Internships can be such a mystery to PR students, so I appreciated the insight provided by some of the student blogs. Allison from Minnesota gave some great tips to new interns about how to dress and behave on the job. Most of it is common sense, but it is good to hear that these strategies are working for her. I especially liked the tip about walking around the office and introducing yourself to everyone. Interns constantly come and go in an office or agency setting, so I thought it was a great idea for the intern to be more proactive about meeting everyone. After all, PR is all about relationships!
I found one blog with postings from an assortment of PR interns. One student talked about the frustrations she had while trying to do telephone interviews for articles she was assigned to write. She had good tips about being persistent with your interviewees and not being afraid to ask someone to repeat what they just said. It can be hard to listen and take notes while talking on the phone. That was one of the hardest jobs in my work in PR, especially if the person I was interviewing had an accent or didn't speak very clearly. Those issues are increased dramatically when you can't see the person who is talking.
I found that blogs are not only a great place to learn about interns' experiences, but also a great place to find an internship. A children's museum in Berkley posted an internship on UC Davis' internship blog. I never thought of using blogs for internship postings, but it's a great way to reach students. This would be a good project for our PRSSA chapter to try.
On a final note, I found this great blog entry for PR students in India. The poster listed the Top 10 things you should know before you finish your internship. No matter where you live, the PR skills you need to succeed are all the same: be a good writer, understand how to network, learn how to do research, and, of course, know how to write a fantastic news release, among others.
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I laughed to myself reading about the phone interview conundrum we all face at some point. It is so true that anything can make it difficult to hear or understand the words coming through the phone lines. Isn't it funny how it feels awkward to ask someone to repeat themselves but it's usually not a problem to say something again when someone asks you to repeat yourself? I conducted an interview for a newsletter during my summer internship and during that interview, just like anyone else would, I had to ask her to repeat what she said or slow down just a bit while I tried to write what she said. This post is such a reality with phone interviews.
Great minds must think alike, Dr. Horsley! I recently thought about where to put PR internships on our utahprssa.ning.com site. Watch for that listing soon.
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