I have Metro’s Silver Line to thank for my public relations internship at Sage Communications. The Metro’s newest rail line opened in July 2014, making places like McLean and Tysons Corner accessible by public transportation. Prior to the Silver Line, I would not have had a very feasible commute to Sage, which is located across the street from the McLean Metro station. Today, a 20-minute direct train ride from Foggy Bottom puts me practically on Sage’s doorstep.
I have been interning with Sage for the entire 2014-2015 academic year. Sage is a public relations and marketing agency with clients in areas like technology, nonprofit, and government. Many clients are business-to-government while others are business-to-business. After interning at trade associations and in a Senate office on the Hill, I was excited to start at Sage and explore a potential career at a communications agency.
From the first day on I have not been disappointed with my experience. One of the first impressions I had about Sage was the team-based atmosphere. I quickly noticed how people liked to celebrate each other’s successes. I often received PR team-wide emails congratulating a particular team member or an account team on successfully pitching and scheduling an interview or holding a successful client event. As an intern, I appreciated how welcoming everyone was to me from the start. I was allowed to sit-in on client phone calls and invited to participate in staff meetings, team-bonding activities and professional development workshops held for staff.
Sage staff led the workshops on topics ranging from writing for public relations to pitching. These workshops have enhanced my internship experience, allowing me to learn new skills that I know I will carry with me into my future communications career.
Of course, I also gained skills through my assigned tasks. From day one I was contributing to client deliverables. In my first few weeks I was asked on several occasions to compile media coverage reports for a specific client and do research related to social media. Since I was successful at these tasks, I was given more responsibilities including drafting tweets for multiple client accounts. Often Sage’s clients use social media as a way to position themselves as thought leaders in their particular area. Before I drafted tweets, I looked for news articles and thoughtful commentary pieces in areas related to the client’s expertise. I then drafted tweets about these articles. At first I struggled with this task because I had a difficult time figuring out how to make this content engaging and conversational. Thanks to my bosses’ detailed feedback on the edits to my drafts, I now write tweets that are much more interesting and engaging.
My favorite assignments were when I wrote pitches and had the opportunity to call reporters. Naturally, I was nervous the first few times I called a reporter, but my account teams were supportive and gave me tips on ways to start the conversation. I enjoyed finding fresh angles to my pitches that emphasized the client’s story in ways that connect with current industry trends. I felt great each time I was able to persuade a reporter to interview the client or attend a client’s event.
My experience at Sage Communications has helped me apply the theoretical knowledge I have learned in SMPA classes to real world clients and their challenges. If you are interested in public relations, I highly recommend interning at an agency where you will have the opportunity to work with different types of clients and gain skills that are applicable to many different areas of communications.