Last But Not Least...

Here it is…my final blog entry. I am shocked at how fast my internship has passed! This whole experience has been such an amazing learning opportunity and the knowledge and education I had here over the past twelve weeks will last a lifetime. I learned so much about all facets of public relations that could never have been taught in a regular classroom. Everyone here at Eisbrenner Public Relations has been so helpful and understanding during my entire time here.

Over the past semester I haven’t just been “the intern”, I have been an involved team member participating in all the activities a typical public relations professional would. From media relations (writing media lists, researching journalists) to writing (press releases, memos, fact sheets, this blog) to client meetings and responsibilities, I have been given the opportunity to jump right into the field. Everything I did here was a learning experience, all of the good jobs and all of my mistakes. I am taking away from this not just newfound editing skills, but new ways of thinking about life (pretty deep stuff for an internship).

All in all I am so happy that I decided to apply here, it was one of the best things I have done. Public relations is such a diverse field, there is always something new and exciting around every corner. This semester has been anything but normal. So as I sit here cleaning out my desk I can’t help but think of all the memories I will be leaving here with. Although I am not sure what the future will bring, I do know that my past will help get me there. Thanks for reading and happy holidays everyone, its been great =)

Home Stretch

The holidays are fast approaching and that means my internship is coming to an end. This past semester flew by and, even though I’m graduating in May, nothing can compare to the amount of education I received here at Eisbrenner Public Relations. For my second to last week I was busy with lots of client work.

I researched ad prices for about 20 different auto industry publications. This was interesting to me; I got to find out how much it really costs to promote your company. I also worked on more edits for various press releases. We finally finished our rounds of edits and sent them over to the client. It is really cool to see something that you started working on morph into an amazing final product. After all the edits and changes you have something to be even more proud of =)

Media monitoring also took up a large chunk of this week. This is when we monitor different publications to see if we received any coverage on our releases or events. Lucky for us our release appeared in several of the publications we sent it out to! Aside from that I have been updating a client’s biography and helping a student write a feature story about Eisbrenner PR.

As you can see I have been very busy and fully involved in public relations for my eleventh straight week! Next week is my last week =( Where did the time go? Speaking of going, I gotta start working on this article. See you guys next week for my final post…

Internship 101

First of all I will start out this week by saying that internships are such an amazing way to gain insight and knowledge in your field of study. These past ten weeks have been a crash course in PR. This internship has almost been a “class” for me; I participate, I learn and I make mistakes (I wish Eisbrenner Public Relations was a class in school it would definitely be worth every credit). If anyone is wondering if an internship is right for him or her, I say go for it! You will never know if you like something unless you try and an internship is no exception. At the very least you will walk away with immense knowledge you didn’t have before and an experience to last a lifetime.

On to my internship…this week was yet another crash course in public relations. I enjoy the fact that every week will be something new and challenging. I started out creating media lists for a few different clients, ensuring their contact information was correct and deciding what publications seemed relevant to our story. These lists will be used to send out media advisories, press releases and to pitch stories. You really have to stop and think about who exactly would like to receive your story and why they may be interested.

I have also been (guess what) editing. Edits are essential to our work and ensure the best quality final product is produced. They give you a new way to approach ideas and check your grammar skills. I have learned so much about AP style and grammar (my English teacher would be so proud). This will allow me to use this knowledge and apply it to all my future compositions.

Aside from work, we had our annual Christmas party and gift exchange, which was so nice. Its good to come together as co-workers and friends for an afternoon of food and presents, what could be better? I have also been working on our charity giving. We adopted two needy families this year and I get to go shopping for our gifts to them, such an honor. Aside from that I’ve been keeping busy learning and absorbing all I can in the short period. On to next week…

The Key to Success

Another exciting week has just flown by and that means I’m another week smarter about PR. I was very busy this week balancing multiple projects at once. My week started out with the chance for me to update the boilerplate of one of our pro bono clients. A boilerplate is like an “About Us” section that is added to the bottom of documents such as press releases. I had fun reworking their current one and updating it with their key messages. Eisbrenner has a really cool program that creates “key messages” for companies. These messages ensure that everyone in the company knows the mission or key message that the company wishes to portray. I wish I had a key message for myself, so when someone says to me “tell me about yourself” I could just pull out my key message map and read away.

I am still working on that website changes memo from last week, finishing up some last-minute edits. Speaking of edits, they have taken up a large portion of my week. Like I mentioned last week though, edits are nothing to be afraid of. It doesn’t mean you completely failed as a writer, rather they offer you the opportunity to further improve your skills.

I have also been working on an auto industry and charity event recommendation for one of our clients. This project has given me the opportunity to research many different events within the auto industry and has proven to be very informative. I have also been researching crisis communication methods and planning. Sometimes crisis in a company are inevitable and it is crucial to make sure you are prepared to handle whatever comes your way.

As you can see there is never a dull moment in public relations. There is always something new and exciting to experience and learn from. I can’t wait to see what comes my way next week!