Rough patch...

USBlike123

Hi all,

My head has been a bit all over the place the last few weeks in relation to a few things and I am looking for advice. I haven't a clue where to start but please bear with me.

I took up what I thought was an internship in public relations a few months ago and initially I thought it was all going quite well. Any feedback I have got was generally positive, I had my performance review which was also very positive and I was praised for being flexible, hardworking, a quick learner, etc. The job itself isn't the most creative but it was a foot in the door and I was happy to do all the tasks and really I enjoyed the work. I was told that since it was summer work would slow down.

Someone in my department the next level up from an intern handed in their notice a few weeks ago and generally they try to keep people on who are already in the company (or so I was told when I interviewed for the position) but instead they advertised looking for someone with 1-2 years experience whereas I have just a few months.

A part of me was a little disappointed, but not surprised either given the profile they were looking for. Another part of me however is getting very angry and frustrated inside my head at work and letting it all get the better of me. I also looked back on a few things over the last few weeks:

-There was staff training for Microsoft Office which would have hugely benefitted me (I spend most of my day in front of an Excel file, trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do) but due to numbers interns weren't allowed to take part. When the training happened most of the staff said that there was nothing there that they hadn't done already.

-For a pr job, I don't actually do a lot of work with people. I got to contact journalists on maybe two occasions in total to pitch a story to them. I haven't been at one event since I started.

-My work in "digital" is literally copying and pasting loads of text from Excel onto Wordpress. This is literally most of what I have done every day for the last 4/5 weeks.

-Any copywriting I do generally gets edited to suit the style of my superior, thus making it look like I have done fúck all and that I don't know how to write posts properly. I understand editing and drafts are common to suit clients but ffs these are literally small Facebook posts.

-I caught the end of a conversation between my superior and a manager about how I could be best "utilised before the end of the internship". I'm starting to assume that I won't be kept on, and they have decided this without even telling me.

I'm just starting to get the impression very quickly that I'm not going to be kept on, and that they don't really care about what I do as long as the work is done. I am getting paid a very small wage, left a good, well paid job to try this out and it is seriously eating into my savings paying for living costs. The last few weeks when it has come to doing tasks I have lost all motivation, and if it is pointed out that I made an error or a typo in my head I just think "so fúcking what".

My savings are nearly gone on this internship and I still have a few weeks left. I have no problem sticking it out as I really hate not finishing things but I am getting very anxious. Firstly, I'm wondering if this is just the particular account I'm working on (none of the staff enjoy it) and if other accounts/pr jobs are like this. One or two colleagues have commented that it's not really.
Secondly, I'm wondering if I'll even get anything based on this internship given the experience that I have had so far.
Thirdly, is this the career for me? I have been trying to get into this for a long, long, time and now I just feel fed up.
Finally, there are well paid jobs being advertised at the moment in my previous job area. Should I just go back to it, save money and give up the internship so close to the end?

Sorry if I have rambled on, I am quite tired but if I haven't been clear I will try to iron things out

Faith

Well, have you tried applying for jobs in your new area, now that you have experience? A new job in the same field sounds like the best of both worlds, and then it won't matter if you're not kept on at the end of your internship.

Also, you could always temporarily move back to your old field while still looking for jobs in your new field, if needs be.

Wompa1

It sounds like they won't be keeping you on. It also sounds like they are giving you task work. Something which they would not need long term and something which doesn't benefit your growth, either, which is very unfair.

If you want Excel training still. You could find a lot of help online. Good Luck

Lux23

Hi Op, I work in Communications and I have worked in a a PR agency as well. I also did a couple of internships which were hard at times but I managed to get jobs out of them (albeit in other organisations). It is a tough industry and since 2008 I have been out of work quite a bit, but I stuck with it and I am now in a public sector job which is very enjoyable.

I still spend hours on excel sheets and my work gets edited all the time. In fact, people two levels above me get their work changed all the time so get used that! I don't think you will ever get the final say on copy unless you're the CEO one day.

Have you thought about applying for the job? They might be expecting you to.

Batgurl

To be honest, you sound a bit precious.

It's an internship. You are supposed to get the grunt work. Not get to pitch the stories or write the copy (which FYI publishers change anyway).

It seems like you had it all planned out how it was going to go and now that it's not you are just giving up. I get that money is tight but as others have said, that's no excuse to give up on your dream.

You just need to change your way of thinking, use everything as a building block and learning experience. Fight for what you want. Why didn't you apply for the job that came up? I bet you they think you are not interested working there because you didn't apply. In my industry that's what I'd think. Stop being negative and just go for it.

zoobizoo

A friend of mine gave me the advice of "you get what you ask for, not what you deserve" so if you don't ask for something.....

Go to the boss and say that you want to apply for the new job. If you have the guts to do it, go to the MD and say it to him or her and bring along some of your work. If it's a small agency, they've probably seen you around and will know who you are.

The difference between one year and a few months may really make no difference in a job like that.

You mightn't get this job but you'll sure leave a good impression for other posts that come up.

And PR is all about perception - from what I remember from my time in ad agencies, it's the ones who make an impression (in more junior positions) who get the breaks so dress up, get your portfolio together and

As for whether you want to work in the PR field: Had they come to you and said "USBLike, we like your work and your enthusiasm and we want you to fill this new position?", how would you feel about things then? As in, would you forget about 'is this the career for me?' or would you be 'oh my God, I've got a break - I'm really excited'.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.