This month, to help celebrate National Intern Day on July 30, we’ve highlighted some of our former interns who are now part of our N6-fAmily in a three-part blog series.

As a junior at Iona College in 2016, Erin Pugh was a public relations star in the making. She decided to take on an internship program at N6A to hone her skills in an agency environment. The experience drove Erin to continue on a path of internships, studies and a master’s degree in public relations in 2018.

Today, Erin is a year in at N6A as a full-time account coordinator. Her achievements have garnered countless accolades, including recently earning the reward for highest-producing N6A team member. Erin spoke to us about the importance of guidance, direction and mentorship during an internship program.

What were your career goals in college?

Erin Pugh: I entered college with an undecided major, unsure about what specific career I wanted after graduation. After taking different courses on a variety of different subjects, and talking to career coaches on campus, I decided to major in public relations. After completing internships and talking to other students with the same major about their experiences, I decided that I wanted to work at a firm, as opposed to an in-house department.

What do you think makes a good internship program?

Several aspects contribute to a good internship program, but a critical component is having proper orientation and direction. It’s important to equip each intern with consistent work assignments and a direct manager to address questions.

We need to remember that this experience, aside from possible other internships, is most likely this individual’s first time in this sort of business setting, so we don’t want them to feel lost. Offering this guidance will help them thrive. Also providing them with work that entry-level employees at the organization see is helpful as well, so they know they aren’t there just to fetch coffee for the team.

Knowing the value of your intern and acknowledging their potential goes a really long way.

Why did you choose N6A for your internship?

When I was gearing up to start interning in college, an advisor in my network recommended reaching out to N6A for an internship opportunity. He spoke very highly of CEO Matt Rizzetta, particularly highlighting his passion, and N6A in general. After securing an interview for the position, and meeting N6A employees, I realized it was the type of environment I wanted to work in and the people I wanted to work alongside.  

What internship skill-building assignments helped you with your career today?

Something that I worked on a lot in graduate school, and was tasked with a lot throughout my internships, was research.

If you’re in the public relations field, research is at the core of most tasks you’ll be doing day-to-day, even if it’s brief. Having the time during my internships to bring what I learned in school to my profession and finetune it has really helped me in my career today.

Also, one skill that is probably oversaid but highly important is organization. Interns are often tasked with completing administrative duties which includes a lot of organization. I was grateful for this as I was prepared for the fast-paced environment once I fully entered the field as an employee.

Why did you decide to return to N6A once your intern program was over?

In between my internship and coming back to N6A full-time, I interned and worked at several other organizations. I had great experiences at all of them but I decided to return to N6A because none of them had quite the atmosphere that N6A did. I think that has a lot to do with both pride and recognition. I’m in awe pretty much every day at how much pride people take in their work, and it really makes me strive to do better in my own work.

It’s great to see how proud everyone is of each other when our colleagues do well. The sense of team and comradery is extraordinary here. The recognition at N6A is also absolutely unmatched. You are continuously recognized through both large and small gestures and this truly makes you feel appreciated.

Check out Compete and Care to learn more about our company culture and what it’s like working at N6A.

The post N6-fAmily Spotlight: Guidance is Key in Any Intern Program appeared first on N6 Powered by KRMA | Fully Integrated Digital Marketing.

Leading up to National Intern Day on July 30, we’re continuing our three-part blog series highlighting some of our former interns who are now part of our N6-fAmily.

In 2017, Cassidy Zuber was a junior at the University of Maryland, majoring in communications with a focus on public relations. It was then that she decided to apply for an internship at N6A to get a hands-on experience of the agency world.

Today she’s a full-time Account Coordinator at N6A. Cassidy spoke to us about how the intern-to-AC experience left a lasting impression.

What were your career goals in college?

Cassidy Zuber: Upon arriving at college, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of majors to choose from. During my first semester, I made the decision to study communications and haven’t looked back since.

Over the years, my interest in agency work became increasingly apparent. In 2017, as a rising junior, I interned at N6A, which further solidified my desire to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

What do you think makes a good internship program?

A good internship program provides students with the ability to build practical skills that cannot be taught in a school setting. The most rewarding programs instill a sense of teamwork and resourcefulness, while emphasizing the importance of professionalism.

At N6A, I was lucky to work alongside such intelligent and driven employees, all of whom were eager to mentor me. They constantly shared constructive feedback and practical lessons, which made the experience highly valuable.

Why did you choose N6A for your internship?

N6A’s culture of innovative, collaborative and respectful people is what drew me to the internship program. During my initial interview, I immediately got a sense of the company’s strong foundation and positive leadership culture.

What internship skill-building assignments helped you with your career today?

During my internship experience, I learned the ins and outs of building strong media lists and monitoring industry news, both of which are integral to my current role as an Account Coordinator.

Why did you decide to stay or return to N6A once your intern program was over?

N6A’s tight-knit company culture left a lasting impression on me. I still remember our weekly team lunches and our Summer Bash in New York’s Hudson Valley.

I witnessed firsthand how much N6A truly invests in its team through its quality of life perks, which influenced my return post-graduation.

Check out Compete and Care to learn more about our company culture and what it’s like working at N6A.

The post N6-fAmily Spotlight: How Teamwork Impacts the Intern Experience appeared first on N6 Powered by KRMA | Fully Integrated Digital Marketing.

On July 30, we’re joining thousands of other businesses to celebrate interns across the country for National Intern Day. Created by WayUp in 2017, National Intern Day is a holiday dedicated to recognizing the future leaders of the world: interns!

As part of the celebration, we’re kicking off a three-part blog series highlighting some of our former interns who are now part of our N6-fAmily.

N6A Account Manager Shayla Ridore recently talked to us about her experience as an N6A intern when she was a communications major at Hoftra University in 2015, plus her thoughts on what students should look for in an intern program.

What were your career goals in college?

Shayla Ridore: In college, my goals were to begin a career where I could see myself growing in the short and long term. I also wanted to make sure that the field I went into was something I enjoyed and that wouldn’t cause me to burn out and lose interest.

What do you think makes a good internship program?

A good internship program is one that is hands-on and allows someone to learn the ins and outs of a job that are more difficult to learn in the classroom.

The ability to turn to dedicated managers who show you the right way to complete tasks and explain why things are done a certain way is crucial for an internship program because it sets you up to succeed once you fully enter the workforce.

Finally, a good program is one that fully immerses the intern with the full staff. Getting to experience true working relationships and make connections is key to learning how to be successful on teams in the future.

Why did you choose N6A for your internship?

A friend of mine was finishing her internship with N6A right as I was in the process of applying to begin one. She spoke highly of her experience with N6A and mentioned how it was a small but quickly growing team at the time.

I loved the idea of getting in on the ground floor of something that was going to be big in the industry.

What internship skill-building assignments helped you with your career today?

From the start of my internship with N6A, I was taken in as a member of the team and began working on assignments that I would have been assigned in the entry-level position as well, except with more help and more time to complete them. This propelled me for my career today because I was actively learning and honing skills that were going to be important moving forward and contributing to the team.

Once I joined N6A as a full-time Account Coordinator, I was able to hit the ground running because I was already familiar with the tasks I would be completing in my new role.

Why did you decide to stay or return to N6A once your internship was over?

By the time my internship with N6A was coming to an end, I knew this was a company that would allow me to reach my career goals, and have a fun time in doing so. The company culture and scrappy startup mentality drew me in and I never left!

My internship ended and two weeks later after graduation I was back on the team full time.

Check out Compete and Care to learn more about our company culture and what it’s like working at N6A.

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