Interning is a very important part of our Public Relations experience and learning as a student. Some internships can be beneficial and create the networking platform that we seek. On the other hand, other internships can show us a side of interning that we may not love. Last semester I had the opportunity to intern for a local not-for-profit organization in Melville. As the PR/Marketing intern I was able to work hands on with events and promote the organization to increase the member rate. Although it was a good learning experience I often felt neglected and taken advantage of, even though I was an unpaid intern.
Things took a change for the better this semester. As one of the current interns at NYS Senator Kemp Hannon's office I was welcomed openly into the office. I have guidance and the opportunity to use my creativity with the tasks I am presented with. I am doing Public Relations tasks as I did at my previous internship but this experience is proving to me how different people act towards others, especially interns in the work place.
Both internships allowed me to come to the decision that I would like to work in the public affairs/government aspect of Public Relations. More importantly, from these experiences I have learned that although you can have a negative experience with an internship it can still be beneficial and lead you to the right direction.
How about this whole work for free BS? Where I worked this summer didn't pay me, didn't help me out for the commute, and I had to pay $3,000 for the credits through Hofstra. I had to work 2 other jobs in addition to my internship to pay for it, and while the experience was invaluable and priceless, it's pretty ridiculous that I had to work 40 hours a week in addition to interning in order to pay for it. There are huge downsides for companies requiring pay for interns, including many less internship opportunities, but they're getting away with murder in some cases here. I can't imagine graduating without an internship or two, there's just a lot of problems financially with students making it happen.
ReplyDeleteHey Cait,
ReplyDeleteYou have decided on an area of PR that I think a lot of people don't have much knowledge of. Hopefully since you have a real interest and good experience in that sector of PR, you'll have the "upper-hand" when applying to jobs for after graduation! It's definitely an area of PR that I have very little knowledge of, so you've got a really great advantage, despite the fact that your first internship wasn't what you expected it to be!