Work, Work, Work

By Kemba Francis, Intern

Last week, I can say, was actually hectic. On Tuesday, I was only able to take about 10 minutes for lunch, but I can’t complain. I am really getting the hang of this. Sad to say, I only have three more weeks left. Since Collin, Leilani and Dave have left, it is like my days are going by faster and faster. I thought that because they weren’t here, the day would be never end. I am assuming it is because I am involved in much more tasks now that Dave has left. But I love it. I realized that I am a workaholic and I like to stay busy. You could say that it makes me feel accomplished in a way. But, it’s also about learning new things.

Recruiting

By Bennie Sham, Internship Program Lead (@beesham)

Spring just started but the semester is almost over. Students, you know the semester is ending when you're bombarded with end-of-term papers. For me, the semester is over when I'm bombarded with resumes from new applicants.

The process begins with renewing postings at several local colleges' career development centers. We also work with the University of Dreams, an internship placement program that places students at companies in various cities throughout the world. We also started expanding our list of schools to include BYU-Idaho (sister school to Brigham Young University in Utah) and some from our neighboring states. I'm proud to say that we've had the opportunity to work with some pretty amazing students, even when I was interning here.

This year, we've received quite a bit of interest and spoke with some great candidates. It was a hard decision (and I'm glad I didn't make it alone) but I think we chose some great students. Now, we just have to start preparing for them.

Just Checking In

By Kemba Francis, Intern

Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. To this day, I have under a month left that I will be with the Fusion team. I can truly say that this has really been a wonderful experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Dating back to my first blog, I talked about the experience and knowledge to be gained from an internship and I can now say that I have experienced it first hand. On my first day, I was extremely nervous and did not know what to expect. Now, I get in at 9 AM, make myself comfortable, turn on my computer and just dive into my work.

I know that in a month’s time, I will leave Fusion with my head high and proud of my accomplishments here. I have more confidence to move forward with my future career goals.

How Safe Is It?

By Kemba Francis, Intern

Last week, I read in New York Magazine an article titled “Do You Own Facebook? Or Does Facebook Own You?” by Vanessa Grigoriadis. The title immediately caught my interest, as I am fairly a new user of social media.

The article started out with the change in Facebook’s Terms of Service. Originally, once your account was closed with Facebook, they automatically forfeit their rights to any material you posted while your account was open. Facebook’s new Terms of Service now gave them the right to do anything they wanted with the information you posted on Facebook, even after your account was closed. Am I the only one that thinks so, or does this become an ethical issue? What are the real objectives behind Facebook? The way we know Facebook is as a social networking site where people can connect with others in an informal matter.

With other social networking sites available to endless of users, it is really important to send a message to its users giving them that sense of security and privacy they look for. As cliché as it sounds, “monkey see, monkey do,” it’s not always the best to follow in the others footsteps.

Survey on Internships

By Bennie Sham, Internship Program Lead (@beesham)

To emphasize what our interns, and myself, have been saying about internships, I found a press release by The Creative Group on a survey they developed on the benefits of internships. They conducted 250 phone interviews with randomly chosen advertising and senior marketing executives from over 4,000 companies. One question they asked was "Aside from pay, what do you think is the greatest benefit to students or graduates who participate in an internship program?"

The number one answer? "Experiencing different work environments" (31%), while improving soft skills (24%) and improving technical skills/knowledge (22%) trailed close behind. The Creative Group also offered some tips for landing internships.

This survey helps to prove my point that internships, whether paid or unpaid, are really worth taking the time to apply for.

And the winner is...

By Kemba Francis, Intern

Last week, I had the pleasure of drafting up my first award application. Not so hard, but also not so easy. I came in that morning and prepared myself for some serious thinking. Well, maybe not so serious because most of the information was already at my disposal.

After filling out the basic information such as name, job title, company, etc; working on additional information for the nominee is where a little thought process comes into play. Reading…reading…re-reading. Now I was ready to type in an answer. Reading these questions carefully and making sure that they are answered thoroughly could determine if your client wins or not. You want to make sure that the information you give is the information the award giver is looking for.

Shake off the pressure, clear your mind and begin!

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

By Kate Scarpa, Internship Program Coordinator

Our spring 2009 interns walked out of Fusion’s offices and onto the streets of New York City for the very last time on Friday. With their mass exodus, it made me wonder…in these three short months, have we given them a sturdy set of wings to fly in the world of public relations?

Whenever I think of an intern program, I focus on the end and not so much the means. I think of education, learning, experiencing new things, but never really gave much thought on how they were taught, that is, until I became the teacher. As our interns are learning about PR, Fusion and having a full time job, I’m learning the best technique to make their time here the most fulfilling. With all experiences, I’ve learned a lot and now I’m anxiously waiting to mold our next set of interns into budding PR professionals!

I don’t know if my nostalgic attitude is in overdrive, but I’m truly sad to see this group go.

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

By Bennie Sham, Internship Program Lead (@beesham)

While the lyrics to Smashing Pumpkins' "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" has nothing to do with this entry, I found the title to be perfect. Internships are the beginning steps for most students who want to gain experience in their fields of interest. It is also the end of their naiveté. The experience skills developed will help them venture forth into their first real job. I hope that, not only our interns but those at other companies, will have learned enough to confidently walk into their entry-level positions and know that they can do the job. And do the job right.

Last Friday was the last day for three of our interns--David, Collin and Leilani. During their semester here, we planned a few excursions and educational sessions, which I hope they learned something from. They were a tremendous help and brought some great ideas to the table. They'll be missed, not only for their hard work, but because they are just good people.

While it's always sad to see interns go, we anticipate our next group (no, not just because they helped us with work). We still have Kemba with us but she'll be leaving mid-May. After three months with someone, it's always a tearjerker when they leave. This is when I say, "Good thing for Facebook, LinkedIn and emails." There are always ways to keep in touch.

Doesn't This Feel Like a Public Service Announcement?

By David Eisele, Intern

Two days. That’s all I have left. Two days. Wow. I’ve had a blast here, and I’m sad that my time is coming to a close.

This experience has taught me more about myself, what I’m passionate about, what I’d like to pursue professionally, etc. Even though I’m planning on a different career path (Law school), I know that my time hasn’t been wasted.

If you’ve thought (or are thinking) about doing an internship, do it! It’s a great opportunity to be surrounded by and work with professionals, learn how a business is run and gain some much-need experience, amongst other valuable skills.

I recently read an interesting article in The Marquette Tribune Online (a Marquette University news site) entitled "Unpaid interns value experience," (from April 2008) by Rosemary Lane. She writes in her article that while some students feel "used" in an unpaid internship, other students feel that "the experience gained from unpaid internships far outweighs the lack of checks."

Experience gained, or not gained, really depends on the internship itself, as well as the person. It's what you make of it. Don't let this experience pass you by!

What to Know Before You Go

By Collin Willardson, Intern (@cwillardson)

As this internship is coming to a close, I find myself listing off things I wish I could have improved on or done differently. I know I have potential to be great, it’s something that my parents have instilled in me, but instead of climbing the huge mountain we often call success, I tend to sit there with my gear and be a bystander. I never realized that once I actually start to climb this mountain, things can become easier with a natural flow of things.

If I had a time traveling device and were able to do this internship again with the knowledge I now have, I would have done some things differently. This whole experience has taught me many things and it's all from going outside my own box. I have never worked in an office before, I have never had deadlines before and I have never had people depend on my work to benefit them or someone else. This pressure was sometimes enough to make me stare at this daring mountain and say “Isn’t there some hill I could just hike?” Woody Allen says “Only 70% of success is showing up.” I showed up to the mountain, but had a hard time making that first step towards climbing to the top.

To sum up my two cents on advice for interns coming into this internship, I would say:

1. Own and use an AP Stylebook frequently
2. Always show up and if you're ten minutes early, you're late
3. Be aware that deadlines actually matter; this isn’t college where if it's late, you get marked off 10%. If it's late, a lot of bad things can happen.
4. Work hard, play hard and don’t be afraid to think outside the box and shine.

I can’t believe this is almost over and I wish it was longer. I am learning so much out here, and I know I could be learning so much more. I wish I hadn’t been intimidated by any mountain and truly rolled with the punches. No doubt did I learn a lot here, but I know there are a lot more learning experiences I could have gained only from doing an internship. I know this isn’t the typical intern blog, but I feel that this was the biggest task I had this week -- the task of finding out how I tick and how learning can make me tock.

How Time Flies...

By Leilani Needham, Intern

It seems like yesterday I was walking through the doors of Fusion Public Relations for the first time. Now, with almost three months behind me, this experience is coming to an end. Looking back, I can firmly say that I am leaving with more than what I came with.

From my experience at Fusion, I have not only developed a greater understanding of the PR industry but also learned a lot about myself. I have a better grasp of what I want to accomplish professionally and, also, what will be expected of me in my future career endeavors. This internship has helped me realized what my strengths and weaknesses are and how I can grow and continuously fine-tune the skills I have.

Without a doubt, I have learned so much as an intern at Fusion. I will be heading back to complete my education with full-fledged life experience, which is something that cannot be taught in the classroom. During my internship, I’ve had the opportunity to take part in media trainings, interviews and everyday client interactions, all things that can only really be taught first hand.

The time that I have spent at Fusion has been very rewarding and I’ll always be thankful to the people who took the time to direct me towards the road to success.