Edelman Agency Tour: Know Your Story [National Conference Recap]
Event: Agency Tours
Organization: Edelman
Recap: My first morning of the PRSSA 2015 National Conference was spent participating in the agency tours. My agency tour was held at the Edelman Atlanta office in Midtown Atlanta. Edelman was founded in 1952 and is currently the world’s largest independently owned public relations firm. Edelman boasts an incredible client roster spanning across almost all areas of public relations including consumer, education, food and beverage, health, sports, technology and travel, to name a few.
Our group of students was given a tour of the Edelman office space and a brief overview of what each department is responsible for on any given workday. We saw their open-office cubes, which encourages employees to collaborate with their neighbors. Following the tour, our group was shown to a general meeting area where seven Edelman employees from different levels and departments answered questions and gave us a glimpse of what it means to work for Edelman. They spoke specifically about what it takes to become an intern with the company, how important their coursework in public relations has been to their overall career and ultimately gave us important insight into how to successfully navigate our next steps into the industry, whether it be in a agency or otherwise.
Takeaways:
1. Know your story. In response to a question about how interns should present themselves in interviews, almost the entire panel recommended to know ourselves and our brand. If you can effectively brand yourself and provide a consistent image of what your own story is, there is no doubt in the employer’s mind that you can provide this for a client as well.
2. Don’t be timid. In any job or opportunity, an unwillingness to speak up and take unfamiliar opportunities will hold you back from your highest level of success. Having the ability to speak up and advocate for yourself will go further in public relations.
3. Strategies, objectives and tactics—know them. Knowing what the client wants, working with the client and having the ability to break down those goals into actual tactics can help guide both yourself and your client to a successful solution.
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Monica Couvillion is a senior public relations major with a global studies minor at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She studied abroad in London recently and is on the hunt for a full-time position in New York City next fall. She is the firm director of North Road Communications, Marist’s student-run public relations firm. Monica enjoys music of all kinds, the color maroon and authentic Greek food. Follow her on Twitter @MJCouvillion or connect with her on LinkedIn.
