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Internships are the best way to begin your public relations career and interning at an agency allows you to apply the skills you’ve learned in school to creating real-world deliverables. Some duties you will complete during your internship include: media monitoring, media list development, pitch development, and research.
Agencies also allow you to work with a plethora of clients. You have the opportunity to work across sectors, giving you a range of experience that you can apply to your next position. If you do well in your internship, you will build good relationships with your coworkers; references are incredibly valuable in securing future work. Agencies sometimes hire their best interns to be full-time employees; being on your A game is crucial to maximize your chances of staying with your agency.
Here are three tips and tricks to succeed in your agency internship.
1. Take notes and keep a planner
Agencies often move quickly and you will be bouncing between different clients, which might include working on different teams. It’s important to keep track of everything that’s going on to prevent yourself from getting overwhelmed or getting out of the loop.
Keeping a planner and a tracker with all of your deliverables is a great way to stay organized and on-top of your work. Staying organized is a great first step to ensuring that your communication with your team is consistent – it’s important to keep yourself organized because eventually you will be keeping others organized, including clients and other coworkers.
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2. Don't be afraid to ask questions
Internships are fundamentally about growth and development; part of that is asking questions or raising any concerns you have to your direct manager. Asking questions shows that you’re being proactive; your manager and your coworkers are here to help you and ultimately they want to produce client-ready materials. Taking steps to ensure that your work is as close to client-ready as possible is crucial in excelling in your internship.
3. Be proactive when taking on work
Depending on when you take your internship, there may be slow periods in your workday. In agency, fall tends to be the busiest time of year, with summer and spring usually being slower.
If you find yourself without work, be sure to tell your manager to see if there are any additional opportunities for you. This might include working across sectors, which is a great way to get experience in another sector or doing different work to broaden your portfolio.
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Conclusion
Public Relations agencies are one of the best ways to gain experience in communications, introducing you to a variety of tasks and clients. The best way to make the most out of your internship is by keeping communication with your direct manager and coworkers and being proactive in involving yourself in the agency.
