InternshipRatings.com

By John Sternal

Co-Owner

http://understandingmarketing.com

It goes without saying that an internship is one of the most valuable educational experiences for a PR student since it provides a chance to take what is learned in the classroom and apply in a real-world setting.

Most PR agencies, corporate departments and not-for-profits offer internship programs for PR students who hope to gain valuable experience as they prepare for life after college. Often, students get to participate in tasks such as media research, story development, press clips compilation and reporting, and press release writing. Companies, agencies and organizations also may allow trusted interns to make story pitch calls so they can begin to build relationships with some reporters.

Working in the office affords other valuable experience since interns are college students who rarely have worked in an office setting. Interacting with other professionals in an office is another area students need to learn that isn’t part of classroom curriculum.

But with the increased focus on electronic outreach, including email pitching and social media communication, much of today’s PR work now can be considered virtual. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that newspapers continue to cut staff leading to fewer lunches between reporters and PR professionals. If anything, applications like LinkedIn and Twitter, combined with blog commentary serve as the majority of today’s networking in a “virtual” setting between PR and the media.

Knowing this, is it still a requirement for interns to function in a traditional office environment in person? With much of PR going virtual today, why can’t a portion of intern work also go virtual? For example, a virtual internship would give PR students in Iowa the chance to gain experience for a leading PR agency located in New York City. What’s more, virtual interns could be extremely valuable to Web-based businesses whose business takes place in a virtual environment. I have been considering using a virtual PR intern for my business, which is web-based (http://understandingmarketing.com).

Finding a virtual intern isn’t an easy task, though. You need the right student combined with the right scenario. Virtual internships, although they sound like a promising fit, may not be appropriate or effective for every PR agency, corporation or organizational setting.

Since the essence of virtual is being on your own outside of an office setting, you’d have to make sure the intern is in a very advanced level of PR curriculum, and one that would require little oversight. Interns at the earlier stage of their PR studies, where they are not as seasoned in a real-world PR scenario, would be far less effective in a virtual environment. These students require more direct oversight and should remain inside the office where they - and the company - would have a much more mutually beneficial experience.

But for those students trustworthy enough to handle a virtual internship, the opportunity could be fruitful for both sides. In a perfect world scenario, I would want to structure a virtual internship where the student could be in the office at least once a week so as to not miss out on the entire professional interactions an office setting enables. Outside of the office, though, as long as there is clear direction on all tasks at hand, why not allow the intern to complete longer-term tasks such as media research, competitive intelligence, business social networking, press release writing, and to a degree even limited media pitching. All of these tasks can be distributed and evaluated either via phone or email.

The world of PR is slowly turning more virtual. With the right student and the right situation, it may be time to think about looking into a virtual internship.

Editor’s Note: John Sternal is the co-owner of http://understandingmarketing.com, a Web-based resource that enables small businesses in every industry to cost-effectively do their own PR and marketing. For more information, email jsternal@understandingmarketing.com.