Nov 01 2006
The internship you really want, or the job that pays better?
The context of these discussions varies - H&K’s graduate intake, a potential intern who’s come by for an informal chat, a group of students for whom I’m leading a workshop, or even a sixth form careers day. But these discussions always have a few threads in common.
One such thread is that the world of Public Affairs appears, so these bright young things tell me, to have a bit of a reputation as being more difficult to get into than the rest of the PR world. As a latecomer to the profession I can’t really offer comment, at least not based on personal experience. But anecdotally, at least, this is what people are telling me.
Following from this, a recurring question is whether a politically astute, ambitious bright young thing should determinedly seek out the holy grail of an entry-level position in Public Affairs, or consider other options with a view to moving into Public Affairs at a later date.
It’s a difficult question, and I’d welcome thoughts and comments. But my gut feeling - and the advice I dispensed in one such conversation earlier this week - is that, if you’re set on consultancy rather than, say, going to work for your MP or any of the other bajillion routes into the world of politics and policy, a bit of experience in the wider world of PR can’t hurt.
Why? Because, day-to-day, the boundaries (such as there are any) between we few, we happy few, we band of Public Affairs specialists, and our comrades elsewere - be they corporate comms practitioners, crisis specialists or whatever - are becoming increasingly blurred. And as such, if I were (hypothetically, before you all send in your CVs) looking for a new team-member, someone who’s had the initiative to develop a broad skills base would certainly not be at a disadvantage.
Over the next couple of weeks I’ve a session with a bunch of overseas students from Syracuse, and a breakfast seminar for PRCA Frontline. I’ll ask them this very question, and see what they think.
As you know James, this is exactly the question I am facing at the moment. My experience of applying for entry level public affairs positions (the few that I have found) is that one needs to be able to demonstrate highly relevant and transferable experience. While one can try and obtain such experience through unpaid internships, these themselves are hugely competitive and difficult to obtain, especially it seems if you do not hold a marketing, public relations or similar qualification/degree.
Of course, to hold down such an unpaid post, one also needs to be in a very fortunate position financially. And yet even for unpaid placements, the applicant is asked to demonstrate relevant experience! Obviously the employer is forced to ask for such qualities due to the high level of competition for the positions but naturally it becomes easy to conceive how challenging it is to break into public affairs at the start of one’s career.
Speaking as a person who wishes to do exactly this, I have come to the conclusion that any experience within politics, policy, public relations or communications would be advantageous and that the move into the world of public affairs will not be something that arrives overnight but a transfer that will have to be taken a few miles down the road!
This week’s PR Week addresses the Graduate issue in some detail - well worth a look.
It’s a question many entry level professionals face. I see this in the Washington, DC area especially - with a great number of young professionals willing to work for nothing or next to nothing to get experience, it’s ultra competitive to land even the first unpaid gig.
At our agency (outside Washington DC), most of our interns come to us with experience - it’s common for us to get resumes where people have held internships at one or more agencies already.
Having taken the route to an entry-level position in Public Affairs myself, and having a number of friends in similar positions I would say this:
* Get political - Join a party, write comments for your local/school/university paper
* Test yourself - Doing a degree with three modules a semester? Request to audit more - ground yourself in as wide a spectrum of issues as possible - those that interest you (eg: the Anthropology of Death) and those you are not immediately drawn to, but suspect might be ‘important’ (eg: Comparative Welfare States)
* Get a job - If you’ve got a degree from a reputable university, know this: reducing civil service recruitment means increasing numbers temporary workers and increasing workloads for those that remain. Do well filing letters to Ministers and you’ll find yourself organising Ministerial visits, evaluating local authorities’ performance and writing guidance documents.
* Get a crap job - Work as a waiter, kitchen porter, street cleaner. You’ll meet intelligent thirty year olds with little education who are entirely unphased by the prospect of career. They will provide a salutary reminder that you don’t HAVE to get the career you thought you wanted; to follow that path is a choice. The experience of being underpaid and underappreciated will also provide an endless well of motivation over the coming years.
* Get educated - I know from having asked him that James didn’t need a Masters. You lot will. The only friends I have working in public affairs that don’t have Masters are a) over 28, b) had substantive and relevant work experience before entering PA (the aforementioned MP route, etc.), c) have firsts from Oxbridge or d) all of the above. Masters also provide an excellent opportunity to do more courses, work for a local NGO, write for the uni paper, network with professors, etc.
* Get immersed - Think about what PA employers might want and need. Yes, you’ve done politics and read the paper. Well done. Do you have a real sense that time is money? Do you want responsibility? Are you aware that your immediate bosses are also themselves employees? Are you helpful? Can you work with others? Really? If the answer to all of the above is yes, then great; couch your skills in a language that sits well in interview. What is the trade paper? Read it. Write a briefing for yourself on a huge issue you know little about - pensions, employment, whatever. To work in public affairs you need to be a quick study. This is something you learn through practice. Start now. If you think what you’ve done is good, send it along with your CV.
According a to a recent Demos pamphlet - http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/workingprogress - a series of rapid shifts in the kind of work employers carry out and the way they operate means that the importance of ‘intangible’ personal qualities, such as the ability to work in a team or to be creative, have increased at the same time as the standard of academic qualifications demanded has risen. Although this may not seem the case from the breadline, this is as daunting a situation form employers as it is for prospective employees. Employers are struggling to find ways to attract, motivate and support a generation of young people with higher debt, more degrees and different values to more demanding jobs than ever before. Be aware of this and make your prospective employer’s job easier by understanding what this will require of you and getting your preparation done early.
Don’t be daunted, you have the time. There are always friends and family who will let you live rent-free if the reason for your poverty is a noble one – like an internship or a badly-paid job. If you need to get a paying wage for a bit – no problem. You now have evenings and weekends to devote to fleshing out your writing credentials, attending relevant events and getting involved with your local party or community.
And lastly, remember that to seek the job you want is like an unrequited love affair for someone way out of your league. How would you go about ‘getting’ that man/woman? You’ll need to prove your economic viability, that you are a person of good standing, that you will work hard for them, that you will be there when times are tough, that you have interests beyond them and – most importantly of all – that it is they who will be bloody lucky to be going out with you.
Wise counsel, Marcus. Thank you.
I think of particular importance is the point you made Marcus that seeking a job/career in something you are interested in (such as Public Affairs) is very much a CHOICE. You never have to do it, it is simply an option which requires a lot of personal effort. However, the attractive quality of such a position is that you have the possibility of doing something that appeals to your interests.
I often find it sad to think that a lot of people spend their life doing something they do not enjoy or uninterested in. Yet like you said, this is their choice. There is always the possibility of something else if you are willing to put the effort in. Granted, some people will be in a more privileged position to put that effort in, but most people (particularly in a Western nation like Britain) can alter their career direction in someway so it takes a path that more interests them.
This I think is what new graduates should always remember – being a graduate they already have a privileged footing to move off from. Having that degree is (usually) half the battle; then its just a question of effort, and how much you are willing to put in order to do something that interests you.