Tag: internship

To Intern…Or Not To Intern? (Part 1)

Cherith AndesBlog, Professional Development, Public Relations, , , 3 Comments on To Intern…Or Not To Intern? (Part 1)

With the growth of client assignments in the classroom, are internships outdated?
Part one of a two-part blog on internships from Clairemont’s own fantastic intern, Carly Griffin.

Imagine sitting at the dinner table over Christmas break during your sophomore year of college, and your dad asks you, “So, do you have an internship lined up for the summer yet?” 

Internship…? INTERNSHIP? You JUST decided on a major. Two months ago. And only after flirting with every other major your school offers. Does he really expect you to have an internship lined up already?

So, you mumble a response, such as, “I’ve been looking into it.”

Then, the panic sets in. How do you find an internship? Hello, Google! What kind of internship should you apply to? Oh yeah, my major. Where can you apply? I guess living at home would be cool. Are you even qualified for an internship? Probably, not. Are internships even necessary? Hmm…

In every intern interview I’ve done, one question always seems to come up: why do you want this internship? And my response is the same each time: the classroom is a great place to learn theories, but it’s vital to gain the real world experience a college setting cannot provide.

But in a day when college courses now assign you to work for a client, did my answer still ring true?

In my PR Writing class, we were given a semester-long assignment with a non-profit, Theater Delta, where we applied classroom learning to an actual company. And while this was a great opportunity, it lacked the real-life professionalism of an internship that I had to secure on my own.

In addition, the assignment ended after a semester with no opportunity to continue working for the company.  And that, my friends, is key. The relationship that you develop during a traditional internship paves the way for career mobility, forward momentum and—simply put—job offers.

The work I did for Theater Delta, while instructive and educational, did not have the same future opportunities as a “real” internship. For this reason, I’m thankful for that night at the dinner table. It made me examine my options and inspired me to start working towards a professional internship that would be pack the most punch as I built my career.

Weigh in: do you think a classroom internship provides the same benefits as a opportunity outside the college setting?

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Clairemont Welcomes UNC Intern with Variety of Previous PR Internships

Josephine ButlerBlog, Professional Development, Public Relations, Raleigh PR Agency, The Clairemont Team, , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment on Clairemont Welcomes UNC Intern with Variety of Previous PR Internships

Meet Callie Henson, joining us from the beautiful campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she is studying PR. While we’d really like to tell you more, we don’t want to steal her thunder! We hope you enjoy hearing about where she was before she started her internship here at a Raleigh PR agency.

Say hello to Callie Henson, our newest intern!

When I came to UNC, I knew I wanted to study in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The field has always interested me, and after my first public relations course, I knew this was the profession for me.

Now that I am a senior at UNC and a profession in the real world awaits, I’ve realized it is my different experiences in PR that will help me stand out in the crowd of recent graduates. From interning at local North Carolina agencies (including my internship right here at a Raleigh public relations agency!) to chairing the public relations and outreach committee of UNC’s student government, I feel like I am gaining a wide variety of experience while I am still in school. My past summer interning in New York City especially opened up my eyes to the possibilities in PR.

Every single day during my internship in NYC, I learned something new and usually witnessed a supervisor or two learning a new skill or concept, as well. From strategy for new business pitches to audience profile research, there is always something new to discover.

I love how in PR you can work for so many different kinds of clients. Every company needs good publicity, and the opportunities are endless. I love how when starting a new internship I get to not only learn more about different public relations practices, but I also get to learn more about different professions around the world.

I want to continue to learn as much as I can before I graduate and be ready to be thrown any assignment or into any situation, and thrive. I’m going to continue to ask questions, continue to network and make connections, continue to be curious and continue to volunteer for any and all tasks. What I have learned from my internships in PR is to never let an opportunity pass – you never know where it could take you!

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What I Learned from Interning at a Raleigh PR Agency

Josephine ButlerBlog, Marketing, Professional Development, Public Relations, Raleigh PR Agency, The Clairemont Team, , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments on What I Learned from Interning at a Raleigh PR Agency

Today was our ambitious high school (yes, you did read that correctly) graduate’s last day as a Clairemont intern. Before she leaves us, though, she wanted to share a few things that she learned during her internship here. Without further ado, Miss Erica Amatori…

Be sure to wish Erica luck as she leaves for the College of William & Mary on a track/cross country scholarship!

I was frantic the first morning of my summer internship at Clairemont Communications. What should I wear? It was going to be an important day! I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it would be way different than my strategic marketing class I took in high school, that’s for sure. But after the first day of getting to know Josie and Margot, I immediately felt like part of the Clairemont team.

Learning marketing in a class is one thing, but applying it to real life situations is another. During my internship, I was able to experience first-hand what it’s like to work at a public relations agency and make real contributions to clients (and my portfolio!).

Here are some key points I learned that I’d like to share with you:

  • Know your client well. In order to satisfy what they expect to be accomplished, one has to put a lot of research into getting to know the company and gain knowledge on their customers.
  • Before reaching out to the media, prepare. When I was asked to create a media list for a project, I quickly realized how important research would be in finding the right contacts at each outlet – all of this before we ever even made one phone call!
  • Even the smallest of tasks can make the biggest difference. When you’re working in PR it’s important to have the bigger picture, but it’s all the little things that get you there. Taking things step by step is sometimes the best way to tackle big tasks.
  • Be the sponge. Absorb all the information you can and put it to good use. In the future, all of the information I learned about PR and social media will help me become a more skilled employee.
  • Ask questions – it’s how you learn! Don’t ever be afraid to ask questions. An internship is a learning-based environment!
  • Network! In what is actually a small world, connections are everything. Networking provides mentors and working relationships. Did I mention that my high school teacher is good friends with Josie, and that’s how I heard about Clairemont?

My advice to other hopefuls who are striving for an internship: only set one goal – to succeed! Be prepared to learn and open your mind to new experiences that can advance your knowledge. Even though today is my last day, I was still wondering what I should wear and was just as nervous this morning…but it was a different kind of nervous. The kind where you knew you had to say your goodbyes, but you don’t want to leave!

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