In addition to classroom hours, PR students are also very active in looking for internships outside to both study and practice. Through internships at press agencies, media or social organizations, students are not only more active but also have the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have learned into practice, update new knowledge and practice personal skills. Although still confused, the students have really immersed themselves in the work to feel more confident and understand the profession better.
Improve writing skills
Writing is one of the important skills of a PR person. To write well, you need to practice a lot, talent is just a small part. Slightly different from the hypothetical exercises in class, internship writing needs to be more meticulous, more polished and especially more diverse in content and form because each internship location has its own characteristics. You are assigned to write promotional articles for many different types of products and services. There will be popular things with simple writing style, high-end, luxury products need to be more sophisticated and elaborate, then there are things for children and things for the elderly. Each topic is a problem that forces students to think and choose words to write appropriately. After each time like that, students' pens become sharper and their thinking is also richer.“The first article I was assigned was about Versace - a high-end fashion brand from Italy. I struggled for a long time not knowing how to write appropriately for this luxury brand because I was used to writing about “simple” products when I was in school. Then I read high-end fashion magazines to learn from, asked the editors in the company and finally finished writing. Thanks to this article, I now feel more confident when encountering other high-end products.”Do Phuong Thuy, an editorial intern at Nam Huong Media & Event, shared.
Not only is the content diverse, the form of the writing is also very rich. It can be an essay but also a manuscript. Nguyen Dieu Thuy, a student of K58 PR, is currently interning at Vietpictures Media Company as an editor for the S_Vietnam program. She shared: “In the editor position, I am trained to write logically, clearly and concisely. In addition, I learned how to write a script for a TV show, not only the content but also the script for filming and editing. I am very happy to apply the knowledge I learned at school to my work, and understand more clearly the script writing process, which I could not have imagined when I was studying at school.”
.Gain more social knowledge
In school, there are many social subjects such as cultural foundations, general sociology, psychology, etc., but life out there is so diverse that books cannot cover everything. To become a PR-er, students must continuously acquire new knowledge, which is something that the school can only help with to a certain extent. Through internships, PR students can gain more new knowledge to serve their future work.
When creating a communication plan, the anthropological factor is extremely important. No matter how good the plan is, if it unintentionally hurts a group of people, it is very easy to fail. What better way to understand culture and people than to go into the real world and experience it? “A “flat world” has long been an ideal model for people to strive to build. There, there is no prejudice, no political system, no one leads anyone, everyone leads themselves. I almost did not understand and feel the word “flat” until I did an internship for the Institute for Social, Economic and Environmental Studies (iSEE)”. Pham Kien Trung, a student of K58 PR, has received a lot of new knowledge about LGBT and ethnic minorities while doing an internship at iSEE - the first research center in Vietnam to study homosexuality. "LGBT is not a disease of the youth, LGBT is a normal thing for a human being, you have the right to be proud of it." That is one of the basic things Trung learned at iSEE, LGBT is still a sensitive issue in schools so thanks to the internship, Trung learned more deeply.
Regional culture and the beauty of craft villages are recognized and learned by students right from the field trips with the company. These trips not only increase their understanding of social culture but also make students love their homeland more. Although she has just joined the editorial team for the S_Vietnam program, Dieu Thuy has had her first experience:“A group of 6 of us traveled to Bac Giang to film a program about Lang Ngoi pottery. And after that trip, we learned where the ceramic paintings came from.”
Practice problem solving and situation handling skills
Public relations in particular and media in general always have many unexpected "stories", so it is not for those who are passive, slow to react and do not grasp the situation. University student life is generally quite peaceful to see many funny and sad stories out there. And doing an internship helps students directly witness and participate in those thrilling stories. If you are not familiar with those "difficult" situations, you will surely lose your composure and not be able to solve the problem.
Recalling the story of her first time doing an event, Trinh Trang Thu, class 58 PR, currently interning at Hoa Hoc Tro newspaper in the events department, happily recounted:
“Recalling the memories of my internship, I remember the incident that happened in 2014. When organizing an outdoor event of HHT, it suddenly rained heavily, while the band had just finished performing on stage, the round canvas in front of the stage suddenly collapsed due to the heavy rain. We, the organizers, were extremely worried, because we were afraid of injuring the guests and ruining the program. But quickly, in less than 15 minutes, almost the whole team quickly cleaned up the “battlefield” in front of the stage, even though we had to get soaked in the rain. Luckily, no one was injured that time, and the program resumed and ran smoothly to the end.”
A strong spirit, courage and calmness are essential elements for a PR-er. Unexpected situations are always waiting to happen, no one can predict them all. Only a strong spirit and quick response are effective measures to deal with these "difficult" situations. To do so, the only way is to escape the safe zone and boldly step forward, the more collisions, the stronger the spirit.
In addition to those lessons, students also have more confidence in communication, know how to self-study, self-explore to improve their knowledge and expand relationships. Calling customers is no longer a fear for them, being gentle and patient is a valuable lesson that many students have learned after their internships. Interviewing characters via email, via phone, then posting articles for newspapers, all of those professional skills that are taught in class seem easy but when doing them, they find that they are not simple at all. From wrong emails, to characters refusing to answer, to posting articles in the wrong format... all of those things come from reality that students have to solve. But with a high spirit of self-study and enthusiastic guidance from teachers and seniors, students all overcome those challenges despite many mistakes, not only that, they are also trusted with important tasks.“The staff at the Olympia School Communications Department trusted me and assigned me important professional tasks such as writing a press release for the Olympia Film Festival. In addition, before the Olympia Film Festival took place, I had the opportunity to survey the event location at VOV Television Station. During the summer, I followed the STEP UP summer camp to write articles every day, and sometimes I also took photos for the summer camps to use as media materials.”Do Truong Son, an intern at the Communications Department of Olympia School International School, shared.
Deeper feelings about teachers and colleagues
The first internship leaves behind many unforgettable emotions for each student. A little bit of fear, a little bit of hesitation, and sometimes feeling sorry for yourself because you messed up and got scolded, but then you finish the job with great joy. That anxious feeling is not only for the students but also for the teachers. They always feel uneasy. Will they get a break, will they be treated fairly, will they be taught properly, is teaching students enough to work... and many, many other questions that haunt the teachers' hearts every time the students step out. "Do you know that I'm also waiting for you to come home? Just go and make your legs strong and your stones soft. Teachers and friends are always with you. 10 years later, when we sit back and laugh, we will cry, right? Our job is so beautiful, so lovely." That is the warm message from Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen sent to the students when an internship just ended. Although it is just a small message, it is enough to encourage your spirit of learning and dedication. It is true that there are many difficulties, but thanks to the guidance and encouragement of teachers and seniors, the internship work is less stressful.
Students also realize that only when they step out do they feel that there is no place as warm and peaceful as school, no one loves and cares for them like their teachers. When they go to school, they just want to go to work, to meet many new people, but once they get to work, they want to return to the loving arms of their teachers. “Only those who have gone through the recent internship will miss their teachers like they miss their mothers. Returning to their teachers and friends, they will feel cared for, relieved, and will definitely feel warmer than in society out there. I don’t know what to say other than thank you for everything! Only after leaving can I truly understand what the teachers taught, which I couldn’t even imagine in the classroom! Meeting the teachers again makes everything lighter, makes life a little more beautiful, and I realize a simple thing: worry less, instead do well in the present and opportunities will come.” Nguyen Van Anh, a K58 student interning at Nam Huong Media & Event, was very emotional when sharing this story when returning to school after her internship.
The result of an internship is also a close friendship. When tired, we lean on each other, when hungry, we share a sandwich, at first we are strangers, then we get to know each other, there are friends who have never eaten supermarket lunch boxes, at first they still leave a lot but after getting used to it, they finish, and even when we are wrongly blamed, we have friends to show our gratitude. On weekends, we should be going out with our families, but because of work, we still diligently go to events. We feel sorry for ourselves, we also feel resentful, but at times like that, the funny jokes from our friends make us feel lucky to be here with the "devils" so that we can have fun stories to tell later. Meeting famous people, seeing behind-the-scenes stories, taking care of gifts worth tens of millions of dong... Those will always be happy memories that bind friends together, future colleagues.
With the desire to pursue a career in PR, students have not hesitated to move forward, no success comes by itself so go for it yourself to earn your own success. The road may be short or long, far or near but there is no smooth road to glory.
Some photos of students' internship:
Author:Do Phuong Thuy (K58 Public Relations major, Faculty of Journalism and Communication)
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