5 ways for advertising and public relations students to gain professional skills during this coronavirus-driven summer
By Katey Quinn
At the beginning of March, no one could have foreseen what this summer would look like. With over 30 million Americans filing for unemployment and thousands of internships canceled, COVID-19 has altered the current job market.
With everything on pause and the uncertainty of returning to normalcy soon, students are faced with the hard-hitting question of what can I do these next few months?
If these unprecedented times have taught us anything it is to “pivot.” You can either see this summer as a loss, or you can see it instead as a gift of time. As students, it is up to us to find things to do to enhance our skills and set ourselves apart. When future interviewers ask us the question of how we used our time while sheltering-in-place, your answer should not be “I watched a lot of Netflix” but that you took it upon yourself to utilize this time to grow professionally.
Here are five suggestions for how advertising and public relations students can gain professional skills during this coronavirus-driven summer.
PR Council’s agency-ready certification program
Although most internships and jobs across the country have been canceled, professionals are creating new alternatives to summer programs by creating virtual learning opportunities for students and recent graduates. Beginning on June 8, PR Council (PRC) is hosting an agency-ready certification program that allows students to gain insight from over 21 different agencies. By joining a series of live webinars, participants will learn about persuasive writing, crisis communications, social media strategy and client service. To sign-up or read more about PRC’s program, visit this link!
Network, network, network!
Now more than ever, people are willing to help and mentor. Everyone has a dream company, so simply reaching out to its employees on LinkedIn and finding ways to start a dialog and get your foot in the door could help. Take this time to work on perfecting your resume and strengthening your LinkedIn profile. Reach out to professors for reference letters and recommendations to have on-hand. Maybe even take a new headshot or create a website portfolio! Use this time to build relationships with not only professionals but other students, whether it's through Capstone Agency, PRSSA or AdFed. There are incredible people all around you and connections are everything.
Keep up with PRovoke’s COVID-19 industry support page
Formerly known as the Holmes Report, PRovoke media keeps a constant, up-to-date page of opportunities and jobs for not only PR professionals, but students and recent graduates. Each week, visit the page just to check out some of the webinars offered and other virtual skill-building activities. Knowing how and what brands are finding ways to help students during this time can give you a good look into what that brand’s core values are. Click here to explore the page!
Be up-to-date with how brands and companies are responding to COVID-19
Ad Age has been keeping a current list of what brands are doing in response to coronavirus. Brands are coming up with highly inspirational, creative ways to give back to the communities during these hard times and maintain relevance and resonance. Understanding how brands are creating new campaigns and demonstrating value and empathy could not only help spark ideas but can also teach you about crisis communications.
As if we haven’t learned enough from Reddit, it is even launching an advertising school
Reddit has officially launched an application for its 12-week online advertising school. These courses will focus on dozens of topics ranging from copywriting to social media marketing and account management. Not only will these courses be available to accepted participants, but they will also be posted online for anyone to access. You will be able to submit the assigned work and be given insightful critiques even if you aren’t accepted. Click here to learn more and apply!
Brands and companies are not just leaving students and recent graduates in the dark. They recognize that we are their future talent pool. So they are finding new, exciting and creative ways to offer students many of the same learning opportunities of an internship, despite the current world circumstances. There is hope for us as students and future professionals. These are just a few of many amazing virtual experiences out there, so don’t let the gift of time this summer go to waste. Use it to your advantage!