Five Ways An Internship Can Shape Your Career

By Maria Soubbotina

Internships are fundamental for building a clear vision for the career you want to pursue. They not only show future employers that you have experience, but they allow you to experiment in a variety of industries — allowing you to find the job that is better suited for you. Rather than diving in headfirst and not knowing how a business operates and functions, internships allow you to learn, network, gain insight, and get a feel for company culture.

As a former media relations intern and now a full-time employee at Olive Creative Strategies, interning at Olive was one of the best decisions I could have made. Below are the five ways interning helped shape my career thus far.

1. Career foundation – Whether you are on your fourth internship or starting at your first, every internship is a building block in the foundation of your career. Interning is a valuable experience that builds a strong resume—and strong resumes catch employers’ attention.
2. Time management – Working in public relations, deadlines are a critical part of your day. Time management is not only necessary but essential for succeeding in this industry. As an intern working in a fast-paced environment, you quickly learn that every minute counts, and working quickly and efficiently is crucial.
3. Real-world experience – It’s true what they say, you learn more from working hands-on than you do in a classroom. As an intern at Olive, you have the opportunity to sit in on client meetings, call news desks, attend TV and radio segments, write pitches and more. We value our interns and their time, so it’s important that our interns take away as much as possible from their time here at Olive. An intern’s day is typically composed of tasks that can be found on any PR professional’s agenda.
4. Working with mentors – As you continue to build your portfolio, it’s always helpful to find a mentor at your internship and work alongside them. Shadowing a mentor can help build confidence, experience, and even give you the opportunity to work on projects you wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Mentors can even result in lasting connections for years to come. And who knows? Maybe you’ll be advising them down the line.
5. Company values – You don’t realize how important company values are until you work for a company where they equally value and respect one another. Interning at Olive, I realized how much this agency not only values its clients and their visions, but also its employees. This is one of the many reasons that drove me to want to work full-time at Olive. The team continuously supports one another, pushes each other to succeed and always advocates for a positive work environment.

We are always looking for creative, outgoing and detail-oriented interns. If you are interested in interning at Olive Creative Strategies feel free to send an email to info@olivecreativestrategies.com or check out our website for more information.