3 Lessons from Interning at a PR Agency

By Rebecca Grissom
September 27, 2022

As a college student, one of the most intimidating things when thinking about life after graduation is hitting the job market—and wondering if you have gotten enough experience to land that desired job. Luckily, summer jobs or internships are an excellent chance for students to get hands-on experience while they finish their studies. In a fast-paced and ever-changing field like PR, hands-on experience is essential to prepare you for future job opportunities.

This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to intern with Inspire PR Group and experience the complexities of the PR world for myself. I learned the importance of good media relations, digital marketing literacy and the power of good writing. The value that an in-person internship can add to your education and overall college experience is immeasurable.

Here are the top three things I took away from my summer at Inspire:

1. Real-life experience is different from classroom experience

Classroom lessons are very different than the real PR world. Learning the ins-and-outs of PR work through completing the work and attending meetings was a completely enriching learning experience. Working with clients in real-time taught me how to stay on top of their needs and timelines, cater to exactly what they needed and become creative with my problem-solving.

2. Relationships are significant.

Good client relations and media relations are incredibly vital in PR. Before my internship, I often viewed PR as more behind-the-scenes work but talking to journalists and clients showed me how important it is to maintain good relationships. Relationships can’t be formed behind-the-scenes; they take conscious effort. Within my experience this summer, I learned that hard work, honesty and practicing ethical communication help maintain the essential relationships necessary for good PR work.

3. Teamwork allows excellence in work to thrive.

Working as part of a team this summer was one of my favorite aspects of the internship experience. Having a team to rely on to check your work and provide feedback is a great resource. At Inspire, I saw empowering team support and partnership, and it was inspiring to see how the team solved problems and developed ideas through the brainpower of a connected and close team.

Interning at a PR agency was one of the best experiences of my college years. I'm thankful for the lessons learned, and I recommend an agency internship to any college student looking to step into the PR worlrd.

Beyond just my experience this summer, I was given the opportunity to continue my internship at Inspire into the fall to learn more lessons about PR from a talented team, and I am excited to see what else awaits me.