Last week was a small milestone in my PR career as well as a fun adventure!
Our PRSSA chapter at the University of South Alabama traveled to Birmingham for the 2014 PRSA Summit. The group decided to do the same itinerary as the previous year and go up a day early to tour agencies. The first agency we toured was Intermark Group and then Big Communications.
The Tours- How Everything Really Works
At Intermark we were able to here a short presentation from each department including account services, public relations, creative and interactive. After hearing what each department consists of, I realized account services is somewhere I could see myself. They are primarily responsible for being the liaison between the client and agency throughout the length of the contract. Intermark has a vibrant atmosphere that allows their employees to have autonomy and let their creative spirit fly. This agency inspired me so much to apply for an internship! I saw the woman who presented for the public relations department, Kate, at the PRSA Summit and took the opportunity to give her my resume. This week I received an email from Intermark requesting writing samples. I’ll keep you posted!
USA PRSSA tours Intermark Group
The Summit
Tuesday we checked into the Summit and prepared ourselves for a day full of professional advice. The keynote speaker, Matt Prince, shared how to deal with generational stereotypes. My favorite quote from him was,
We grow up in a generation where we’ve seen billionaires in hoodies and revolutionaries in sandals.
His presentation was eye-opening to how millennials are perceived and how we can beat these stereotypes in the work place. Some of the other speakers included Deon Gordon, senior consultant at Chronicle Studios, Holly Lollar, APR, from The Lollar Group and Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA, director of partnership development at HGTV.
Some of our University of South Alabama PRSSA members at Regions Field
The Take-A-Way
So many students go through school just to graduate and then expect a job to be handed to them; not in the world of public relations. You have to attend professional events, make connections that lead to relationships and develop your own personal brand. Attending the PRSA summit and touring two agencies showed me that these professionals who have made it to this point in their careers didn’t do so by sitting back and waiting on the world to hand them an opportunity; they created their own opportunity.
Share your own professional experiences. What have you done to go the extra mile?
Intern Life: Making it in the World of PR 