A friend who will remain anonymous so he perhaps remains a friend asked me this week to help him find a top-notch intern. He sent job specifications that essentially required the intern to perform at the level of an account executive or above. Wishful thinking job descriptions are standard these days. The bigger issue with this one is…… Continue reading Back on the Soapbox: Interns Should Be Paid
Category: Intern
Intern Mistake Recovery Process
Intern season is in full swing. Most are doing outstanding jobs, but I’ve heard from a few terrified interns over the past week who are concerned about their futures based on mistakes they’ve made during their first few weeks. In talking with the interns, I heard similar concerns–mostly based on their surprise with how much…… Continue reading Intern Mistake Recovery Process
5 Ways Students Can Gain Experience in PR Field
As a student you commit a large amount of time and energy to get a degree that sets your course for the future. Many variables affect your potential success–exposure to the profession you’re pursuing, what you learned in college, and how you apply real life experiences to your job search. Bottom line, graduates who have been involved…… Continue reading 5 Ways Students Can Gain Experience in PR Field
Most Interns Deserve a Pay Raise
While cleaning out an old file cabinet recently, I surprisingly came across a long-forgotten pay stub from my first internship. I was paid a whopping $4.50 an hour, but that was 40 years ago when my college tuition was less than $1,000 a semester. Back then, internship duties consisted primarily of errands, clipping newspapers and an occasional low-risk…… Continue reading Most Interns Deserve a Pay Raise
Differentiating Between Internships and Fellowships
For graduate and undergraduate students alike, internships and fellowships offer an accelerated route to a successful career in public relations. While the terms often are used interchangeably, fellowships and internships are different. In this post, Mark Weiner helps us differentiate “internship” from “fellowship” before focusing on fellowships generally and the Grunig PRIME Research Fellowship in particular. Mark heads PRIME…… Continue reading Differentiating Between Internships and Fellowships
Top 20 Posts of 2012 Focus On Job Searches, Internships and Personal Branding Tips
As 2012 turns into 2013, I decided to review the 125 posts on this blog over the past year. Tips for job searches, internships and personal branding were the most most popular posts, according to the more than 1.4 million page views during 2012. Here are the Top 20 Culpwrit posts of 2012: Tweet Yourself Into a #Job Build Your Own…… Continue reading Top 20 Posts of 2012 Focus On Job Searches, Internships and Personal Branding Tips
College Involvement Builds Your Resume
What does it mean to be actively involved? Is joining an organization enough? Does it look more impressive to have five different memberships on your résumé? It’s common these days to hear about people who aren’t getting hired. They are confused because they have impressive résumés with all of these diverse organizations listed. They have…… Continue reading College Involvement Builds Your Resume
It’s Possible, but Not Easy for Foreign Nationals to Land Internships in U.S.; Graduate Degree Option
Last week, I met a number of aspiring public relations professionals during my visit to Brazil to speak at “Superminas 2012”, the big food show and conference in Belo Horizonte. Besides being impressed with their ability to speak English in light of my failed attempts to voice a complete sentence in Portuguese, the young Brazilians currently…… Continue reading It’s Possible, but Not Easy for Foreign Nationals to Land Internships in U.S.; Graduate Degree Option
Retail Experience Can Lead to Future PR Career
Last week, following a speech at the Retail Smarter Conference in Orlando, Florida, I met several college interns whose employers sent them to the 2-day meeting. The students talked about the incredible insights being gained by working for major retailers, and several were confident their experiences will translate well into future PR careers. I agree. Steve Kirn,…… Continue reading Retail Experience Can Lead to Future PR Career
Avoid Unpaid Internships at For-Profit Firms
Q. I’m the first ever intern at a fairly new company, and my experience to date has been less than rewarding. As background, I am not paid. Second, I spend most of the day running errands, preparing packages for shipping, sorting mail and receptionist. I’m not learning anything about the business or staff roles,…… Continue reading Avoid Unpaid Internships at For-Profit Firms