We were thrilled to welcome Abigail Cox as an assistant account executive to our team this fall, after she completed a very successful internship. Here are Abigail's tips for turning that internship opportunity into a full-time job.
Nothing can
replace real world experience, especially in the world of public relations. In
the workplace, projects and campaigns created for your clients will not be
returned with an “A+” written in red on the front – it’s more of a pass or fail
scenario. Creating a campaign for a pretend client in class is great practice,
but doing it in a real job brings on a whole new set of expectations. An
internship can help bridge those gaps between the work done in the class room
and the work waiting for you in the real world.
Beyond the
value of real world experience an internship offers, it also has the potential
to turn into your first real job. If you’re looking to turn your internship
into a job, here are three tips to help you score your first job offer:
Take notes.
When I
started my sixth internship, it was hard not to feel like I had the whole internship
thing down pat. But I knew the reality was that I had so much to learn every
single day. And that will still be true every day of my career. We all have
room to grow and learn, and an internship is the optimal time to soak in the
knowledge and experience of the people around you who have been in the game a
lot longer and are eager to help you develop as a young professional.
Ask questions.
Asking
questions shows that you are both engaged and invested in learning and
developing your skills. It also gives you a chance to start conversations with
your new coworkers or bosses. Through my own internship experience, I found
that staying curious, being teachable and never being afraid to ask questions
can go a long way.
Treat every day like a job interview.
This was
some of the best advice I received from my father before starting my post-grad
internship. If you are interning with the goal of one day being offered a job
(which you should be), treat every day like a job interview because when you
think about it – it is. Employers know that even if you can teach someone how
to do a job – you can’t teach someone to be a hard worker and you can’t teach
someone to care. See an internship as an opportunity not to prove that you know
everything, but to prove that you are teachable, hardworking and passionate
about the industry you’re in.
Turning your
internship into a job might feel daunting, but keep in mind that everyone
started their career from the same spot you’re in right now. Many of our team
members at LCWA started as interns, including myself. Take these tips into
consideration and we’re confident it’ll help you land that first full-time job
in no time.