This semester I had the incredible opportunity to intern at Public Alliance. As a soon-to-be college graduate, I was eager to earn real world experience and gain the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the industry. During my time at Public Alliance, I learned a lot about marketing and the inner workings of an advertising agency.
At first, I didn’t know what to expect from my internship at Public Alliance. Was I going to be living ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ nightmare by fetching everyone coffee and picking up their dry cleaners? Was I going to love it or hate it? I was both afraid and excited to be an intern at Public Alliance.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to go on coffee runs for anyone and I really enjoyed working with the marketing professionals at Public Alliance because I learned a lot, especially about digital marketing. For example, I learned about working on the front and back end of a website, improving the visibility of a website, and inputting products and images on a site. As an intern, I created gravity forms in the back end of a site and tested out forms on the front end. I helped improve the SEO of websites by selecting strong keywords that would enhance the visibility of the site. I also learned how to input products and assign images with alt tags to help identify them in a search engine. I conducted a site audit and made copy edits. I was exposed to new tools and software programs used in the field. I performed daily tasks that broadened my knowledge about marketing with a fun mix of graphic design work.
In addition to technical skills, I also earned professional skills such as: teamwork, adaptability, time management skills, attention to detail, and interpersonal skills that are guaranteed to help me in future work opportunities.
Overall, I have learned so much working as an intern at Public Alliance, and I’d recommend it to any student wanting to get hands-on experience in the advertising industry. During my four months with the agency, I gained a broader understanding of the structure of websites and the maintenance they require and developed a well-rounded skill set. Interning at Public Alliance has truly been a great learning experience and I will always be grateful – thank you for the amazing opportunity!
