I’m aware I’ve been on about a two month hiatus from blogging. I’ve been lacking inspiration, but today I was rejuvinated. This morning, I read a post on the Journalistics blog by Jeremy Porter entitled “Don’t Let Your Intern Pitch.” The basic argument Jeremy makes is against public relations interns making pitches to journalists, and he offers seven reasons why.
- Interns don’t know your business
- Interns will sound scripted
- Interns don’t know the “dos and don’ts”
- Interns are still learning
- Interns take “no” for an answer
- Interns are fearless
- Interns aren’t paid by your clients
Jeremy explains each point in more detail in his post. I encourage you to read it (and the comments that followed) before you continue here.
As a recent college graduate who is now working in her third internship, I’ve gathered a wide variety of experience in the fields of advertising, public relations, media and sales. Though Jeremy’s post mostly has first-time interns in mind, I still challenge the generalizations he’s made on his list of reasons.
My goal is to offer a rebuttal. Here are 7 reasons TO let your intern pitch.
- Interns can offer a fresh perspective on your business. Though interns may not have the same depth of knowledge about a company or client as an account manager or more senior level leader, they can offer a fresh perspective on the pitch. Maybe there are story points or a news hook you haven’t thought of. In my current internship, I work with my supervisor all the time to discuss and discover news hooks and print-worthy information. If an intern pitches that focused, relevant information, the pitch will be concise and give the journalist all the background they would need to write a story.
- Interns don’t need scripts. If a supervisor does a good job of discussing the pitch beforehand with the intern, practicing pitch role-play and working as a team to lay out talking points, relevant facts, and all the 5W’s about the pitch topic, then there is no reason an intern is incapable of having a conversation with a journalist just like a more experienced PR pro might. Practice makes perfect, and interns will only get better with time. I doubt any PR pros made perfect pitches the first time they tried.
- Interns know the “dos and don’ts”. Even if an intern has no experience in journalism or working with any part of the media, that doesn’t mean the intern won’t exhibit a respectful attitude and common sense during a pitch. By practicing pitches ahead of time, a supervisor has the opportunity to address some “stupid questions” an intern might ask, and teach them how to answer correctly or avoid hot-button issues or requests. If it’s an email pitch, a supervisor should always read it ahead of time, just as would be done with a release.
- Interns are eager to learn. If a company takes on an intern, they are displaying confidence that the eager young PR practitioner is going to try to soak up as much knowledge and experience as possible. With structured, hands-on training, most interns will learn a lot of information very quickly. The best way to learn is by doing. Letting interns practice pitching with co-workers, then with media on some of the “little” stories will build confidence and a comfort with the craft. The more you teach an intern, the more helpful he or she will be to your company.
- Interns know when to take “no” for an answer. If you give an intern a job as important as making a pitch to do, you better believe they are going to maximize that opportunity. If the intern knows going in the importance of the first contact, they will make it count. Good interns will do the best job possible on each assignment, and having to walk into a supervisor’s office and say “I didn’t get to make the pitch because the journalist was busy” is not something they’re going to want to do. On the other side of the coin, if the intern has made even part of the pitch to the journalist, and it becomes clear the journalist is not going to cover the story or the timing for the editorial content is bad, he will know when to hear the word “no” and accept it. Interns, just like PR pros, can feel a vibe from a journalist if it’s time to hang up the phone or wait for a different opportunity for that particular media outlet.
- Interns are fearless. An intern will pitch any story to any media outlet they are asked to. An intern can only improve by making more pitches, no matter how difficult it might be to sell that particular story. If a company respects and does not take advantage of interns, then supervisors will not give interns bogus or extreme long-shot assignments that will just embarrass them. The supervisor should also respect the media by not sending interns out on suicide missions that are only going to waste a journalist’s time. Creating mutual trust with your interns is important; give them a real chance to succeed!
- Interns aren’t in it for the money. I believe companies should offer some sort of monetary compensation to interns, even if it is a very small stipend. But, the reality of the industry is that many interns work unpaid or just for school credit. If someone is willing to put in many hours a week toward learning about your business and industry, you best believe they are there to work hard and do their best. An agency should always disclose to a client if there is going to be an intern on an account team, and should not go against the wishes of a client if that client does not feel comfortable with intern assistance. But, in non-agency PR internships, there are plenty of opportunities for pitches to be made by interns. If an eager, wide-eyed, unpaid intern is working just as hard (if not harder) than some of your full-time staff, why not give them a shot?
Of course, it is not always appropriate for interns to make pitches, and supervisors should use good judgement when it comes to making pitching opportunities available to interns. But just because someone has the label “intern” does not mean that person cannot gather a proven track record and gain more responsibility and independence with projects over time.
If your intern’s responsibilities are to get coffee, takes notes and sit back while everyone else contributes; you will get exactly out of that intern what you are putting in. If you teach your interns, allow hands-on experience with different projects and show that you have faith in their work, you are going to have a contributing staff member. Try to walk in an intern’s shoes once in a while, and think about what kinds of new opportunities you can make available for them to be part of.
What do you think? Should interns make pitches? Should they not? What other learning experiences should interns have?
I couldn’t be happier that my post drove you to blog about it. This is a fine rebuttal indeed.
As I mentioned on our blog (http://blog.journalistics.com), I was referencing a recent Forbes.com article that suggested companies looking for PR should get an intern to do it. The suggestion was very clear that an intern is a cheaper route to go than a full-time resource or agency.
My “don’t let interns” pitch piece was in direct response to that. In hindsight, I realize what a wicked generalization that was (which is not the norm for me). I love interns. I’ve employed a lot of great ones (and yes, I let them pitch).
Based on what I’ve seen from your stuff so far, I’d probably want you to pitch too. Thanks for the great post.
Thanks for your comments, Jeremy. I’m also glad you posted, since you’ve kick-started me back into blogging. I understand the point you were trying to make, and in many ways I believe your arguments are valuable and should be taken very seriously. I also understand that you do appreciate interns, and that your post was ultimately meant to convey that (although, it fell short in some spots).
My hope was to highlight another part of the issue, and to offer suggestions on the other side of the coin. I hope others can view our conversation as ultimately trying to recognize the value of interns and their skills.
Becky, thank you for sharing Jeremy’s post today. It really got Aubrey and I fired up. We sat down together after reading it and discussed all the counter arguments to the post and you have done a wonderful job covering everything we discussed today. I couldn’t agree more with your points. I can see both sides of the argument here, but I couldn’t agree more with your perspective!
Glad to see you back in the blogosphere again. Keep posts like these coming.
Angela, I’m glad you and Aubrey got fired up. I also appreciate your comments, I’m glad I could capture your thoughts here! You, Aub and I are very lucky to have had experiences like PRSSA and great internships during our time at Michigan State. Perhaps its part of our character, but it’s more likely that our confidence in tasks like pitching comes from the outstanding education and leadership we’ve had in PR over the past few years.
You and Aubrey are both great examples of what a solid intern and young PR practitioner should be. Keep your blog posts from Italy coming! I’m re-living my experiences there through your photos and stories.
You get more response out of your stuff than I do out of mine. Way to go
I have to say that this post is very uplifting. My first of three internships, my managing boss didn’t work with my directly and had an assistant oversee my work, but was never really told what to do. Since it was my first internship, I had no idea what was going on and what I could or couldn’t do without “breaking the rules” or “overstepping my bounds”. At the end of the internship, my review was awful because I “didn’t take charge” and “didn’t fight harder”. I wanted nothing more than to be given a chance. My second internship I received it but was surprised at how looked down upon intern’s were in terms of pitching in the area I was working in. Again, thanks so much for your post. Very appreciative – too bad I didn’t have this before graduating college. : )
Thanks, Hilary. Sorry you’ve had such negative experiences with internships. It sounds like you didn’t have much opportunity to grown, learn and develop professionally in those positions. Hopefully you’ll be able to find better companies to intern with that will provide you with valuable experience you can use in your professional career.
Maybe try to look at your negative experiences as opportunities to have learned about environments you don’t want to work in. Maybe the experiences can help you form questions to ask employers in interviews about the role you’re pursuing, the management structure, and what you can expect to be learning and doing. This is something I always try to do and it’s helped me land jobs and internship that I leave feeling great about.
Hear, hear! Smartly said, Becky.
Though I’m waaaay past my only career internship at The Bergen Record copy desk in 19xx (don’t ask, won’t tell), I was ticked off mightily on your gen’s behalf at Jeremy’s ageist, elitist rant.
He sounds so last century . . . as you tactfully, convincingly show. That fresh breeze is a wind that’ll lift your career.
[ And no, I don't write like that in client deliverables. =^..^= ]
Well-done – - take the next two days off.
Thanks for your comments, Alan. I’m glad you enjoyed my post, I hope you continue reading!
I tried to structure my rebuttal to show Jeremy the other side of the coin. Although I disagree with much of what he said, I do also think that he makes some good points when considering first-time interns. Many of my points apply more toward more experienced interns.