Two weeks into my PR Internship: why won’t I make tea?

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An intern with little industry experience reflects on her first two weeks at Holyrood PR

PR photograph of Bernadeta Venckute, an intern at an Edinburgh PR agency, Holyrood PR. Bernadeta shares all about her Edinburgh PR agency internship experience.

By Bernadeta Venckute

BEFORE, during and after my university studies in Film & Media, I’ve gathered a variety of work experience in multiple areas that are not at all related to one another. 

My CV gets interesting reactions at job interviews and provides me with some solid talking material. I thought I would continue in that fashion and get myself an internship in yet another area of work that I’ve not taken a dip into before – public relations.

I’m now two weeks into my one month-long venture at Holyrood PR, and I honestly do not know where the time has gone. For me, as a person who often finds it hard to concentrate and struggles to sit on a chair without moving, this is pretty good news.

Sometimes it might be a very busy, adrenaline-filled day while at other times – a slightly more relaxed and quieter one. But don’t ever think you can kick back and look away – it is a proper workplace where you can get some real-life experience, and you never know when you’ll suddenly start running out of space in your notepad to write all of your tasks down.

Your colleagues may not often have time to babysit and guide you through every step of a particular task and, in fact, you should not even want that – take some responsibility, show initiative and get down to business! If writing releases, making phone calls for comment, using Photoshop and formatting posts for website uploads is something out of your comfort zone, I recommend that you do even more of it. It will enhance your skills more than practicing tasks that you’re already familiar with.

Having said that, I also have to note that the Holyrood PR team is always there for you – they’re all extremely lovely, and you can count on them if you’re really stuck with something or if you’re interested in pursuing a different kind of task. But the best thing is that they give you enough space (if you want it, of course) to work things out for yourself and take what you want out of this learning experience.

PR photograph of Bernadeta Venckute, an intern at an Edinburgh PR agency, Holyrood PR. Bernadeta shares all about her Edinburgh PR agency internship experience.

In my two weeks here, I haven’t made tea once. I realize that I’m probably frowned upon for not taking up the ever-so-important office duty, but I can live with that, because it’s for a reason.

If you are a big tea fan and enjoy multiple cups a day – you should really go and make it yourself! It’s not because I won’t do it out of principle. It’s because working at a desk for many hours a day should make one appreciate every opportunity to stand up and stretch. It might be just me, but isn’t a hot bubble bath much nicer when it’s taken on a cold winter night?

Going back to my main point, I should say that public relations at a well-recognized agency can be hard work, but it’s also fun and rewarding. It’s a great opportunity to try yourself at something new and apply your existing skills to tasks that are out of your comfort zone.

I already feel that I’m improving at what I thought were my weak points. What further progress can be made in the final two weeks? We’ll soon find out!

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