There is little, if any, glamour that attaches itself to the world of the intern. Interns are often given the least-attractive jobs in a public relations agency, spending their time assembling and verifying mailing lists, photocopying press releases and stuffing envelopes, or calling often recalcitrant editors while doing follow-up on mailings-the senior people will undoubtedly have spoken to the more receptive editors!
Though the work is not glamorous, it is essential training, and, if approached in the right spirit, it can leave you with a sense of accomplishment, achievement, and confidence.
Internships are also a useful tool for employers. I have found that it is unlikely that anyone who fails to display qualities such as initiative, self-discipline and diligence as an intern will magically begin to display such qualities as a full-time employee. Paid PR internships are few and far between. The prospective intern should be willing to work for the experience alone-the opportunity to see how a "real world" agency works and to acquire invaluable skills. Fundamentally, an internship can be useful in helping you decide whether a public relations or media career is really what you want.
Also, try to stay at least one step ahead of the person you are working for. This sends an unmistakable message of intelligence and preparedness to your employer.
To sum it up, an internship can be what you make it. Use it as a time to learn and grow in attitude, skills, and knowledge. These are real possessions, because they will translate into material rewards as your career progresses.
Volunteer Your Time
An often overlooked area where useful experience can be gained is volunteer work. If an internship can give exposure to the vital "nitty-gritty" of public relations and media-related work, then volunteer work can give you a hint of the larger picture. One account executive at my agency used to work for a large nonprofit organization where, she reports, the public relations committee was made up almost exclusively of volunteers. The committee decided on the thrust and content of campaigns and was largely responsible for developing organization policy in their area. This young woman feels that the experience was invaluable for her, and I am sure that hers is not an isolated instance.
Taking the First Step
Though all the foregoing is important for preparing you for the public relations field, they are just preparation. The time inevitably comes when you have to begin searching for that first position. A lot has been written on what might be called the "mechanics" of job searching-proper resumes, interviewing skills, etc.-and I feel no need to rehash that material here. Two essential PR skills that should be very much in evidence at this stage of the proceedings, though, are appearance and verbal skills. I feel this is especially important in any media relations field. These are things that by now a candidate either has mastered or hasn't. They are important and will be noticed by any potential interviewer.
Competition for entry-level positions is keen. A recent opening at my agency attracted around 70 applicants. I was surprised that this number included not only recent graduates, but people who wanted to break into the public relations field from some other, sometimes unrelated career. Who stood out from the field and why?
In order to be an effective public relations professional, you must not be affected by rejection. During my fairly long career as a public relations executive, I have had occasion to hire many young aspiring PR account executives. Quite a few quit after a short time because they couldn't take heat from the press or the clients.
Working with the media is a very important part of the public relations effort. Anyone interested in the public relations business must be able to communicate information to the media properly, which means understanding the difference between the various publications in many fields and being totally familiar with their editorial make-ups.
The Ideal Candidate
The first thing I looked for was experience that tied in with the specific types of accounts we handled. In our case that meant beauty, fashion, home furnishings, and art That experience should be on an academic or practical level, but in general, it is probably a good idea to find out in advance as much about the type of clients a prospective employer handles and match them as much as possible to your own knowledge and experience. For an entry-level position, this can be difficult, but one should at least try to find hobbies or interests that can provide a knowledge base for me initial interview.
The second criterion for the opening was enthusiasm. I looked for someone who I felt would honestly love what he or she would be doing, for whom the work would be more than "just a job." This is an intangible quality but one that communicates itself very readily to clients.
Also important, of course, were a consistent work history, appropriate dress and appearance, and the ability to project oneself with poise and assurance. These qualities are especially important when dealing, as my agency does, with upscale clients and publications.
Finally, a good academic record was important. It shows an ability to learn and absorb and to perform a task at a consistent level of achievement over a number of years.
All of this can be summed up by saying that the match between agency and account executive is one that the potential employee should have taken into consideration before applying for the job at all. The better the match between the agency and the account executive's interests and abilities, the happier they both will be. It will be to an aspiring employee's advantage to decide ahead of time what sort of work he or she wants to do (e.g., a public relations agency, a nonprofit organization, a government agency, or a large corporation), then pursue that goal exclusively.
