent opportunity to prove your writing chops. Write in a way that proves your cover letter was written solely for the company you are applying for.
4. Go on any and all interviews
Interviewing, even for a job you don’t want, is a surefire way to build confidence for the time you find yourself interviewing for the job you actually want. During my first interview for this internship search, I knew within the first five minutes that I did not want the job a different firm was offering. It didn’t matter because conversation was flowing to the point where the interview went on for an hour. When I showed the potential employer my portfolio of writing samples, she proceeded to point out all of the mistakes she saw at a glance.
I was embarrassed at first, but then I went home, corrected the mistakes and reread my writing samples to make sure they were flawless for the next interview. I noted what worked and what didn’t and honed my pitch even more. When I was interviewing with Amy, she flipped through my portfolio and said, “See, this is exactly what I am looking for.” I was overjoyed and grateful that I had an opportunity to correct my mistakes for an interview that mattered most. There is always something positive and helpful you can take away from even the worst interviews.
5. Be a yes wo(man)
Once you land your dream internship, what you do with it is up to you, but seizing every opportunity as a learning experience is so important.
Amy and Mike gave me the option to attend certain meetings and events outside of my normal work hours and I never regretted saying “yes.” I had the opportunity to attend live tapings of our client on the local news, sit in and contribute to meetings, not to mention, attend Engage (formerly called SearchFest), Portland’s premier digital marketing conference, at no cost.
As I am preparing for my first term back at college as a PR major at the University of Oregon, I am constantly reminded how lucky I am to have spent 2016 at Veracity. Some college students have this fear of graduating and not finding a job in their field and I am happy to report that I do not have this fear at all. I will be just as tenacious about finding my post-bachelor job as I was finding my internship. I am really looking forward to going back to school but I am most looking forward to graduating and finding a job that brings me as much joy as my internship at Veracity.
