Thousands of students are competing to land coveted PR
internship as they know that the days of landing your dream communications job
without a set of industry internships or relevant job experience is super rare.
Below are ways to turn the frown upside down, and
maximize the potential of this opportunity instead of calling it quits:
- NOT ENOUGH WORK
It can be extremely frustrating when you are not getting
the valuable experience needed – especially if you are not being paid! Interns
are often faced with the problem of not having enough work, or being given
“busy work” that does not really add value to the company.
The solution is To
Be Proactive: If you find that you are finishing projects before lunchtime,
do not spend the rest of your day on Facebook – speak up! There are most likely
projects that you could be doing, and your employer might be grateful for the
help.
- Feeling Invisible
Getting
no love from the big boss can be discouraging, but do not just slack off
because it appears as if no one is watching. Distancing yourself from your
colleagues and shutting down is the worst way to end the cycle of poor
communication.
Instead,
take initiative. Build relationships with other interns and entry-level folks
who do have more time in their schedule to explain things to you.
Although getting ignored by the one person you want to learn from is
tough, using your skill set to help out assistants and other interns may
benefit you down the line. Finally, if there is no intern program, offer to
build one out .
- NOT ENOUGH FEEDBACK
Having no direction can
seem daunting when you are being assigned huge tasks. But, don’t quit!
It’s time to
self-educate! Get your hands on the boundless information available online that
help you figure out what the heck goes into a “media kit.”
Shoot your school’s
PR professors an email and ask them those overwhelming questions your boss
cannot answer. Seek out informational interviews with professionals in your
industry through LinkedIn. This
industry moves so quickly that your undergraduate education simply cannot keep
up. Smart communicators take their education into their own hands.
These were just some of
the problems that may pop up during an internship. If you are facing any issue
regarding your internship, do share how you are dealing with it. Your
experience and solutions may prevent someone from disappointment!
3 comments:
These are great tips, Savida! Very relevant for PR interns who might be starting out. I must admit, I have felt a few of the things you mentioned - especially not having enough work! I absolutely agree that it's crucial to speak up and ask for more, but sometimes I've found that even that isn't enough to keep me going! In that case I totally agree with your recommendation to be proactive - I created a social media schedule with links to content and suggested posts (without direction - risky, I know!) but it was very much appreciated and is now guiding our social media management for the rest of the month!
Enjoy the rest of your internship, and I hope you're getting something out of it even if it isn't what you expected!
- Kimberley
At times Savida I think that our internships never really live up to our expectation. I think we get glamorisation from others and we think its just going to be a great time, but sadly as you're only an Intern their is a lack of work for you to do and not enough time to teach you how to do the work that is needed to be done. I believe the way to a good internship is to just say you are available to do work for anyone at anytime and you never know what opportunities can come from it!
Hi Savida, you make some really good points that I can relate. I often find myself with a small about of tasks that I either complete really soon or drag it out to last me the day. I know this might make my supervisors think I'm unproductive and slow. I know now I need to speak up. They might not know how you feel; they might be too busy to notice or just not mind readers. Even doing tasks that are not necessary to do with PR would make me feel more productive. Well done for pointing this out.
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