Interning is one of the best things you can do for your future career. Stuart Lander of internships.com says, “You have a seven in 10 chance of being hired by the company you interned with.” Trying to find a suitable company to intern with might not be the easiest task, but it’s definitely worth putting in the effort on the front end. Luckily, I came across the Meridian Group website when I was searching for an internship.
I had a list of requirements that I wanted my future internship company to have, not meaning that I wouldn’t lower my standards, because let’s face it, I HAD to have an internship. I just wanted to have a good foundation of expectations.
My dream internship would
- Allow me to work with national and local companies
- Work with my schedule
- Have an easy-going and flexible work environment
Meridian Group met all those expectations.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this internship seeing as how my last internship was with a retail company (complete opposites). Were they going to actually have me conduct projects? Was I going to talk to clients? Did I have to know AP Style off hand?
I later realized that I had nothing to worry about. I could not have asked for a better internship experience. The amount of information that I learned during two months of interning was incredible. Not to mention the people that taught me along the way were so responsive to any and all questions I had.
Here are a few things that I learned while interning with the Meridian Group over the summer:
- People don’t check over your shoulder every minute? While we did occasionally check-in with our intern coordinator, letting her know what our current projects were and when we got finished, for the most part we were on our own. Wow! I almost felt like a house cat that just got let outside. What do I do? Where do I go? The world (or office) was my oyster! It was refreshing having a team trust me and my work ethic, it was honestly something I wasn’t used to. I felt like an adult and it made me want to work harder and more efficiently. I felt relaxed and empowered.
- Public relations isn’t just hosting parties? Embarrassingly, yes, I believed that was a main part of the job description. I was shocked to see all the work and research that goes in to public relations. Not a day goes by that you aren’t researching something. That sounds horrific, right? IT’S NOT! It is the most fun, engaging, informative research I’ve ever done. You have a desire to learn about your clients and their competition. I’m now convinced PR professionals are the most intelligent people in the world.
- It’s a team effort. In a lot of jobs you have your set title and your set tasks and you really don’t need to leave your cubicle for any reason other than getting food or going to the bathroom. However, at Meridian Group the team needs each other. Whether it’s proofreading a document, or running an idea by someone else, or just venting because…well, you need to sometimes. I have never experienced such a well-oiled machine of coworkers. Knowing how to work as a team is crucial. It’s a family that you work with, you brainstorm with and you learn with.
- Looking forward to going to work is NOT a fairytale. Disliking your job isn’t something uncommon, unfortunately. That’s not the case when working at Meridian Group, yes I was only an intern, but I looked forward to going to work each morning. From the first day to my last day I was eager and excited. Working at Meridian Group, you have such a great team and such great clients that it’s easy to be happy going to work. You don’t just sit at a desk all day (some days you do, that’s life) – you actually go to meetings and go to events and get out of the office a little bit.
Out of all places that were available for me to internship at, I am so honored to have had the opportunity to work for such an experienced, yet helpful team of rock stars. Thank you, Meridian Group!
Want an internship experience like mine? Meridian Group is now hiring multiple fall interns! Apply today!
This blog post was written by summer 2016 public relations intern, Alura Romero.