The life as a PR Intern

Being a PR Intern

April 15, 2013 

My name is Danielle Flores and I am a graduating senior and Sonoma State University. As  an intern for Karen Pierce Gonzalez Public Relations  I have refined skills and learned new ones. When I first started the internship, I had very little real life experience with public relations, so at first I was intimidated with how fast paced public relations is, but shortly after I became more comfortable in the job. I have gained more experience with excel spread sheets, writing and distributing press releases, and becoming more familiar with how to use social media for business purposes. 

Internships are important because they give hands on and real life experience. It has been great to work for Karen Pierce Gonzalez Public Relations because I was able to put everything that I learned in school into practice. During my time at this company I was challenged to learn the ins and outs of public relations. Throughout my experience, I was able to help real clients in real time. The three main things that I have learned as an intern are: 

1.Timing is everything – Whether it is showing up on time for work, or keeping a schedule for a client, timing is key to success. If something doesn’t get scheduled on time, say an article or blog then it may become irrelevant and lose its importance. Also, being on time is important for the sake of the flow of your day; if you are late then everyone is behind.

2. Be creative – In terms of generating tweets or blog content the more original and creative the better. When sending out a press release to the media through e-mail it is important to be creative and have a compelling story to tell, as well as a catchy e-mail topic; otherwise it may not read it.

3.Proof before you post – Proof read everything really, because auto-correct may not always be in your favor. When sending out any information to the media or public, one must be careful with written communication. Recently when developing  tweets and other social media posts for an upcoming event I was typing, “The Prince,” instead of, ”The Price,” and if I hadn’t proof read my work, then I could have embarrassed the clients, Karen Pierce Gonzalez Public Relations  and myself.