Summer Internship Series
Emma Grubaugh, Strategic Communication major
Client Engagement Intern, Fahlgren Mortine

During my junior year of college, I met and heard some amazing mentors in the public relations field share their advice. Over and over again, I heard, “work at an agency first.”  People said, “Oh Emma, I can really see you liking it,” or “that is totally the right environment for you.” And I would nod in agreement because I thought I knew what ‘working at an agency’ entailed. (Looking back now - I didn’t). Don’t get me wrong, I had a decent idea of the overall operations and knew that I wanted to try but just within this first month at my internship I’ve learned and realized so much more about PR agencies than I ever thought.

What am I doing?
In Columbus, I work at Fahlgren Mortine, a mid-size Columbus-based agency, as a Client Engagement Intern.  At Fahlgren, there are three main sectors that make up the company - Creative, Buying/Planning and Client Engagement.  They all very collaborative but Client Engagement focuses on traditional PR, social media and more.  Some of my main roles are creating media lists, content calendars, social media audits, press releases, clip reports, influencer mailers and whatever else someone pulls me in to do.  The projects are always interesting and I’m stunned at the different kinds of clients I work for. 

Realization Number One:  It’s true that at an agency, you learn a little bit about a lot of topics. I switch from protein powder to children’s books to supply chains to healthcare and fast food all before lunch. It’s fast-paced and it keeps the day interesting.

Am I doing this right?
I ask that question a lot, at least during this first month. Here are some of best practices I’ve learned so far:

• Write down all the details when given a project
• If you have a question, Google it first and if you can’t find the answer, then don’t be afraid to ask
• Take time to learn different software programs and become comfortable with them

Realization Number Two: If you are curious about something, don’t be afraid to sit down with someone and learn about them during your internship. At the agency, all departments work together a lot and it’s helpful to take the time to sit down with someone to find out exactly what they do. It makes for better teamwork.

Why am I doing this?
It takes a lot of quick thinking, creativity and motivation to work at an agency.  Interning at Fahlgren has taught me about the people who work there. They work fast but solid; hierarchy doesn’t matter when things need to get done and they are driven.  It’s motivating to work in that environment and I’ve learned just as much about work environment and culture as I have technical skills.

Realization Number Three: Agencies thrive on passion. The people care about their clients and work very hard to always be improving. It takes consistency on the small things to be successful at the big things.And it’s all worth it.