WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.500 align:middle line:90% 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:01.700 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:00:01.700 --> 00:00:04.575 align:middle line:84% All right, so, my name is Jordan. 00:00:04.575 --> 00:00:05.545 align:middle line:90% I'm a junior. 00:00:05.545 --> 00:00:07.970 align:middle line:84% I am majoring in English, with a minor in Japanese. 00:00:07.970 --> 00:00:11.964 align:middle line:84% I spent my summer doing an internship with a PR firm. 00:00:11.964 --> 00:00:14.968 align:middle line:84% So, the PR firm's name was Evil Genius Group. 00:00:14.968 --> 00:00:16.429 align:middle line:84% It's been around for about a year, 00:00:16.429 --> 00:00:18.628 align:middle line:84% and it's based in Manhattan, New York. 00:00:18.628 --> 00:00:20.680 align:middle line:84% It was created by Victor Cipolla, who 00:00:20.680 --> 00:00:23.020 align:middle line:84% has been working in the PR industry for about 25 years, 00:00:23.020 --> 00:00:26.175 align:middle line:84% and co-managed by business partner Daries Allani. 00:00:26.175 --> 00:00:28.820 align:middle line:84% Because it is only a year old, we had a variety of clients. 00:00:28.820 --> 00:00:32.040 align:middle line:84% I worked with restaurant owners, fashion designers, 00:00:32.040 --> 00:00:35.050 align:middle line:84% Pilates instructors, everything under the sun. 00:00:35.050 --> 00:00:38.016 align:middle line:84% And the rest of the staff consisted of other PR interns 00:00:38.016 --> 00:00:39.140 align:middle line:90% and graphic design interns. 00:00:39.140 --> 00:00:41.290 align:middle line:84% And, essentially, we would collaborate together 00:00:41.290 --> 00:00:44.590 align:middle line:84% to create campaigns for our clients. 00:00:44.590 --> 00:00:46.842 align:middle line:84% So entering the world of social media 00:00:46.842 --> 00:00:48.399 align:middle line:90% was really jarring at first. 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:50.690 align:middle line:84% It's really weird to go from using Facebook and Tumbler 00:00:50.690 --> 00:00:54.414 align:middle line:84% as, like, a leisure activity to a means of business and profit. 00:00:54.414 --> 00:00:56.872 align:middle line:84% And public relations, itself, is a really unique department 00:00:56.872 --> 00:00:58.980 align:middle line:84% because it's all about saving face. 00:00:58.980 --> 00:01:00.396 align:middle line:84% You know, in this day and age, you 00:01:00.396 --> 00:01:01.937 align:middle line:84% can pull out your smartphone, pull up 00:01:01.937 --> 00:01:05.090 align:middle line:84% any company on Wikipedia and learn all about their history. 00:01:05.090 --> 00:01:07.326 align:middle line:84% So not only is it about helping your clients get 00:01:07.326 --> 00:01:10.000 align:middle line:84% a really good consumer base, it's also about doing clean up. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:11.640 align:middle line:84% For example, like, if a restaurant 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:15.200 align:middle line:84% had a bad article or bad review about it, we would have to, 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:16.822 align:middle line:84% essentially, cover that up and leave 00:01:16.822 --> 00:01:21.357 align:middle line:84% all this other positive stuff to sort of smooth it over. 00:01:21.357 --> 00:01:23.190 align:middle line:84% And it's definitely not your average office. 00:01:23.190 --> 00:01:26.500 align:middle line:84% The equivalent of your cubicle and desk was your smartphone. 00:01:26.500 --> 00:01:28.870 align:middle line:84% I spent most of my time, like, plugged into the wall, 00:01:28.870 --> 00:01:31.870 align:middle line:84% cycling through all my apps, checking my notifications. 00:01:31.870 --> 00:01:34.780 align:middle line:84% Keeping up with trends was also super important, especially 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:37.760 align:middle line:84% with the weekly trending tags on Instagram. 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:39.730 align:middle line:84% And every single time I got a new client, 00:01:39.730 --> 00:01:42.294 align:middle line:84% I would Facebook stalk the heck out of them. 00:01:42.294 --> 00:01:44.460 align:middle line:84% I would go all the way back to their page's creation 00:01:44.460 --> 00:01:46.890 align:middle line:84% so I could figure out what they're all about. 00:01:46.890 --> 00:01:49.556 align:middle line:84% And then the availability-- just because I 00:01:49.556 --> 00:01:51.680 align:middle line:84% left the office didn't mean I was done for the day. 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:52.610 align:middle line:84% I would get messages at, like, 1:00 00:01:52.610 --> 00:01:54.679 align:middle line:84% in the morning from my boss, asking me to, 00:01:54.679 --> 00:01:56.950 align:middle line:84% like, proofread this or tag somebody in this. 00:01:56.950 --> 00:01:59.445 align:middle line:84% So, essentially, like, always on the clock-- 00:01:59.445 --> 00:02:00.660 align:middle line:90% always on my smartphone. 00:02:00.660 --> 00:02:02.201 align:middle line:90% 00:02:02.201 --> 00:02:02.700 align:middle line:90% All right. 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:05.307 align:middle line:84% So the place that I worked in was also pretty unique. 00:02:05.307 --> 00:02:07.140 align:middle line:84% We didn't have our own kind of office space. 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:08.710 align:middle line:84% It was this building called We Work. 00:02:08.710 --> 00:02:11.490 align:middle line:84% And We Work is a corporation that rents out, 00:02:11.490 --> 00:02:14.220 align:middle line:84% like, large skyscrapers in metropolitan areas, 00:02:14.220 --> 00:02:18.050 align:middle line:84% and it rents it out to, like, private small businesses. 00:02:18.050 --> 00:02:20.303 align:middle line:84% So we would be sharing the floor with, like, 00:02:20.303 --> 00:02:22.170 align:middle line:84% up to 10 other businesses at once. 00:02:22.170 --> 00:02:24.061 align:middle line:84% And it was really interesting because we 00:02:24.061 --> 00:02:25.281 align:middle line:90% got to collaborate with them. 00:02:25.281 --> 00:02:26.822 align:middle line:84% For example, there was a wine company 00:02:26.822 --> 00:02:29.406 align:middle line:84% down the hall that ended up sponsoring us for an event. 00:02:29.406 --> 00:02:31.322 align:middle line:84% And they eventually became one of our clients. 00:02:31.322 --> 00:02:33.560 align:middle line:84% So it was, like, this really great networking space 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:37.519 align:middle line:84% for startup businesses like ourselves. 00:02:37.519 --> 00:02:39.800 align:middle line:90% And then, interning in New York. 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:42.028 align:middle line:90% So, I'm from Connecticut. 00:02:42.028 --> 00:02:44.370 align:middle line:84% And I've been to New York a bunch of times, 00:02:44.370 --> 00:02:46.806 align:middle line:84% but you know, just to see Broadway shows, 00:02:46.806 --> 00:02:47.930 align:middle line:90% not to actually work there. 00:02:47.930 --> 00:02:50.550 align:middle line:84% And after spending my summer working in New York, 00:02:50.550 --> 00:02:53.175 align:middle line:84% I understand why everyone in New York 00:02:53.175 --> 00:02:55.328 align:middle line:84% is really angry all the time and always in a hurry 00:02:55.328 --> 00:02:58.630 align:middle line:84% because it's really stressful getting from place to place. 00:02:58.630 --> 00:03:00.130 align:middle line:90% I had a two hour commute. 00:03:00.130 --> 00:03:02.970 align:middle line:84% I spent about 16 hours a week on the train. 00:03:02.970 --> 00:03:05.934 align:middle line:84% So that was really difficult because I 00:03:05.934 --> 00:03:06.850 align:middle line:90% was the farthest away. 00:03:06.850 --> 00:03:08.600 align:middle line:84% Everyone else, who was living in New York, 00:03:08.600 --> 00:03:09.800 align:middle line:90% just took the subway in. 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:12.200 align:middle line:84% I got really good at using Google Maps 00:03:12.200 --> 00:03:14.030 align:middle line:84% because I have no sense of direction. 00:03:14.030 --> 00:03:15.550 align:middle line:84% And I always had to leave myself a huge time 00:03:15.550 --> 00:03:17.258 align:middle line:84% cushion for getting to the office on time 00:03:17.258 --> 00:03:20.830 align:middle line:84% because of, like, Metro-North delays and stuff like that. 00:03:20.830 --> 00:03:23.987 align:middle line:84% So, if you're considering doing an internship more than an hour 00:03:23.987 --> 00:03:26.422 align:middle line:84% and a half away from your home, I 00:03:26.422 --> 00:03:29.313 align:middle line:84% would say reconsider and try to find a place closer by where 00:03:29.313 --> 00:03:30.100 align:middle line:90% you live. 00:03:30.100 --> 00:03:32.990 align:middle line:84% I chose not to live in New York because rent was super high, 00:03:32.990 --> 00:03:35.760 align:middle line:84% but, yeah, the commute was pretty brutal. 00:03:35.760 --> 00:03:38.930 align:middle line:84% All right, so, skills I used during my internship-- 00:03:38.930 --> 00:03:41.760 align:middle line:84% the big thing was interpersonal skills. 00:03:41.760 --> 00:03:43.794 align:middle line:84% I did a lot of, like, one-on-one interaction 00:03:43.794 --> 00:03:46.140 align:middle line:84% with clients because I only had two supervisors. 00:03:46.140 --> 00:03:49.120 align:middle line:84% So it's not like my supervisor was being a third party. 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:51.780 align:middle line:84% I was just directly interacting with them. 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:54.271 align:middle line:84% So the main method of communication we used 00:03:54.271 --> 00:03:56.218 align:middle line:90% is this app called Podio. 00:03:56.218 --> 00:03:58.498 align:middle line:84% It's a social media platform that 00:03:58.498 --> 00:04:02.000 align:middle line:84% allows small businesses to work one-on-one with their clients. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:03.740 align:middle line:84% It has a social media calendar app. 00:04:03.740 --> 00:04:06.124 align:middle line:90% It has an event planning app. 00:04:06.124 --> 00:04:07.880 align:middle line:84% And, essentially, it's like Facebook, 00:04:07.880 --> 00:04:10.012 align:middle line:84% where everything pulls on your client's page. 00:04:10.012 --> 00:04:13.344 align:middle line:84% They can see and comment, which is really great, 00:04:13.344 --> 00:04:17.010 align:middle line:84% but sometimes clients critique every little thing you do. 00:04:17.010 --> 00:04:20.640 align:middle line:84% So I definitely grew a really thick skin for rejection. 00:04:20.640 --> 00:04:23.705 align:middle line:84% And a lot of times, what you want, as a PR firm, 00:04:23.705 --> 00:04:25.580 align:middle line:84% and what you know will work, will not line up 00:04:25.580 --> 00:04:27.360 align:middle line:90% with what the client wants. 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:29.940 align:middle line:84% For example, there was an older gentleman, 00:04:29.940 --> 00:04:33.000 align:middle line:84% who was in charge of a southern hospitality restaurant, 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:35.656 align:middle line:84% like, a pretty classy establishment. 00:04:35.656 --> 00:04:37.355 align:middle line:84% And on the front page of his website, 00:04:37.355 --> 00:04:41.870 align:middle line:84% he wanted to put the "I Can Has Cheezburger?" meme from 2007. 00:04:41.870 --> 00:04:44.359 align:middle line:84% And I had to explain to him many different times why 00:04:44.359 --> 00:04:45.400 align:middle line:90% that was not a good idea. 00:04:45.400 --> 00:04:49.540 align:middle line:84% So, essentially, kill them with kindness, be super patient. 00:04:49.540 --> 00:04:51.930 align:middle line:84% And maintaining contact after the internship 00:04:51.930 --> 00:04:53.157 align:middle line:90% is also very important. 00:04:53.157 --> 00:04:55.740 align:middle line:84% A lot of my fellow interns, who had already graduated college, 00:04:55.740 --> 00:04:58.113 align:middle line:84% actually went on to become full-time workers 00:04:58.113 --> 00:05:00.570 align:middle line:84% for the clients that they worked with. 00:05:00.570 --> 00:05:02.920 align:middle line:84% So that was a great opportunity for them. 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:06.042 align:middle line:84% All right, so, a day in the office-- 00:05:06.042 --> 00:05:08.340 align:middle line:84% when I was filling out the paperwork for the funding, 00:05:08.340 --> 00:05:10.290 align:middle line:84% I emailed my boss, and I was, like, 00:05:10.290 --> 00:05:12.895 align:middle line:84% so can you walk me through what my daily tasks will be-- 00:05:12.895 --> 00:05:14.061 align:middle line:90% what am I going to be doing? 00:05:14.061 --> 00:05:15.718 align:middle line:84% And he just laughed and said, there's 00:05:15.718 --> 00:05:17.640 align:middle line:84% no such thing as, like, a day in the PR world. 00:05:17.640 --> 00:05:19.890 align:middle line:84% And after interning there for about a week, 00:05:19.890 --> 00:05:21.902 align:middle line:90% I completely agree with him. 00:05:21.902 --> 00:05:23.610 align:middle line:84% Every single time I came into the office, 00:05:23.610 --> 00:05:24.901 align:middle line:90% I had no idea what I was doing. 00:05:24.901 --> 00:05:27.660 align:middle line:84% I may be meeting with clients, I may be searching for sponsors, 00:05:27.660 --> 00:05:29.647 align:middle line:84% I may be running errands around New York, 00:05:29.647 --> 00:05:31.980 align:middle line:84% I might be casting male models for a fashion show, which 00:05:31.980 --> 00:05:33.045 align:middle line:90% is going on down there. 00:05:33.045 --> 00:05:34.820 align:middle line:90% 00:05:34.820 --> 00:05:37.000 align:middle line:84% So, more on the fashion show, this 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.500 align:middle line:84% is definitely the most exciting thing I did over the summer. 00:05:39.500 --> 00:05:41.416 align:middle line:84% It happened in mid-July, and I was essentially 00:05:41.416 --> 00:05:44.080 align:middle line:84% in charge of micromanaging everything. 00:05:44.080 --> 00:05:46.975 align:middle line:84% I cast the male models, I found makeup artists, 00:05:46.975 --> 00:05:49.770 align:middle line:84% I found sponsors for that step and repeat banner, 00:05:49.770 --> 00:05:52.590 align:middle line:84% I did all the budgeting for the show. 00:05:52.590 --> 00:05:54.540 align:middle line:84% And, like, as reality TV might have shown you, 00:05:54.540 --> 00:05:59.952 align:middle line:84% fashion shows are really crazy, but they were also super fun. 00:05:59.952 --> 00:06:02.040 align:middle line:84% And these pictures are from the very first event 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:03.810 align:middle line:84% I did-- it was a vodka tasting event. 00:06:03.810 --> 00:06:06.230 align:middle line:84% And essentially, our job was to go around 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:09.511 align:middle line:84% with, like, these cute little cardboard signs with hashtags 00:06:09.511 --> 00:06:11.094 align:middle line:84% on them and take pictures with whoever 00:06:11.094 --> 00:06:12.280 align:middle line:90% came to sample the vodka. 00:06:12.280 --> 00:06:14.405 align:middle line:84% And tell them to, you know, post them on Instagram, 00:06:14.405 --> 00:06:17.930 align:middle line:84% tag the vodka company, stuff like that. 00:06:17.930 --> 00:06:19.722 align:middle line:84% And I checked their Instagram the next day, 00:06:19.722 --> 00:06:21.846 align:middle line:84% and they actually had a pretty significant increase 00:06:21.846 --> 00:06:23.266 align:middle line:84% in followers, so it's really cool 00:06:23.266 --> 00:06:25.231 align:middle line:90% to be, like, a part of that. 00:06:25.231 --> 00:06:28.910 align:middle line:84% And then, finally, expectations versus reality-- 00:06:28.910 --> 00:06:31.580 align:middle line:84% so I applied for this internship in January 00:06:31.580 --> 00:06:33.200 align:middle line:84% because they said they needed someone 00:06:33.200 --> 00:06:35.765 align:middle line:84% who was well-versed in social media and can speak Japanese. 00:06:35.765 --> 00:06:38.620 align:middle line:84% And I was super excited because, essentially, 00:06:38.620 --> 00:06:40.750 align:middle line:84% they had a Japanese J-pop client, 00:06:40.750 --> 00:06:43.100 align:middle line:84% and I would be the translator, and I would 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:44.804 align:middle line:90% help bridge the language gap. 00:06:44.804 --> 00:06:47.592 align:middle line:84% I got there in May and she wasn't a client anymore. 00:06:47.592 --> 00:06:49.300 align:middle line:84% So I didn't get to use my Japanese at all 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:51.640 align:middle line:84% over the summer, which was really disappointing but I 00:06:51.640 --> 00:06:52.690 align:middle line:90% made the best of it. 00:06:52.690 --> 00:06:57.683 align:middle line:84% Aside from that, I was expecting a private office, a larger 00:06:57.683 --> 00:07:00.370 align:middle line:84% group of supervisors, a much more formal setting, 00:07:00.370 --> 00:07:01.480 align:middle line:90% and more training. 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:04.211 align:middle line:84% But as I explained earlier, it was, like, a crazy busy office 00:07:04.211 --> 00:07:04.710 align:middle line:90% space. 00:07:04.710 --> 00:07:07.836 align:middle line:84% I only had two supervisors, so a lot of the interaction 00:07:07.836 --> 00:07:11.429 align:middle line:84% happened between equals, the unpaid interns. 00:07:11.429 --> 00:07:12.220 align:middle line:90% It was very casual. 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:15.060 align:middle line:84% Apparently everyone in the PR world knows everyone. 00:07:15.060 --> 00:07:18.873 align:middle line:84% My boss is friends on Facebook with Hugh Hefner 00:07:18.873 --> 00:07:20.760 align:middle line:84% and went Seth McFarlane's birthday party. 00:07:20.760 --> 00:07:22.770 align:middle line:90% So that was a little surprising. 00:07:22.770 --> 00:07:24.626 align:middle line:84% I was a little starstruck at first. 00:07:24.626 --> 00:07:28.440 align:middle line:84% And then, my boss was also a big fan of the "get into the water 00:07:28.440 --> 00:07:30.470 align:middle line:84% and see if you can swim" method, so I 00:07:30.470 --> 00:07:33.594 align:middle line:84% got a lot of, like, very hands-on experiences. 00:07:33.594 --> 00:07:36.210 align:middle line:84% And then, of course, there was the fashion show, which 00:07:36.210 --> 00:07:37.336 align:middle line:90% still, like, blows my mind. 00:07:37.336 --> 00:07:39.793 align:middle line:84% It's always been on my bucket list to go to a fashion show. 00:07:39.793 --> 00:07:41.470 align:middle line:84% But I, like, made a fashion show. 00:07:41.470 --> 00:07:42.670 align:middle line:90% So that was crazy. 00:07:42.670 --> 00:07:45.420 align:middle line:90% And that's it. 00:07:45.420 --> 00:07:48.139 align:middle line:90%