As you know, a blog that is not updated falls into disuse. If you have retired from the PR teaching game, it might be time to look for a suitable replacement for managing this blog. I’d hate to see it dissolve when the subject matter is so important.
Regards, Terri Smolar, Coordinator Public Relations Diploma Program, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, British Columbia

My own industry is automotive and I’ve found that initially PR students (who are primarily female in UK) aren’t attracted to placements in this area. Once they get to hear more about what they would be involved with, the skills and competencies they develop, the career potential and so on, they can realise that an internship offers a good learning opportunity that will convert to added value on the CV/resume.

I’ve also often spoken with students about placements in even less “exciting” organisations and helped them to understand what is most important in an internship is what you put into the experience – and hence what you get out of it.

I always say that one skill of a really good PR person is to be interested in anything – and that is never more true than when you are looking to maximise your internship.

The public knows very little about our profession;what IS known is largely glamourized. And this is why entertainment and sports organizations can get away with paying their long-line of interns next-to-nothing.

I chose an internship that paid less than minimum wage and less than a year after graduation, I’m working for one of the largest and most profitable organizations in Canada. The most valuable thing I got out of my internship? A great mentor and vast network of connections.

My advice to students is this: in the race to separate yourself from the pack (and with three post-grad PR programs in the GTA alone, it’s quite a pack), a list of exceptional references, being interwoven with your network and being part of an organization that supports the development of your niche is a hell of a lot more important than having an eight-week internship at a big agency on your resume. Stand out or get stepped on.

It perplexes me–and many organizations eager to have a student join them for eight weeks–why students reject offerings that clearly are full of opportunity–whether paid or unpaid.

But, I wonder if it’s just a case of “they don’t know what they don’t know.” We’ve had far more experience in the world of fulltime work and managing a career. They haven’t. So, they’re less certain of what awaits them.