PR Internship Reveals Importance of Key Skill for Any Career

Regardless of your career path, it’s highly likely that interacting with people will be a crucial skill. At the very least, you will socialize with coworkers; however, many jobs also require interacting with clients or others in the industry. For many recent college graduates, the move from a fun and informal communications style at school to the “real world” can be a startling shift.

The professional world is different because it’s all about relationship building and appealing to someone you may only meet by email. Relationship-building and influence are vital and are two important skills I’ve learned during my public relations internship at Poston Communications.

Poston Communications provides a special perspective for interns because our many clients are professional services businesses, such as law firms and financial services firms. Our efforts often are focused on business development-oriented PR results, rather than promoting products or events. There are many relationships that need to be balanced at once: clients (and often multiple points of contact at one firm), the media and our clients’ potential clients.

Pitching complex topics to the media is the part of the internship that I have found most valuable. The skills I’ve learned while pitching journalists will help me in my next chapter at law school and then later in my career. The focus is on being relatable and appealing to the person you’re approaching. This requires being personable and genuine even when you haven’t met the person you’re about to call or email.

When it comes to emails, it’s also important to be personable because the recipient probably gets emails all day and sending a message that is eye-catching and relatable is important. Also, each phone call will test your communications skills because you need to be able to think on your feet and be ready to answer any questions the reporter or editor may have so that you are seen as knowledgeable and prepared.

Knowledge, preparation and being personable are necessary for any career, and my public relations internship at Poston Communications has taught me more career skills than I could have anticipated. When I go to law school and am practicing law one day, the ability to take a complex topic and explain it to my peers in a way that’s both interesting and informative will prove to be a great asset .

For those looking at other careers, you will see that virtually every job description lists “communication skills” as a necessity. There’s no better place to learn these skills than a public relations internship – and Poston Communications is the perfect place because of the nature of the clients’ work that requires you to think and communicate difficult topics for multiple types of audiences.

Jake Shapiro is a 2018 summer intern at Poston Communications, based in Atlanta.

 

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