Job Title: Public Relations Intern
Location: Washington, DC
Submitted on: 23-May-03
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| Public Relations Intern |
I was placed at Powell Tate through the Washington Center Program which
arranges full-immersion internships for college students. While
interning at Powell Tate, I was given free reign to explore various
areas of the agency. I was officially placed within the Research
department, handling mundane tasks like the morning clipping service and
broadcast monitoring. Immediately after expressing an interest in
account management (which was on my second day), I was invited to attend
client meetings, brainstorm sessions, client interviews, media training
sessions, new business pitches... I could go on all day! The only
condition placed before me, and a fair one, was that my daily
obligations in Research were completed. Sheila Tate and Jody Powell
even made themselves accessible - never ignoring the interns, but
regularly inquiring as to whether we felt our experience was valuable.
The staff was friendly, but conservative; the way people from DC are
conservative. (I say that because the agencies in NYC have a completely
different feel - very energetic, very hyper) I think it's easy to feel
overwhelmed, at first because the office has a very formal feel -
compared to agencies in NYC. But, the people quickly make you feel
relaxed and a part of the team. Of course, that's from the perspective
of a college senior. The staff was actually considerably older than you
might find at most agencies, too. With the exception of a few staff
members, I'd say the average age of the staff started at 36-40. I never
experienced any back-biting or other wretched behavior; there were no
agency prima-donnas. In fact, everyone was extremely nice to me and
supportive of my internship experience. I was allowed to actively
participate in media training sessions for Fortune 100 senior level
execs. (actually, I was expected to actively participate, not sit in
the corner quietly taking notes)! Feedback was abundant, from my
supervisor in the research department to career advice from Sheila
Tate. I could rely on each person I worked with to tell me what
strengths I possessed and provide insights on how to improve weak
areas. Even the account teams were great! They didn't just pass off
the dredge work - like clip reports, but assignments that would actually
translate on a resume - like writing assignments. The only thing that
was hard, and I eventually got used to it, was that as a Research
intern, I had to be in the office at 7 a.m. Luckily, I was allowed to
leave by 4 p.m., but I rarely did. I really enjoyed my time there and
would have stayed, if they were located in NYC.
The dress code was business - most men wore slacks or khakis and shirts
w/ties and the women, skirts, slacks and blouses. There were no dress
down days, or anything like that. But, there were special paries that
each practice area would host on a given Friday. So, on that day, we'd
stop work around 4 and just hang out. There was the regular - chips
drinks, etc.
Overall, I would say the agency is one of the best!
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