Time to Work!!!

I could go on forever about my work experience this summer. As an intern for both United Way of Central Alabama as well as BIG Communications PR/Ad agency, my daily to-do list was always quite extensive and provided me the opportunity to build my portfolio significantly. By the time the summer ended however, I came to the realization that the tangible benefits of my job were only a small part of the total package. The most important piece of the puzzle was my understanding of the skills I had obtained. How would I apply this to my life and future career endeavors from this point on?

At BIG Communications I had a number of responsibilities. It was my job post a weekly blog on the company website. Posts were to include anything and everything interesting or trendy in the PR/Ad world, as well as to inform the public about current events or changes in the BIG office. It was here that I experienced first hand what it means to analyze trends and predict their outcomes. I often visited advertising websites to find topics for my posts. Subjects that stood out often involved current movements or potential trends that were hip, cool, and could stand to change the face of the ad/pr world. In the future, I know where and how to search for developing trends.

In additon to writing blogs, I was in charge of co-producing daily video shoots and interviews for a client looking to draw attention to a tourism booklet (for Birmingham and the surrounding area.) I also assisted in a project to conduct surveys for Verizon Wireless during their Cell Phone Safety Week. I must admit that both tasks made me nervous at first. We had to create a calendar for the shoot dates, and were often forced to rearrange our schedule to accomodate the business owners we needed to interview. I had to approach patrons of various establishments and attendees at events, some of which were reluctant to speak on camera, and convince them that an interview would be "fun". I spent much of my time out of the office on shoot days, and learned the importance of time management and preparing for mishaps when dealing with outside parties. This particular part of my job, in addition to several other special events and projects that required contact with the public helped me hone my people skills and killed any anxiety I had when approaching strangers. Event planning and hosting is not a fear of mine anymore, and I credit this video blog/survey projects as the primary reasons for that.

Tasks at United Way include writing success stories for their company newletter. I was able to work on my writing skills as well as improve my ability to gather information during trying circumstances -- many of the stories I wrote about included very sensitive topics and issues that had to be handled with tact and care. I now know what types of questions are innapropriate to ask in certain situations, as well as how to contact the appropriate individuals to obtain information that is harder to find.

This semester I am taking six classes that I believe to will be key in my success once I leave FAMU. One of my Graphic Design courses includes Basic Computer Operations and will assist me in running certain computer programs that I'm currently unfamiliar with. Photoshop for example is a technical skill that a PR professional is not required to use, but will put me ahead of the pack when applying for jobs or future internships. My PR campaigns and Practicum classes are a two-part process in that I am recieving information from the text book on how to effectively plan and carry out a successful campaign, all the while applying that information first hand to a real life client. The hands-on experience in conjuction with the lesson is a crash course in the right and wrong way handle and satisfy the needs of a client. Again, I am improving my people, organization and time-management skills, as well my ability to think critically (in my application of the textbook information to satisfy a real-life client).

Lastly is my extra-curricular experience. I will be an active associate in PRodigy Pubic Relations Firm this semester, and responsible for an account. I am also involved with an independent study with Professor Jones, in which I will assist him in new marketing methods for a journalism news website. Additional activities include my involvement in the Beta Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated as the Ways and Means/Platform 3 Chair.