On PR intern work experience and where to get it
Time to read: 2 minutes
When it comes to securing intern work experience in communications, Sam Howard suggests mixing it up a little can be as valid as going all out for a pure-malt career.
the bloody mary was mine…
Employees are now trusted more than CEOs. The end user is increasingly seen as the key influencer. Media channels publish content on every type of platform.
As such, being good at just PR isn’t necessarily going to get you very far. When you look at the people behind the current brand success stories, there is increasingly more evidence to substantiate my long-held belief that being a Jack of many trades is the surest way to become a Master of your own career.
Talk to industry recruiters. They’ll tell you that the dream hires are those with deep domain expertise (hopefully that will never go out of fashion) and wide-ranging skills across a full range of comms channels.
For those starting out, work experience that gives exposure to any of the many disciplines you need to affect behavioral change is worth having. It matters not whether marketing or PR, social or traditional, event or content. You will gain invaluable experience and become more valuable as a result.
Not convinced? Think the straight arrow approach is still the best way to go?
Following that logic, if you intern at Webber, you could become CEO by the time you’re 27. Well, I guess you could, but think of it this way: if your dream job is to be head of PR for Giorgio Armani, do you actually want get your intern work experience there? Really?
Surely you’d prefer to wobble off on your tender Bambi career legs to a few other pastures first. Surely it’s better to have journalists throw the phone down on you for base incompetence when Giorgio isn’t watching? Ie somewhere, anywhere else?
My advice: Get your intern work experience elsewhere
For example, say you want to be in fashion PR. Work on a shop floor. Do customer service. Set up a fashion-savvy blog. Throw a charity catwalk show. Do PR for a local store. Then do agency side work on some high street and online brands. Go in house see what couture looks like from the inside. Then you’ll be ready to knock on his villa door – once you know the industry inside and out and back to front. Once you know the people in it, how to create the advocates, silence the competitors, and convert the detractors. How to get them talking, and most importantly – shopping.
Then knock on Mr Armani’s door, and say, “Well, I doubt if you can afford me, but if you want to take your PR to the next level, here I am.”
No learning experience is wasted. Get out there, get learning.
