How to Find a Job in PR After Graduation
Posted on 23. Apr, 2012 by Nicole Ravlin
It’s that time of year. You can almost hear the Pomp and Circumstance March in the air [note if you click to listen to the symphony, you will need to get to 1:48 before you get to what you hear at most commencements]. It’s also that time when I get requests for recommendations from graduating interns, have discussions about future open positions, and our team reviews portfolios of those heading off to cities across the United States to interview for public relations positions.
So, are there jobs in public relations or will you, dear graduating senior, have to take a job waiting tables, slinging coffee, or babysitting for the summer… and, perhaps, beyond? Well, it depends on what you have done to prepare while you were in school. Most candidates have decent grades, can show that they are solid writers (via their portfolio and cover letter), and they that have done at least one internship in public relations. All of this does not ensure a job post graduation.
So, how do you get that coveted job?
In a recent article by the Associated Press, it states:
This is not news to many – especially those who have graduated in the past few years. There are some steps that you can take immediately following graduation that can increase your chances of working in your desired field.
- Take an unpaid internship for a determined amount of time at a company you want to work for. If you ask Ken how he got into the advertising game when there were no jobs to be had, he will tell you that he worked for free for six months. Ken worked at a bike shop at night and on weekends to make money for rent and to live. He was sure he made himself invaluable to the agency he was interning at and as soon as an open position became available he was granted the interview (obviously) and hired in a short amount of time.
- Go on informational interviews. Determine five companies that you want to work for. Contact the person in charge of hiring for public relations positions. Make it clear that you want to have 30-minutes of their time to talk about what they look for in entry level candidates, what salary expectations are, and what you should do to improve your resume and chances for an interview at any company. Be mindful of the interviewers time – they are doing YOU a favor. This is where LinkedIn can be really helpful – look at your network, and examine their network. Can your network make introductions for you?
- Get a job – ANY job. Chances are that you will need some cash to cover your living expenses. Beyond that, a job will give you a sense of place, further development of your people skills, and a chance to expand your network. Are you a barista? You never know who you will meet… perhaps one of your regulars works in PR and knows of an opening.
- Keep on top of the news and industry happenings. If you are not reading the Wall Street Journal, New York Times or a similar publication on a daily basis on your own, you may want to consider another profession. The field of public relations requires you to understand how the news work, what is news and what is going on in the world. How else would you know what stories to pitch and when? Make sure you can articulate that this is of interest to you. We ask candidates applying for positions at PMG to tell us what is trending in the news THAT day – locally, nationally and around the globe. Spend a couple of hundred dollars (I know – it’s a lot of money) to join PRSA. You will get news about the industry, information on local-to-you industry events and access to job listings in your field. Like a good suit, consider some ongoing professional development as part of your personal career development (on going self education is YOUR responsibility – not your employers and it will help keep you competitive in the work place).
- Volunteer for a non profit. Small non profits rarely have the money or the bandwidth to have a staff member who is trained in public relations and social media. Offer up your services, pro bono. Treat them like a client. You can use your work – and more importantly, results – to build your portfolio with REAL work.
Good luck!
Meet Our Summer Interns: Brittany Southwick
Posted on 10. Aug, 2011 by PMGpr
This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!
PMGer: Brittany Southwick
On Twitter: @brittsouth
Position at PMG: Intern with PMG associate Tom Kupfer
Background? My name is Brittany. I am a Public Relations Major with one semester left at Champlain College.
Why are you doing this internship? After completing three years of my education with Champlain College I was anxious to put my knowledge to the test. I enjoy a professional work environment and felt that I was ready to step into the industry. I want to build my resume and strengthen my portfolio. A textbook can only take you so far; working in the field is a great opportunity.
What do you expect to gain from this internship? I have expected to strengthen my writing and organizational skills. I also think I am going to get a pretty good idea of what it is like to work for a firm and focus solely on Public Relations, without Marketing or Advertising thrown in the mix.
What are your views on PMG? I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with PMG. I am proud to represent a company that represents socially responsible businesses. My one concern for working in the PR field is having to represent clients with view points that are different from my own. PMG makes that dilemma easy by eliminating the challenge and providing a variety of clients that stand for great causes.
What’s it like working with your mentor? I thoroughly enjoy working for Tom because he provides great direction and has a wide array of knowledge to share. He has helped me strengthen my pitching skills and has a great sense of humor to make the experience more enjoyable.
Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.? My advice would be to just dive in. Take advantage of every opportunity; get to know your co-workers and the people that you work with. Everyone you meet is a potential contact and Public Relations is about establishing and maintaining good relationships. As far as writing press releases and pitches: edit, edit, edit. Explore your creativity and all of the different ways you can tell a story. My greatest challenge has been to come up with numerous ways to pitch one story. With the help of my mentor, towards the end of my internship I have definitely seen a growth in my ability to push my pitching further creatively.
Meet Our Summer Interns: Hilary Greene
Posted on 29. Jul, 2011 by PMGpr
This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!
PMGer: Hilary Greene
On Twitter: @hilaryfay
Position at PMG: Intern with PMG associate Iza Socha
Background? My name is Hilary Greene and I am entering my last semester at Champlain College to attain a business/marketing degree. I am a transfer student and have spent most of my college years in Colorado and Utah enjoying the outdoors.
Why are you doing this internship? I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do my internship at PMG this summer to gain first-hand experience that will compliment my current marketing program at Champlain College, which I will complete in December of this year!
What do you expect to gain from this internship? This internship has already provided me with a better understanding of the public relations world; I have little PR background since I am a marketing major. In addition, this internship has allowed me to witness the power of using social media tools as marketing and PR techniques and the outstanding benefits that they can provide for many different types of companies.
What are your views on PMG? PMG, People Making Good, is a great company and I could not be happier about doing my internship here. Their name, PMG, tells all…they truly are, good people – making good. (They might as well change their name to G-PMG!) As a Vermonter, I appreciate the work that they contribute to the community and genuine support of their clients that are socially responsible.
What have you learned so far? Thus far, I have learned a lot of new things and have been able to apply my education from Champlain in a professional environment. Some exciting projects that I have been involved with at PMG include;
- Organizing a Tweet-Up
- Drafting Twitter messaging
- Writing editorial calendars
- Editing video footage
- Writing a variety of blog posts using WordPress
- And; researching different brands, markets and trends
What’s it like working with your mentor? My mentor, Iza Socha, is fantastic and is the Social Media Manager at PMG. She is very talented and open to sharing new concepts with me; she knows all the new trends! It is really fun working with her and she guides me in the right direction to complete finished work that both of us are proud of.
Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.? My advice for any intern would be to be fully appreciative of the opportunity and learn as much as you can! It helps to stay knowledgeable about new trends because these days, it seems like techniques and applications change and improve constantly.
Meet Our Summer Interns: Heather Barrett
Posted on 15. Jul, 2011 by PMGpr
This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!
PMGer: Heather Barrett
On Twitter: @hbarrettsays
Position at PMG: Intern with PMG associate Tom Kupfer
Background? My name is Heather. I am a Mass Communications major entering my last semester at Champlain College.
Why are you doing this internship? As a Mass Communication student, I have taken a variety of courses in marketing, advertising, and public relations. These courses have provided me with the base knowledge in each section, but I found myself wanting a hands-on experience. With an internship, I knew that I would learn more than I ever could in a classroom, and that the knowledge would be invaluable.
What do you expect to gain from this internship? From this experience, I expect to learn more about working for a public relations agency. Working for more than one client, I expect to learn a variety of tools to better fine tune public relations to work for each individual company. In addition, I expect to improve my writing skills.
What are your views on PMG? I was first attracted to PMG because they are devoted to working with socially responsible clients. I also read the Q&A with Nicole and Ken before I applied, and I thought that my personal interests would connect with PMG. After starting my internship in June, my impressions of PMG proved to be true. PMGer’s are all extremely hard-working people who have a passion for public relations. I also really like having an office dog ☺.
What’s it like working with your mentor? At PMG part of the internship experience is to work hands on. So, instead of fetching coffee for Tom, I have been able to create media lists, write pitches, and follow up directly with media outlets. Tom always has a clear vision as to what needs to be completed, and is willing to provide valuable feedback.
Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.?
- Always work hard and do your best.
- Remember that writing is a skill that takes a lot of practice. A first draft will need to be edited, so be open to feedback!
- Your mentors are busy, so it may seem intimidating to ask them for help, but don’t be afraid. That’s what they’re here for! Pester away.
Meet Our Summer Interns: Selma Basic
Posted on 06. Jul, 2011 by PMGpr
Meet Our Summer Interns: Selma Basic
This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!
PMGer: Selma Basic
On Twitter: @Selmander89
Position at PMG: Intern with PMG co-founder Nicole Ravlin
Background? My name is Selma Basic. I am a senior at the New England School of Communications (NESCom), located in beautiful Bangor, Maine. I am working on my Bachelors degree in communications with a concentration in Marketing. I chose the communications field because I get a chance to exercise many different aspects of the field, such as: advertising, marketing, public relations, graphic design, photography, and video production – over the years at Nescom I have gained skills in all these fields. When I was asked to intern at PMG I was excited to be granted with an opportunity to increase my knowledge of public relations.
Why are you doing this internship? Last semester I joined the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), this organizations has really sparked my interested in the public relations field. Hence why I’m here! PMG is the hands on experience I’ve been looking for. From day one I dove right into writing press releases and doing media lists. PMG is giving me the opportunity to challenge myself and put my skills to the test! This is no internship where you run around fetching coffee and donuts for your boss… At PMG you do real work for real clients!
What do you expect to gain from this internship? By doing this internship I am gaining a variety of skills in public relations, which will help me continue to do well in PRSSA and eventually my career. Is public relations the job for me? That’s what I’m here for to find out! I definitely have a passion for writing and PR is something I’ve always wanted to give a try.
What are your views on PMG? PMG stands for People Making Good, which is the first reason I wanted to know more about this firm. I like and respect the philosophy of helping promote healthy brands. PMG is an exceptionally comfortable environment where I feel free to be myself and express my skills. PMG is doing good things for good companies and I want to be a part of that.
What’s it like working with your mentor? Here at PMG I am surrounded by wonderful people. My mentor, Nicole Ravlin, being one of them. Nicole is super friendly, outgoing and most importantly, has a sense of humor. What’s a workplace when it’s strictly business 24/7? It’s no fun! Here at PMG we get our work done but we also know how to relax and enjoy ourselves; I personally find that extremely important in a work environment. As for working with Nicole, it’s great to have a mentor help you out! She always makes sure I know exactly what to do, she gives me some great advice on how to improve my work and she lets me enjoy some variety in the tasks I do.
Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.? Future interns! If you are looking for an internship in public relations and you are within the Burlington area, I would definitely recommend PMG. So far I have written press releases, pitches, done plenty of media lists and am currently working on social media. Be aware that PR requires a little bit of everything I just mentioned. So prepare yourself to do some multitasking and lots of different projects. DON’T be afraid to ask your mentor for help! that’s what they’re here for. Also, remember to always revise your work. Make sure at least three pairs of eyes read your work before you send it out to a client. And last but not least, enjoy your internship! you are learning from people who are doing what you want to do in the future, there is no better way of learning than by following the footsteps of your mentor. Take all the mental notes you can, practice your writing skills, observe, listen, and always give your best!
Meet Our Summer Interns: Brittany Blondin
Posted on 01. Jul, 2011 by PMGpr
This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!
PMGer: Brittany Blondin
On Twitter: @brittblondin
Position at PMG: Intern with PMG associate Alicia DeMartini
Background? I’m Brittany B. (one of three Brittany’s this summer at PMG) and I’m entering into my senior year (this fall!) at Champlain College for my B.S. 
in Public Relations and Corporate Communication. I love connecting with new people – I always find that almost everyone has an interesting story. Some other interests include outdoor activities, shopping and trying new things (food, activities, and clothes!).
I love to plan ahead, but I’ve found that sometimes things just happen and can change your whole life. In the future, I’d love to be working in Public Relations – I haven’t decided exactly what aspect or agency/firm vs. in-house, but I’m leaning towards agency/firm (I love the thought of working with different clients). I would really love to stay in the New England area, but at this point, I’m not ruling anything out!
Why are you doing this internship? I need the experience and before I started, I was yearning the validation that I chose the correct path to follow. Thank goodness, so far, I’ve proven my choice to be the right one.
What do expect to gain from this internship? I expect to gain hands-on experience to carry with me for future jobs.
What are your views on PMG? I was extremely nervous before my first day and did not expect to learn as much as I have thus far. Looking at PMG from the outside, I only knew what they told me, that they represented socially responsible clients. Reading through the Q & A with Ken and Nicole provided some insight to their personalities and how PMG is run. After I started working here I found that they were true to their words. The environment at PMG is a well-balanced concoction of light-hearted attitudes and hard workers.
What’s it like working with your mentor? I first met my mentor, Alicia De Martini, when she came to my Principles of Public Relations class in the early spring (this year) and was immediately impressed. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that she would be my mentor for this summer internship. So far, it’s been a blast. She’s always helpful and great at giving me feedback in order to do a better job. I’m always busy, thanks to her, which has made the days I’m working fly by!
Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.?
- First and foremost, do your best, don’t just try. Use your time at your internship to ask questions and receive feedback from your mentor (and others). Being able to accept feedback is critical at this point because they’re trying to help you to grow into it.
- When it comes to writing pitches, be concise, but don’t offer up too much information! Keep the pitch to the point and make sure that your subject line is amazing in order to get journalists to read it!
- When it comes writing press releases, make sure you offer up the most important information in the beginning. Try to be creative in how you choose your words and including a quote from your client can add a lot to it.
- With any writing (pitches, press releases, follow-up emails), revise, revise, revise! It’s ok to go through several drafts in order to reveal the perfect pitch, press release or follow-up. It’s also good to take into consideration the feedback you receive from your mentor to apply to future writings.
Welcome, Interns…
Posted on 19. Apr, 2010 by PMGpr
It’s quite amusing to me that there is such a sudden outcry and debate over the fairness and legality of internships. Point blank: if I (and many others) didn’t have the opportunity to intern, there would probably be no Iza the PR Gal… it would be more like Iza the cook, or Iza the electrician (I was an “apprentice” with my dad throughout breaks in college), or even Iza the lifeguard going on almost a decade. Ahem…
Although I loved and respected waitressing, lifeguarding and working alongside my father because I learned in all of these instances, I can wholeheartedly now admit that those things seem uncanny in my path of life. The most important point however, is that I would never be able to realize this unless the businesses that took me in as an intern took the chance of teaching me the ways of their businesses.
So think about this: A professor makes a profit because you pay them to teach you. Why then, does a business owner suddenly have to pay an intern (aka student—all the same) when they are completely inexperienced and sometimes tough to deal with?
Not to sound like a broken record, but everyone has struggled in this tough economy and if many small businesses had to pay cash to inexperienced interns and dedicate their valuable, productive time—I believe that they would simply decide to not even deal with internship programs and this would be a disservice to the future workforce.
Bureaucracy has gotten in the way of the basic point of internships: to learn if a certain field of work is compatible with a student’s future ambitions. Even if you are a college graduate with a degree, it’s not like a business owner forced you to take the internship, you chose that path to learn. The piece below is taken from the Employment and Training Administration Advisory System from the U.S. department of Labor, included in the New York Times article, The Unpaid Intern, Legal or Not by Steven Greenhouse.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has developed the six factors below to evaluate whether a worker is a trainee or an employee for purposes of the FLSA:
1. The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to what would be given in a vocational school or academic educational instruction;
2. The training is for the benefit of the trainees;
3. The trainees do not displace regular employees, but work under their close observation;
4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees, and on occasion the employer’s operations may actually be impeded;
5. The trainees are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period; and
6. The employer and the trainees understand that the trainees are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.
As stated in the article (I’m also not denying that some employers might take advantage of interns as a supplement to hiring a full staff, because I have heard horror stories from friends along the way), these six factors seem hard to misinterpret by the average person.
I believe that unpaid internships are completely fair, and students need to be prepared to sacrifice their few months and, simply, suck it up. Apprenticeships, internships, whatever you want to call it, have been around since the beginning of time. You signed up for it! As for employers, don’t make your interns get you coffee or clean your bathrooms because if you do—I can positively say: FAIL.
I’d love to know: What do you think of internships? Did you have a bad or good experience? What could have made it better?
PMG is short for People Making Good. It's long for people that are making good socially, environmentally, and on the bottom line. And it describes our clients and the people we strive to work along side.
We're in our ideal habitat. Making good for responsible upstart and established clients around the country, from our home office in the northern Green Mountains. Close to some of the best skiing, hiking and natural landscapes in the northeast. Come on up.