Turning the Tables: An Intern’s Perspective
PondelWilkinson is very lucky to have a fantastic intern on staff. Her name is Yukari, and she recently earned a master’s degree in strategic public relations from USC. Among many other duties, Yukari has been helping enhance PW’s social media presence, and as a result, our Facebook and Twitter pages are now chock full of great content. Since Yukari frequently asks the members of our staff questions to help drive our social media content, I thought I’d turn the tables on her to find out how she feels about working in the real world of strategic communications after finishing her schooling. Below is our interview.
Q: Why did you decide to study communications?
Yukari Nishi during Career Day at the University of Southern California.
A: I started my undergraduate career as a vocal performance major at Berklee College of Music. Then I had the opportunity to study in Tokyo, and that’s where I decided to transfer my major to communications. I’ve always wanted to do something creative, and after I took a PR class, I realized that it would be a good career to pursue. After I completed my studies in Tokyo, I transferred to Rutgers University and got my communications degree. This past May, I got my master’s in strategic public relations from USC.
Q: Do you think your education prepared you for the real world?
A: I definitely think that the program at USC prepared me for the real world. The professors that I learned from have both in-house and agency backgrounds, and the experiences they shared were really interesting and helpful. I wish I’d found PR earlier in my undergraduate career, but I probably wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t take the time to figure out what I really wanted to do.
Q: What qualities do you think are important to succeed in this field?
A: Networking skills are a must in this field. I also think the ability to adapt is really important. Especially at an agency, you have the opportunity to work with all types of professionals in many different fields, and it’s important to know how to deal with, understand and embrace those differences.
Q: Has anything surprised you about the field since you started working here?
A: Not necessarily a surprise, but more of a confirmation. I’ve heard from many professionals and professors that in an agency, no two days are the same. Working at PondelWilkinson definitely confirmed that, and I’ve enjoyed learning different things every day. I come to the office wondering what type of projects I’ll get to work on that day.
Q: What are some of the more interesting things you’ve worked on since joining us?
A: I really enjoy creating graphics for different events, survey results and giveaways because it allows me to bring out my creative side. It’s important to be able to tell a story using graphics. I also like drafting news releases because during the process I get to learn more about the client and the client’s impact on its industry.
Q: What has been the hardest adjustment?
A: Pitching reporters is not easy. Speaking with journalists was pretty challenging at first, but now I’m getting a feel for how to approach them and better understand what kinds of things they need from me to make a decision on whether to cover our clients. Their time is valuable and you need to get their attention in a very short time frame.
Q: What advice would you give someone wanting to get into the communications field?
A: I would say that working on your writing skills is really important. A lot of writing comes with the job, and you can never get enough practice. I also think it’s important to keep in touch with the connections you make, because it’s a small world and you never know how those connections might help you in the future.
We’d love to hear from you in the comments below if you have any other great tips to share for those just starting out.
— Laurie Berman, lberman@pondel.com
