Public Relations Internships Make A Difference
For years Karen Pierce Gonzalez Public Relations has been
mentoring students at Sonoma State University. To date we have worked with about
a dozen graduating seniors. We provide these communications majors with real-life,
hands-on experience in a variety of public relations projects. Depending upon the
seasons and the cycles of client campaigns we match up our needs with their
skills. Along the way, we find opportunities to help strengthen their knowledge
base and to introduce them to processes and tools that aren’t explored in the
classroom.
In many cases, we maintain contact with these graduates. We
provide letters of recommendations, serve as references, and when necessary, offer
networking links that help them discover career paths within the vast public
relations world that might best suit them. On occasion, we also get calls from
them, asking what we think about a specific aspect of a public relations
strategy they are considering implementing.
These internships are personally designed for all involved. And,
as such, they have been very rewarding.
We watch these up-and-coming public relations professionals grow
in their understanding of what public relations is and is not. We see them take
in the importance of having a message that is truly newsworthy. We listen as
they discuss with us how even the concept of public relations – relating to the
public - is so much more than the short-term gain of sales.
Just recently one intern let us know he was hired as a full
time social media specialist for a financial institution. He takes with him an
understanding of how social media platforms can work in tandem with websites
and related blogs. He carries a familiarity with social media scheduling apps
and will, no doubt, successfully apply his recently acquired ability to operate
the dashboards of two of the more common website templates.
We have seen - first-hand
and up close - how important internships
can be. What a difference they can make to students who are preparing to launch
themselves into the fast-paced and quickly changing media-related world.
To all the interns we have worked with, we say
CONGRATULATIONS. You were teachable. You came to care enough about every step
of the public relations process (even if it was repetitive) to do as good a job
as possible so that all phases were working together. In our opinion, these essentials are what will
hold you in good stead as you move forward. We are grateful to have been part
of your training team.
No comments:
Post a Comment