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Summer 2000 Internship
(veiw as a word document)

My goal last summer was to research, define, develop, and implement the position of a Public Relations Communications Representative at Corporate Communication Training College in Vancouver, B.C. The company I worked at is one that was familiar to me as I spent three years in sales and marketing there prior to entering the MBA program at Western Washington University. The reason I chose to do my internship at my old company as opposed to a new company is because throughout the entire first year of the MBA program I found myself always applying everything I was learning to that company. I was also familiar with the inner workings of the operation, and I knew I would be able to implement what I had learned right away instead of having to get to know the company first. I really wanted to make an impact, and I knew I could do that at Corporate Communications Training College. I was also going in with a management position, so it gave me a chance to practice that role in a familiar environment.

Overall I became very comfortable with the responsibility, respect, and challenges that come with a management position, and I was also able to leave a lasting impact and on the company internally and externally.

One of the first things I did was to develop a timeline with the different areas and the goals I wanted to achieve in those areas. By the end of the three months, I was able to complete those goals and tasks.

During my research I learned a lot about the field of public relations and the role of a PR person in a company. I joined the Public Relations Society of Canada and began to participate in their events. I researched Public Relations on the Internet, and I interviewed people in the company and what their view of PR was. I also studied textbooks from relevant courses in my MBA program.

Public Relations is a difficult area to measure results. Much of my position involved developing relationships. Out of those strategic relationships you expect the awareness to grow and the view of the company to slowly change, so the company is seen in the way it wants to be seen. What I did for myself in order to do the best job I could was to really internalize the Mission Statement of the company. I spent hours talking to the president about his goals, plans, and dreams for the company. I captured his vision and tried to portray that in my writing and relationship building for the company.

I spent time talking to staff and discovering their frustrations and hidden talents. Then I tried to portray that to management. My personal view is that the internal publics are equally if not more important than the external publics and should be treated like family.
A great amount of my time was spent calling past students in the database and finding out how they viewed the school, noting and resolving any resentment. Sometimes it was offering a free retake; sometimes it just took a sympathetic ear and an explanation to resolve the situation. I also tracked placement information and filled in that section of the database for over 100 past students, their present workplace, and asked if they would be a testimonial or referral for the school.

Two new courses started at the college at that time, and I executed twelve direct mailings to inform people about the move of the college and the new programs.

During my time there, I also identified external threats for the company and compiled a binder of photocopies and clippings of articles that are relative to public relations and the industry that the company is a part of. To do this, I spent time reading local and trade publications and paid attention to changes and threats to the industry.

I spent time talking to possible employers and assisted in placing students in jobs and practicum positions. I worked as a team with marketing operations and sales to brainstorm ideas and put together projects.

As part of event planning, I organized a dinner to welcome the new staff that was hired over the course of the summer. I looked into opportunities for the company to get out in the media. I wrote a bio of the company and sent it into various applicable publications. I researched opportunities to do an informational special on VTV (Vancouver Television) and left that information with Management to follow up.

In writing up the job description for Corporate Communications Training College, I basically documented the type of activities I was doing for the company over the summer. I thoroughly studied the job descriptions of every staff in the company. I looked at content and layout. I observed how the different departments interacted with each other and what a PR/Communications person would do that was different than someone in Marketing or Operations. Through my observations and interviews, I also determined areas of the company that were important and that no one was taking care of and incorporated that into the job description. An example of that are the employer/graduate relations and job placement sections.

I worked with the programmer of our ACCESS Database to incorporate changes to the database that would enable easier management of that system. I determined what changes needed to be made after working with the database myself and finding its limitations as well as through interviewing past students and current staff.

As part of my relationship building, I had many lunches and dinners with various "centers of influence". As the PR person I was aware that I would bring the image of the company with me. I built a presence with the Native Community, with the Employment Insurance people, and with the Personal Industry. I really enjoyed relationship building. I also enjoyed the counseling aspect of Public Relations. It takes an intuitive person to identify crisis, both internal and external, before it happens. I am confident when I am placed in the forefront of the public eye. I have had a lot of experience public speaking and being in the media from my beauty pageant days. However, I don't need to always be in the forefront. I find the greatest satisfaction in staying in the background and doing the work it takes to put a company in a positive limelight.

Public Relations involves a lot of writing. Coming from a family of writers and authors and having had several of my articles published since I was a young girl, this is another area of strength for me. During my undergraduate work in Seattle, WA, I completed some PR for the Red Cross of King County. At that time I attended media forums for the Seattle Times and the Seattle P.I. This summer I found that information and put together a little checklist for Corporate Communication Training College where I did my internship. Journalism is an area I plan to continue to educate myself on as I continue my involvement in PR and Communications.

After completing my internship, I understood so much more about Public Relations, and I feel that it is an area that I will be successful in.