Comments on: Blogging for PR Internships

By: Hillary

Hillary — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 20:27:15 +0000

Hi Josh,
I think that as soon as I get comfortable with the blogging thing, I will hope that future employers might look at my comments and posts. I enjoy posting on my website and hope that my website is what they will see the most of.
I like it because they can find out a little about me while (hopefully) reading something interesting. This is my third or fourth week blogging and I do feel as if I can be comfortable and even let out a little of my personality.
I really do enjoy reading the comments and blogs of my friends as well. I can see where blogs can take me and I think I take that a little too seriously. I am looking at an internship right now that is all about new technologies. The application is all online and I am sure that blogs are the big thing over there as well. I hope to get my online resume finished soon as well so that I can have an edge on other students from other schools.
It is so hard to stick out when a lot of us look the same on paper. This creates a new edge for people like me who are new to the full-time working world.
I guess I will just have to let you know if all of this blogging helps me out with and internships or jobs. Until then, I will just have to keep my fingers crossed!

By: Stuart Bruce, BMA PR

Stuart Bruce, BMA PR — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 11:09:36 +0000

We’ve introduced a couple of our interns (both PR students at Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK) to blogging. Both have contributed to client blogs and are rapidly learning about social media. I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t see at least one of them start to do thier own thing. I’ve blogged about it here:

http://www.stuartbruce.biz/2006/01/pr_students_you.html

By: lance

lance — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 18:41:37 +0000

Just over these past 10-12 months, I have really begun to gain an excitement about my future in Public Relations. Why is this? I am finally starting to see the actual type of work that we will be doing in PR. Finally it’s not just reading 3 chapters and taking a test, but rather taking an idea, applying the idea, and doing a project in which you learn multimedia, and even create portfolios and resumes that will be beneficial out of college. Having taken Multimedia Production, I now understand how beneficial programs like flash, photoshop, and dreamweaver can be NOT ONLY in creating a unique resume, but also in use after college in a real job. How does blogging come into this equation? Well, it’s just another thing that I KNOW will enhance my credentials, and give me a new experience and perspective on PR and the opportunities associated with them. I look forward to gaining more opportunities with the education that I am receiving this semester in different multimedia, AND blogging itself.

By: Courtney

Courtney — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 06:08:57 +0000

I’m fortunate in the fact that the field in which I hope to enter has already embraced blogging. I hope to gain an internship and eventually work in an art museum. The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s blog, Eye Level, will, no doubt give exposure of the media to potential employers. My experience will definitely benefit since the Smithsonian is currently the only blog of its kind that I can find. The fine arts are always trying to find new ways to reach people, and anyone willing to back it up with new ideas is welcome.

This is a way for us to show off what we can do. We’re being forced to grow up and get out there. Too often we are given the comfort of a classroom and a teacher who expects less than our capabilities. Style and Design asks us to put our thoughts out there to be critiqued by the eyes of the corporate world. That is truly the largest benefit.

By: Crista

Crista — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 03:18:50 +0000

Hi Josh!
I must say your blog gives me great hope. My very first post was about my uncertainty of what I want to do in public relations and even where I want to do my internship. I am not very technological, so the whole blogging society somewhat scared me at first, but to hear that it truly will serve a purpose is quite encouraging. Robert did tell us the first day in class about previous students who were hired strictly on the basis of blogging and knowing all about the things we will learn in his class. I am a bit nervous that I may write things and not clearly think through what I am saying or that I may have an opinion one day that could completely change the next day. It is a bit frightening to know my words and thoughts are out there in the internet world for all to see. It can leave a person feeling a bit vulnerable. It is difficult to start of blogs especially when your blogs must be strictly about public relations, but honestly public relations is all around us. I am hoping that I will soon become an expert at blogging, but we shall see. Thanks again for the encouragement!

By: Ashley Imsand

Ashley Imsand — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 21:55:43 +0000

See, what Jeremy said about blogging just scares me.

As excited as I am for all of the end result opportunities, I’m just so new to this! I have struggled to find thought-provoking topics for my blogs that would catch people’s attention. But sometimes it is hard to grab attention without discussing current news and politics, which can definitely be controversial. In this case, suffice it to say that bad attention would not be good attention.

My blogging experience thus far, has been about trying to clarify things. I want to interact with people who are more experienced with blogging and podcasting and all of that because those are many of my questions. But I’m just not sure me sitting around after doing some research online and going, “huh?” and asking questions is exactly wowing those professionals to death and leaving them begging for me to join a company through an internship.

But, I am confident that when I get my questions out of the way and start to understand these mediums better, I will be able to post more intelligent blogs that can really discuss the strategic uses of the new technology in PR.

Hopefully, for right now I can have some good contact with professionals who can clarify my understanding of all of this technology and maybe I will wow someone someday also.

For all of you who are being patient with our mere mortal student blogs, thank you! Hopefully we will prove ourselves later and maybe even land some internships of our own!

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 15:25:22 +0000

Here is my blogging-internship success story…

Last year Katie Smith and I created a blog called InternQuest. The point was to look at various internships and get professionals in the field to comment on what the experience is like in their company.

Even though PR majors at Auburn University cannot gain credit for internships before their senior year, I thought I would get some good occupational karma and complete two or three before graduation.

Bloggings first gift to me was at a PRSA conference in Birmingham. It was a meet and greet with professionals deal, and I was lucky enough to be one of the only students at my table. The speaker began to address blogs as a form of communication, and every ear in the room perked up. Although the speaker downplayed their importance, every professional around me was buzzing about the subject. Luckily, I had some good input, thanks to Robert French, who had taught my Foundations in PR class that semester.

As a result, I got an interview with the Children’s Hospital of Birmingham for their internship position in the Corporate Communications Department. Looking back, I lacked most of my major classes at that point, so compared to the other students interviewing, I was under qualified. In the interview, they took one look at my resume and immediately asked about my blogging experience.

Long story short, I got the internship and loved it.

By: Christina Brasher

Christina Brasher — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 04:05:53 +0000

I have not had the pleasure of obtaining an internship, yet. I would imagine that in my interviews I will be able to set myself apart from many others by letting my interviewer know that I have been educated in the fine art of blogging. Blogging is one of those things that a person either loves to do, or learns to tolerate. I like to think that I am working on the former. In the beginning I was upset at the thought of blogging five times a week. All the blogging would do is to take up my time. Then after one week of doing it and researching it I realized how up and coming it is. On the Pew Internet and American Life Project website, a survey taken in May 2005 showed some promising data. It showed that 9 percent of internet users have created blogs and 25 percent read them. That is a great amount of people that have become interested in blogging.
The statistics that caught my eye the most was of those people who blogged their ages played a part. Of online Americans surveyed, 19 percent were between the ages of 18 and 29. Only 5 percent were 50 years and older. I feel that when I walk into an interview these type of numbers will speak volumes. As a young professional I will be able to tell them that the new innovations in communication have already been taught to me and that I will be willing to help out and teach others. Of course these findings are of a survey done 8 months ago, and I would like to think that the statistics have grown in favor of blogging over those last few months.
So I guess when I really think about it, blogging will become a labor of love for me. If nothing more it will become a labor that I will come to tolerate and make me profitable in the workforce. Either way it is a win-win situation.

By: Katie

Katie — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 04:20:04 +0000

I personally find it refreshing to know that what I am doing in the Style and Design class will be beneficial to me later on when I enter the “real world.�? So many of us already have facebook accounts and livejournals that we write in or check religiously, which if you really think about it, is a pure waste of time. I consider myself one of those that wastes time on these websites, when we in Robert’s class have an opportunity to gain some much needed web experience. Spending so much time over our first official posts is a good thing. I would much rather become comfortable with blogging now instead of being slammed with this new communication outlet once I land that first job. And our future employers will be looking at our blogs. There have been articles all over the news lately about employers using college interns to look up the Facebook profiles of potential job candidates. I would much rather have an employer do a Google search for me and find a website that acts as a portfolio of my thoughts and ideas related to the field. Even if they don’t necessarily agree with my thoughts and ideas on a certain topic, at least they know I can process information and apply it to public relations. They will know that I have the technological skills to run a public relations blog. Erin is just one great example of what our blogging skills can do for us. We just have to be confident enough at the end of the semester to brag about the things we have learned.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 21:43:07 +0000

I agree that this is very good news, especially for us seniors that will graduate soon. I am glad to hear that we are involved in something that will set us apart from the masses when we enter into the job market. Public relations is, in a sense, a double edged sword. It is always interesting and exciting because it is constantly changing and updating itself. The catch is, as a public relations practitioner you must change and update as well. I consider myself to be very lucky that I am able to participate in something that will allow me to be a valuable asset to an organization because I am up to date with the most recent developments. Therefore, I believe that blogging is a very good thing to be familiar with these days.
However, I also believe that blogging can be a very dangerous thing. While posting blogs can help us to gain the attention of professionals in the field and give them reason to hire us, they can also be the kiss of death. We must be very careful of how we express our opinions in our blogs. If we do not express our thoughts in a sensible and intelligent way, the very blog that had the potential to land us a job or internship could very well send those potential employers running.
So, I believe that blogging is a very wonderful thing to be apart of because it allows us to be on the cutting edge of public relations. And in our business, this is definitely the best place to be!