Tag: internship

Superhero Interns Wanted!

Dana PhelpsBlog, Professional Development, The Clairemont Team, , , , 2 Comments on Superhero Interns Wanted!

What’s your PR superhero power? We want it! 

Clairemont is seeking a creative, highly motivated candidate for an internship with its award-winning public relations team. The candidate will work with team members to create and implement public relations strategy and creative campaigns for Clairemont’s clients.

Responsibilities might include:

  • Crafting creative messages and blog posts
  • Drafting key documents (news releases and media alerts) and distributing as appropriate
  • Contributing to team and client meetings
  • Creating formative research for the agency and clients
  • Developing and maintaining necessary client database information, including media contact lists and online/digital communicators
  • Reading and tracking key coverage and crafting reports for clients
  • Drafting and implementing social media strategy
  • Managing on-site events as needed
  • Attend industry and networking events

…and much more!

Qualifications:

  • Completed at least two years of college, preferably in journalism, PR or communication/marketing
  • Strong skills in creative and professional writing, critical thinking and effective teamwork
  • Proficiency in social media platforms, networking sites and trends
  • Experience in design, photography and videography highly preferred
  • Ability to work a minimum of 10 hours per week
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel and PowerPoint
  • A previous internship in PR is preferred
  • A zany sense of fun and creativity

Compensation: This is an hourly paid position with course credit offered if applicable.
Terms: Clairemont typically offers spring, summer and fall semester internship terms.

To Apply: Send your cover letter, resume and writing samples to Dana Phelps at d@clairemontcommunications.com.

 

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Life Styled By Social Media

Clairemont InternBlog, PR People, The Clairemont Team, , ,

The best career advice I received was from my favorite high school English teacher who told us that no matter the career we chose, we should find something we were passionate about. After all, we would only spend the rest of our lives doing it. This advice rang true when I made the decision to follow my passions and pursue my love of fashion at NC State University. 

I have always loved fashion. As a little girl, I would spend hours dressing up my dolls just to instantly undress and style them in another fabulous look. As a teenager, I spent Saturdays selling my wardrobe to replenish it with the newest styles at Valley Hills Mall. Clothing is more than a basic need to me; it’s a form of self-expression. 

I never knew fashion marketing was something I could study until I stumbled upon NC State’s Summer Textile Exploration Program for high school students interested in pursuing fashion at the Wilson College of Textiles. STEP taught me that there are endless career opportunities in the fashion industry and that a degree in fashion textile management would provide me with a well-rounded education and marketing skills that are valuable in any industry.

In fall 2017, I came to NC State as a fashion textile management major with a concentration in brand management and marketing at the Wilson College of Textiles. 

Around that time, I started my blog, The Brightest of the Bunch, and began creating fashion content on social media. My love for blogging inspired me to add an extra dimension to my degree and minor in journalism. Content creation led me to realize that fashion wasn’t my only passion and I wanted to focus on blogging and social media.

I planned to continue blogging and shift my content to focus on travel in spring 2020 while I was studying abroad in Florence, Italy in a fashion marketing program. When the pandemic hit, all of my creative plans went out the window. Instead, in February 2020 I was sent home from Italy, stuck in my tiny hometown, Morganton, NC, and had lost all inspiration and motivation to create content. It was like everything was on pause. 

As the summer progressed, I began to panic about my future. I had always dreamed that my social media platforms would take off before I started to apply for jobs. Now my senior year was creeping up, and I rarely felt like I had the energy to be on camera or take photos of myself, let alone start my career. 

I decided to apply for social media internships where I would be able to tap back into my passions without having to be the face of the content. I started doing social media work with start-ups and small businesses, and I loved that with each of these organizations there was a purpose behind the content I was creating. I thrived on being able to create for multiple industries and helping entrepreneurs reach their goals. 

Throughout my senior year, I continued to manage social media for different clients. I realized that working at an agency was the next step for me when Maia Guterbock, a former Clairemont intern, spoke in my Editorial and Opinion Writing class. She talked about her own blog and creative work at Clairemont including a post on “How brands get the ha-ha’s” and a review of the Best 2021 Superbowl commercials. I was inspired by all of it! 

After interviewing at Clairemont, I knew this was the internship for me. Working with clients to help refine their brand, and create and execute social media campaigns is right up my alley. I’m excited to grow in my creativity and experience and expand my PR knowledge this summer.

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Finding PR in a Pandemic

Clairemont InternBlog, Public Relations, The Clairemont Team, , , ,

Similar to many college students, I work in the restaurant industry. Over the years I have been asked so many questions that I have learned not to be surprised by anything. Sometimes I get wrapped up in a conversation with a customer who wants to know everything about me, where I go to school and what I want to do with my life. The one question that never fails to surprise me is “Why are you studying communication at a STEM school?” 

The question is fair, especially if the person asking knows NC State for its College of Engineering or athletics. Therefore, in my time at State, I have made it my responsibility to work hard to debunk the stereotype that you need to be focused on STEM at a mostly STEM school. My experience as a communication student has been the perfect balance of challenge and opportunity, and here’s why.

Finding Opportunities

When I came to NC State in the fall of 2018, I found my place in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, studying communication. While I had no idea what was ahead of me, I did know that I only wanted to take the bare minimum of math and science classes! I would have traded my Geology 101 class (which was NOT “rocks for jocks” like I had been told), a five-minute walk from where I lived, for the trek across campus to the Court of North Carolina for my communication, journalism and English classes any day.

Then, in spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I was finishing up my sophomore year coursework at my parents’ house, grieving what might have been a summer traveling or a high-profile internship, and scrambling to find something productive to fill my time. Spring 2020 reminds me of the restaurant slang “in the weeds.” The phrase is used to describe getting behind on a busy night, and at the time, that was exactly how I felt. In hindsight, I’m sure most everyone felt this way. But I was able to channel my “work harder” mentality inspired by a STEM school environment to help find opportunities in a doomed situation. I stayed connected to campus by writing for NC State’s student newspaper, Technician, and attending virtual events with my PRSSA chapter. When both organizations were seeking leadership for the next school year, I was ready to apply!

I couldn’t have imagined that some of my most influential experiences yet at NC State would occur during this time.

In May 2020 I was hired as a news editor for Technician and elected to the board of our PRSSA chapter. Two irreplaceable experiences I don’t believe would have been possible if everything was “normal.” Both the newspaper and PRSSA taught me more about what I wanted to do with my career than any summer internship could. I planned virtual events, networked and recruited new members to campus organizations in a time when most students were desperate for a connection to campus life. I helped lead a student newspaper through a pandemic entirely through Zoom calls while simultaneously becoming a stronger writer, student and leader. And, believe it or not, I was still able to make the most out of a summer in a pandemic!

The PRSSA E-board during our first-ever virtual ‘PR Day’ networking event in November 2020.

Joining Clairemont

While I was proud of the work I was doing, I learned that I didn’t want to be a news journalist. Inspired by my experiences with PRSSA, I decided I wanted to intern at a PR agency. 

To anyone who asks me why I study communication at a STEM school, the answer is “why not?” The relationships and experiences I have gained at NC State have led me to so many opportunities, including finding Clairemont Communications.

Joining the Clairemont team this summer is the next exciting step on my career journey. I am eager to work alongside the Clairemont team and clients, gain industry knowledge and build confidence as an aspiring PR professional. Thank you, NC State, for getting me here, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

By Clairemont intern Anna Beth McCormick, a senior at NC State University.

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Books, Backpacking and B2C

Clairemont InternBlog, Professional Development, The Clairemont Team, , , ,

I grew up with my head in the clouds, and my nose in a book.

Books were my way to learn about faraway places and fascinating people. Before I discovered that I had a passion for traveling, books were my way to fly around the globe without leaving my living room. 

As I got older, I began to wonder how I could build a future out of an affinity for words. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to do much soul searching to find the perfect fit. Being the Tar Heel born-and-bred that I was, the second that I learned about UNC’s nationally top-ranked Hussman School of Journalism and Media, I was sold. 

I promise that this face doesn’t reflect my love of being a Tar Heel! 

Stumbling upon PR

In the fall of 2017, I entered the Hussman School planning to study journalism. In the spring I took a PR class as an elective and instantly fell in love. I realized that while I love to write, I love the strategy and planning that goes behind PR campaigns just as much. Writing to further strategic goals? Hello, dream job!  

Over my (almost!) four years at UNC, I’ve been fortunate enough to study abroad twice and visit 11 countries, all while earning the degree of my dreams. While studying in Sydney, Australia in the fall of 2019, I gained great first-hand PR experience on a global scale by interning with boutique PR firm Hollinshead Communications. 

At Hollinshead, I dipped my paintbrush into many buckets including working on influencer marketing campaigns and event launches. I also got to work with some amazing clients, my favorite being American Express. 

An open-air cinema event I helped plan and execute for client AmEx.

Choosing Clairemont

Even before I decided to apply to a job with Clairemont, I had admired the firm’s work for quite some time. However, it wasn’t until my interview that I knew Clairemont was the right fit for me. 

At the time, I was nearing the year-and-a-half mark of working as a communications intern for UNC-Chapel Hill’s Information Technology Services (ITS). I loved every second of my internship but knew that it was time to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. 

At ITS, I was trusted to work on many different projects, from writing blogs and social media posts to editing videos and taking professional headshots. Because of this experience, I wanted to find the opportunity to continue producing meaningful work in my next internship. 

During my interview with Clairemont, I instantly fell in love with the girl-boss atmosphere at the firm. It was also clear that I wouldn’t be expected to fill my time with coffee grabbing, but would get to exercise my creativity on client projects. 

I am ecstatic to join the Clairemont team and learn more about PR every step of the way.

By Clairemont intern Anne Claire Foreman, a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill.

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Finding the Power in PR

Clairemont InternBlog, Public Relations, The Clairemont Team, , , ,

My mom loves her job. 

Throughout my 21 years of life, this truth has influenced my perception of work and ultimately, my own search for a career. Although the message was never explicitly stated, through my mother’s example I embraced the philosophy that one’s profession should be more. It should be a passion. 

My mom (left) enjoying her work as a Sommelier.

It wasn’t until I started college that I came to understand that not everyone is so lucky in life. It was a privilege to choose what I wanted to do for a living, and I felt an obligation to give back. I found myself entering UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Media and Journalism where I chose to major in traditional journalism and new media. 

Rushing Franklin St. after a Tar Heel win against Duke!

You might be thinking, “Why journalism?” And I know that given our political climate, where “fake news” and sensationalized stories run rampant, this is hard to believe; however, journalism remains a noble profession in my eyes, shedding light on socio-economic issues around the world and protecting our civil liberties through governmental checks.

There was only one issue: I didn’t love it. C’est la vie! 

A Global Perspective

My junior year, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Paris, France and intern for a journalism agency. This experience was different and challenging, but I realized that I wasn’t building the kind of relationships or seeing the tangible impact that I was craving in a career. I did, however, find myself taking pleasure in being a part of something greater. With a new perspective, I was able to consider a new possibility: Marketing and Public Relations. Ah la vache! (This means “OMG” in French and accurately describes my excitement for finding PR.)

Some friends and me on the Champs-Élysées in Paris

Seeing the Magic

I had a gut feeling this time. It just felt right and wasn’t the la vie en rose that I experienced with journalism. PR would allow me to apply my journalism background in a new way AND find satisfaction in my work through delivering a public service. Great public relations can help brands uphold decades of progress and move the needle of civil liberties. The strategies, tools and words we choose to tell stories are directly connected to our ability to change the world. When broadening a client’s grasp, PR has the power to imagine better. I believe that’s worthwhile. 

Coming to Clairemont 

I first heard of Clairemont Communications through the Hussman School’s weekly career services email. They stood out among the various company listings because they offered a real opportunity to be a part of the team. After my interview, I knew Clairemont was where I wanted to be. I could tell it was a special place to work, and I am thrilled to join such an innovative and passionate group of individuals. I can’t wait to learn more about the PR industry, as well as use storytelling and media in new and creative ways. 

Want to land your dream job or internship, too? Check out these stellar interview tips! Bonne chance!

By Clairemont intern Maia Guterbock, a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill.

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