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July 12, 2009
Strat 425 Entry 2
I wrote this a few days ago and forgot to post it...it's my second journal entry for my Strategy class...
At a PR firm, networking isn’t just a good business-person practice; it’s an essential part of the job. My supervisor has a list of media contacts to which she wants to reach out and get to know. Having a personal relationship with an Editor at Town & Country magazine, for example, puts our company and our clients at the top-of-mind for upcoming stories that are applicable. It also makes the Editor’s job easier to have a go-to PR firm for stories and information. Through my summer internship, I’ve found that expanding and utilizing your network benefits both parties. This has become particularly clear during my experience at my sorority’s summer convention (it’s connected, trust me).
To begin with, the way I found my internship in the first place was through creative networking. I searched for alumnae from my sorority who worked in the New York area (my geographical target for the summer) at a Marketing/PR firm. My boss fit the criteria and I emailed her asking to talk about her company and what she does there, not realizing she was the founder and the director. Part of the reason she offered me an internship without PR experience was because we had something in common and she thought my tactics were ambitious and resourceful.
When I went to the biannual convention for my sorority, many collegiate and alumnae attendees naturally asked what I was doing this summer. Everyone was impressed and excited that the sorority network worked out so well for me. I told my story to a woman who works for headquarters and she took down the names and email addresses of both me and my boss to get more information about our story and the company. The best part is that my boss is currently working to expand our company and trying to get publicity for ourselves as a reputable PR firm, instead of only focusing on publicity for our clients. By sharing my story, as well as telling how she’s helped other alumnae, we will get the name of our small company out to thousands of people connected to our sorority, as well as their circles and networks. So by networking through my sorority to get an internship, I’ve also managed to find a new outlet to get publicity for my company.
Posted by jenmmart at July 12, 2009 10:48 PM