Chicken Soup for the Intern’s Soul
I have just finished my fifth week interning here at HM&P and I already know that this is a very beneficial experience! As a soon to be graduate from NC State, I could not be more excited and terrified at the same time – December 17th is coming a lot faster than I expected. Sure, I have learned the basics through my communication classes: how to put together a press kit, how to prepare for a crisis situation, and the basics of social media strategy, but what is learned outside of the classroom enhances all those many hours of lectures.
I knew coming into this internship that I am an underdog when it comes to my writing skills. Going through high school I knew my strengths were math and science, trust me, my teachers knew that too. After struggling through English and history classes, I thought all I wanted to do was engineering. With 9 months of engineering classes under my belt, my vision of the sciences quickly faded away. If my high school English teachers could see me now, writing press releases and blog posts, I think they would agree that this is not what we expected.
Besides enhancing my writing skills, interning at HM&P has already taught me the true meaning of multi-tasking. I am only here for four hours a day, three days a week and within those 12 hours, I am expected to schedule my time and be able to switch gears at any given moment. For two hours I might work on a PowerPoint presentation for a client, the next hour write a press release for another, and then wrap up my day with some online research.
I am truly grateful for all the new experiences I will have here at HM&P and I know I will learn far more than I am expecting to…stay tuned!
Secrets of Agency PR: As Told By An Intern
Not one of my close friends at UNC is studying Public Relations. I always find myself surrounded by doctors-to-be, future politicians and bilingual gurus. Prior to my internship at Howard, Merrell & Partners, when people asked me what I was going to do with PR, my response always sounded more like a question. “Um, work in an agency or something?”
Even with a couple Journalism and PR classes under my belt, I was uncertain of what a career in PR even looked like. I had studied AP style and some basic terms bolded in my textbook, but nothing I’ve learned in my classes could ever compare to the experience I have had at HM&P over the past three months. More »
Intern Intro: Meet Kara Kotecki
Hello everyone! My name is Kara Kotecki and I am starting my first day at Howard, Merrell & Partners as the newest social media intern. I cannot fully express my excitement and readiness for spending my summer here. Who would have thought that a hobby could double as a job?
I am a rising senior at the University of North Carolina (go Tar Heels!) majoring in public relations in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. I have fallen in love with all things Chapel Hill, from Carolina basketball to the many hotspots on Franklin Street. I am excited, and admittedly a little apprehensive, about graduating in one short year. I know, however, that my time here at HM&P will prepare me for whatever it is that will follow in May of 2012.
I have become very interested in social media and the impact it has brought to businesses, brands and people across the world. It amazes me that the same platform on which I casually made a profile during my sophomore year in high school is now serving as a means for companies to grow, reach audiences and create lasting impressions. I think the thing I love most about social media is how personal it can be – it builds relationships that other mediums are not capable of reaching.
When I have spare time away from school and work, I like to enjoy the simple things in life. My roommates and I have recently invested in rocking chairs for our front porch; I love nothing more than spending sunny afternoons outside with a book in hand. I share my four brothers’ competitive nature and extreme passion for sports. Monday Night Football is spent cheering on our beloved Dallas Cowboys. If I’m not watching sports, you can find me hanging out with my two miniature dachshunds, taking long jogs through Chapel Hill, or watching the Real Housewives of New Jersey (a guilty pleasure, I must admit).
I know that my time here will serve as a great foundation to my future. I am anxious to broaden my skills and to get a little taste of the fast-paced environment of agency life. I look forward to sharing my experiences and random thoughts with all of you as I continue my internship with HM&P. In the mean time, find me on Twitter @kara_kotecki.
Parting Words from the Social Media Intern
This is my last post as a social media intern! I have really enjoyed my time here and I would highly recommend this internship to anyone looking to learn more about social media.
I learned so much more about how social media works for different clients and this internship really fine-tuned my knowledge.
I thought in my last post I would share five tips for how to make your internship a success:
1. Make every day count – Don’t expect to be doing all of the big and glamorous jobs but make sure everything you do is great, no matter how unimportant you may think it is.
2. Ask questions! - I asked a lot of questions about the work I was doing and in the long term, what the results of a project would be. This helped me understand the overall goals and objectives of the assignments I was tasked with.
3. Get to know your supervisor – I made sure I got to know the people that I was working with. It was really great to go to some networking events with my supervisor and see how she incorporates professional development into her job.
4. Have an open mind - Even if you are working on clients that you personally might not have an interest in, they are an important step in learning where your passion lies. If you come in with an open mind you will learn things that you never thought you would become and expert in – like the ingredients in a pet food!
5. Have fun! - This should be an experience that you look back on with enjoyment! Get excited about what you are doing and your supervisor will love to have you around.
I cannot believe that my time at Howard, Merrell & Partners is over. This has been one of my favorite internships and one that I will always look back on. I am excited to say that after graduation I will be working at Coalmarch Productions as a marketing coordinator. I am so excited about it and feel blessed to have a job already lined up as I am graduating in a few short weeks!
I hope you all stay tuned this summer for the next social media intern’s blog posts, I know I will be reading!
Social Media Interns: What makes them top notch?
In the social media department, we seek out a new intern for each semester, but often upon posting the opening, we are inundated with questions about the position:
“What do you look for in a social media intern?”
“Do I have to have professional experience with social media?”
“I’m on Twitter, is that good enough?”
Welcome Maria Martinat!
A 2010 graduate of N.C. State, Maria Martinat is proud that her first job out of college is as an Account Coordinator in the PR department at Howard, Merrell & Partners. We are excited about it too.
We found out how great Maria is while she interned with us last summer. She is intelligent, resourceful and diligent — and is a real team player. Maria will use what she learned in college as well as her other internships to help her teams provide the highest quality service to our clients. Before graduating, Maria not only interned at Howard, Merrell & Partners, but also with the Governor’s Office and NBC 17 WNCN in Raleigh. She has been busy!
Welcome to the team Maria!
Read the announcement here.
Intern Intro – Meet Brianne
Hi everyone! My name is Brianne Dabiero and I am one of the new social media interns at Howard, Merrell and Partners. I will be contributing to the HM&P blog and I look forward to sharing my perspective on current events in social media with you!
I’m from Greensboro, NC and I recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While attending UNC, I majored in journalism with a concentration in advertising and Spanish. Although graduating was a bit of a bummer, I’m looking forward to my internship at HM&P. More »
Online Meet and Greet with Kim, HM&P social media intern
Hi everyone! My name is Kimberly Burke (better known as Kim) and it is my first week as an intern in the social media department at Howard, Merrell and Partners. I will be providing you with a weekly blog on the latest social media trends in public relations, so I figured you should get to know a little about me. More »
