First week in the shoes of a PR intern

Hello everyone...
I am Yashni, a 3^rd year BA Mass Communication student studying at Charles Telfair Institute, Moka. I am actually interning in a PR Agency, Odysseus. The agency mainly focuses on public relations and event planning.

As I know that nearly all PR students would be doing an internship in the future, are actually participating in an internship program, or dream of some day working in the PR field, I am going to reflect on my weeks interning so that you can indirectly learn from my experiences.

What would I mainly be focusing on?

Surely not about my day-to-day clothing selection, the food and shopping I did...

 I will be mostly laying emphasis on what I have achieved in my first week as an intern and also about some of my responsibilities within the agency.

I can't really believe it's been a week already since I have started interning at Odysseus. It somehow seems longer, but all in all I am pleased with how the week has gone. The overall feelings I have observed in myself this week have, aside from a sometimes debilitating tiredness towards the end of each day, been mixed and often very exciting, stressful, nerve-racking but constructive.

Unlike the usual first weeks of work in any organisation, my first week has been quite hectic consisting mostly of managing the invitations by contacting all the PR, Marketing, Event and Communication Manager, and confirming the VIP lists in regards to the ‘Salon de la Com’, the first Communications Trade Show in the Indian Ocean which will open its door at Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre on the 26 and 27 July 2012.

I cannot deny that it certainly took me some time to really understand what they are demanding from me and becoming more comfortable with the working place. However, my director was very understanding and flexible which eased me a bit. He did find some time out of his busy schedule to discuss the work with me, introducing me to the other staffs, which was great of him. By this point, I think I have met all the members of the team who without exception have been supportive, welcoming and encouraging.

My day at Odysseus normally starts with passing through all the newspapers of the day and looking for news for media clippings purposes. Currently, I am tasked to research and write for the company’s website whereby they are targeting a specific European market. I can say there are plenty of research work waiting for me this week. Will keep you guys informed on the details.

If I were to give you people an advice it would certainly be - When you walk in every day, just ask yourself how you can make the most out of this opportunity. It is high time for you to learn to accept criticism even though at times it can be a tough pill to swallow. Remember that only those who care will make the effort to guide you in the right path. You want to make PR as your career right? So take the maximum knowledge available from your supervisors and use this opportunity to the maximum to grow into a PR Pro!

Well, that’s all I have for today.

I will leave it to you now: Are you planning to do a PR internship soon? Have you started? What is your internship like so far? If you’re not interning yet, do you want to sometime in the future? 

Let me know in a comment...