***SELINA'S NOTE: I do apologize for the delay in my blog posts. School work started getting crazy, and I got really sick. I was down for almost a week. BUT! I'm feeling better now and trying to get back on the grind. I'm excited to start blogging again!***
When I first fell in love with PR, I began my internship search right away. I soon came across an internship for a PR/Advertising agency and an internship for the communications department for a hospital. I thought they were both the same since it was all PR, but I did not know there was difference between a PR agency and doing PR in-house, until my PR professor brought in two guest speakers from a local PR agency and they established the difference. So based on their advice, and my own research, this is what I believe the difference is.
PR AGENCY: Many would argue that young aspiring PR professionals should start their careers at a PR agency. You can gain a wide amount of exposure since agencies work with multiple clients. Working at an agency can help a young PR pro since you will learn how to work different projects for different clients. The hands-on experience from the various clients and projects exposes you to a deeper level of PR. Also, you may have access to a wide variety of mentors since PR agencies have different account managers who will most likely be older than you and are experts in their field. The downfalls of working at a PR agency can be that juggling different projects at the same time can be stressful and prevent you from fully connecting with the clients.
IN-HOUSE PR: The main benefit I believe to be from in-house PR is that you can dive head first in your company and completely integrate yourself in the company's goals and mission. PR for an organization has one goal and increases your chances of seeing your projects from start to finish. To me, it seems like you would have a strong sense of unity doing in-house PR versus at an agency. Yes, teamwork is crucial at an agency, but a PR team at an organization are coming to work everyday, working for the same mission, and working towards the same goal. Some may say though in-house PR will get boring because you come to the same company every single day.
Personally, I can see myself working at both sides. I work well under pressure, always love learning new experiences, and the bustling excitement of an agency appeals to me. However, I have a huge passion for customer service and love the idea of devoting myself to one goal and watching it grow. I think I would like to start at an agency and then eventually work for an organization. However, to get a better sense of what I would enjoy best, my goal before I graduate next spring is to gain two internships: one for a PR agency and the other for an organization. Have you worked for an agency before? Or done in-house PR? What were your experiences? What are the benefits and downfalls? Leave them in comments! Until next time...
~Selina
When I first fell in love with PR, I began my internship search right away. I soon came across an internship for a PR/Advertising agency and an internship for the communications department for a hospital. I thought they were both the same since it was all PR, but I did not know there was difference between a PR agency and doing PR in-house, until my PR professor brought in two guest speakers from a local PR agency and they established the difference. So based on their advice, and my own research, this is what I believe the difference is.
PR AGENCY: Many would argue that young aspiring PR professionals should start their careers at a PR agency. You can gain a wide amount of exposure since agencies work with multiple clients. Working at an agency can help a young PR pro since you will learn how to work different projects for different clients. The hands-on experience from the various clients and projects exposes you to a deeper level of PR. Also, you may have access to a wide variety of mentors since PR agencies have different account managers who will most likely be older than you and are experts in their field. The downfalls of working at a PR agency can be that juggling different projects at the same time can be stressful and prevent you from fully connecting with the clients.
IN-HOUSE PR: The main benefit I believe to be from in-house PR is that you can dive head first in your company and completely integrate yourself in the company's goals and mission. PR for an organization has one goal and increases your chances of seeing your projects from start to finish. To me, it seems like you would have a strong sense of unity doing in-house PR versus at an agency. Yes, teamwork is crucial at an agency, but a PR team at an organization are coming to work everyday, working for the same mission, and working towards the same goal. Some may say though in-house PR will get boring because you come to the same company every single day.
Personally, I can see myself working at both sides. I work well under pressure, always love learning new experiences, and the bustling excitement of an agency appeals to me. However, I have a huge passion for customer service and love the idea of devoting myself to one goal and watching it grow. I think I would like to start at an agency and then eventually work for an organization. However, to get a better sense of what I would enjoy best, my goal before I graduate next spring is to gain two internships: one for a PR agency and the other for an organization. Have you worked for an agency before? Or done in-house PR? What were your experiences? What are the benefits and downfalls? Leave them in comments! Until next time...
~Selina