Marketing/ PR Internships: Lay of the Land

We continue Intern Memo's industry profile series with a primer on marketing and public relations. These fields are great options for analytical bon vivants not necessarily interested in the numerical side of finance. Though most major companies do not hire with the cyclical consistency of the investment banks, they do offer similarly rewarding experiences. We all remember Intern Rosie and her Devil Wears Prada outtake issue this summer in which she outlined the almost dangerous level of responsibility she enjoyed on a daily basis. But a lot of people have no idea about what both industries entail. Vault.com points to the following character traits as indicators of whether marketing is for you: Creativity, Good Communication, Teamwork, Analytical, Adaptability, Risk Taking, Good Judgment.

Apparently, being able to do literally everything is a necessary component of being in marketing. But seriously, that's part of the fun of it. You need to have a mind for assessing the creative implications of decisions targeting specific demographics.

PR firms require a similar jack-of-all trades sort of malleability, possibly more so, because the industry is based on a personal hierarchy that treads on paying your dues. Allison Steinberg, Arizona 2007, who works for a publicist out in LA got into PR because she felt she was getting paid to be social. The truth is, a lot of PR is the ability to be personable in hostile environments. While it's not all Lizzie Grubmans and Hamptons disasters (though Steinberg actually works for Grubman's old publicist), a career in public relations, like entertainment, has the "mailroom mentality." Proving your worth by being a reliable assistant is the harsh reality, but there is some camaraderie in the shared experience: your boss made you do what? Wow...

So naturally, the intern is the lowest on the totem pole in both fields. If this sounds appealing, you have a few options for your summer job.

There are three common paths in PR. Agencies, Corporate Communications and Publicists. Agencies and Corporate communications firms (also known as the "client side") have the most structured intern programs, but if you have a hook-up with a publicist, a summer spent making fresh coffees and photo copies for his/her assistant might be a great career move.

Marketing firms hire for the summer all year round. A top firm like Ogilvy and Mather accepts applications through their site, but the best bet, as we discussed in the first school year series, is following up through any type of personal connection. Maybe refusing to do extensive on-campus recruiting is the first test for a career based on networking and personalities. How do you get in the door? Something tells us posting a resume online just won't cut it...

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