5 Interview Tips for Those Searching for Their First Internship

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By Leah Reyes, SDSU Public Relations Senior

As a student who has never had an internship, you tend to convince yourself that there’s no way you’ll get an internship because you have “no experience,” right? Wrong!

With the help of my mentors at school and spending hours on my resume and cover letter, I was able to land a summer internship with (W)right On Communications. And guess what? It’s my first internship. It is possible, ladies and gentlemen! Here are a few tips on how to survive – and hopefully conquer – your interviews when searching for your first internship:

1. Educate yourself about the organizations you apply for.

Before you start perfecting your resume and cover letter, make sure you know what the organization is about, what they’re looking for and what they value. Check out their website, blog and social media accounts. This is really important because you might learn that although you’ve heard awesome things about an organization, it’s not exactly for you.

It will also make you stand out from everyone else when you get to the interview and you reference what you already know about the organization. When Elyse Charlesworth, (W)right On’s account coordinator,  interviewed me, she was happy to know that I took the time to look at the agency’s website and blog.

2. Cater your resume and cover letter to a specific organization.

No generic cover letters or resumes! This is one of the most important things I have learned. You should have multiple applications for multiple organizations. After I researched (W)right On Communications, I learned their values and made sure to incorporate them in my cover letter and resume.

Be sure to study the internship description so that your cover letter and resume reflects what the organization is looking for. Employers don’t like generic cover letters because it doesn’t show that you want to work with them, specifically. It looks like you’ll take any internship just to have an internship, which is not good.

Also, don’t forget that when you email employers with your attached application, the actual email message has a lot of power! Employers might not open your attachment if your email message doesn’t impress them. Cater the email to them, too!

3. Writing samples set your application apart from the rest.

When Elyse contacted me to schedule an interview, she said that my writing samples impressed her. I used my writing samples from school and attached it to my resume and cover letter. Before I attached my samples, I had multiple people look them over, and I made sure the samples were appropriate for (W)right On Communications. I’ve never had an internship, but my samples from school were enough to get me an interview. If you don’t have anything from school you’d want to share, you can write something yourself, like a blog or a mock news release.

4. Practice interviewing with friends and family.

Whether you have someone pretend to interview you or you practice alone, it really helps to talk out loud! I had a list of interview questions that I practiced with my friends. This helped me master how to answer questions. The first time you answer a question isn’t always perfect, which is why you should practice to make your answers sound awesome. The way you answer a question is more powerful than what your answer is. By practicing, you will become more confident and less nervous.

I had a couple interviews prior to my interview at (W)right On. Both times, I was asked about my strengths and weaknesses. This is an important question to prepare for. It is probably one of the most asked questions in any interview because it wraps up who you are in a few sentences. Practice, and before you know it, doing interviews will be one of your strengths!

Don’t forget to tell the interviewer what you can contribute to the organization’s success. The purpose of an interview is to prove that if you get the position, you can contribute your creativity and talents. Highlight your strengths and don’t be generic!

5. Ask questions at the end of the interview.

I have heard from many professionals that their biggest “turn-off” is when they finish an interview and ask the applicant, “Do you have any questions for me?” and the applicant says, “no.”

Ask questions that show your interest in the organization and in the person who is interviewing you. I made a list of questions to ask Elyse when she asked that final question. Here are a few questions I asked:

• What is a typical day at (W)right On Communications?
• What is your favorite part about working at (W)right On Communications?
• What is your least favorite part about working at (W)right On Communications?
• How did you end up at (W)right On Communications?
• What got you interested in public relations?

These tips won’t guarantee that you will get an internship, but I can guarantee that they will make you a stronger applicant. I can also guarantee that by following these five tips, you will become more confident in applying to organizations and doing interviews. Interviewing for your first internship is definitely intimidating, but if you do everything you can to highlight your skills, you will land that first internship before you know it! Trust me, it’s not as bad as you think! 

Five Free PR Resources to Make You More Productive

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By Julie Wright, President

Some of the worst things in life are free: free advice (no thanks), free love (ugh) and free sofas on the side of the road (also known as trash). It’s important to choose free tools that really make a positive difference in your day.

Also keep in mind that with any ‘free’ resource, the time you spend figuring it out is a cost. When a client recently asked me for recommendations on free website hosting and design templates, that thought sprang to mind. What is the true cost of messing around with a rigid template or cryptic user instructions?

So, what free resources would I recommend to help your PR program?


1. Interns

OK, that’s a joke. Interns are not free. They are a big investment. We have been fortunate to work with many diligent, creative and detail-oriented individuals—primarily from San Diego State University’s PR, media and journalism programs—over the years. And we sincerely hope that during their experience with (W)right On Communications, they grow in ways they never imagined and bond with a set of professional colleagues that they can call on for the rest of their lives for guidance and support. (And, in that spirit, please join me in welcoming Leah Reyes to our team this summer!)


2. Google

Best practices, case studies, how to articles, media contacts, editorial calendars—search the Internet for inspiration as you develop your plans or to help you kick start your brainstorming. If you’re at a loss for ideas or need to be re-inspired, Google can get you there in 30 minutes or less. If you are not actively and continuously seeking out current best practices in PR, you may have an initiative deficiency and should get that seen by a professional.


3. Social media

Nothing may be more time-consuming than establishing a productive Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook community for yourself or a brand. But once you’ve built a critical mass of relationships with your stakeholders via social networks, you can call on them for ideas, amplifying your messages or coming to your defense if your brand is under attack. (And I’m not referring to Twitter DM’s that say “Hey, this dude is saying some really bad stuff about you.” That’s a hack and never click on those links.)


4. HARO

I admit that I find it difficult to comb through the more than 200 Help A Reporter Out (HARO) queries every day. (To address this issue, please refer back to the first item on this list.) But someone in your office should be reviewing these thrice-daily emails that list queries from more than 29,000 journalists and bloggers to look for opportunities for your organization or clients. There are paid subscription levels that will filter results for you as well. Also check out pitchrate.com, which is similar in concept to HARO, or watch @ProfNet’s Twitter feeds for urgent media queries.


5. PitchEngine

This is a platform for press releases that are optimized for social media sharing. However, social media releases expire. To permanently post your material, you will need to pay monthly or annual subscription. Given that you can link YouTube videos, post images, craft Tweetable links and track views and clicks, PitchEngine is a valuable free resource when you’re trying to spread your news cost-effectively. I also think it’s worth the investment of actual dollars to memorialize your content in a permanent newsroom.

What free tools can you not work without?

6 Stories Your Organization Should Be Telling

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By Rebecca Chappell, Account Executive

“Even if you have reams of evidence on your side, remember: numbers numb, jargon jars, and nobody ever marched on Washington because of a pie chart. If you want to connect with your audience, tell a story.” – Andy Goodman

As professional communicators, one of the biggest challenges we have when collaborating with both nonprofit and for-profit clients is getting them to see that what they think is news may not be what the general population views as news. While smaller media outlets are typically supportive of community-based events and announcements, if you’re seeking attention from the likes of the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal or holy grails such as the “Today” show, you’d better be able to answer the question: so what?   

The “so what?” is where the heart of the story resides.

Whether your company is a small business or large corporation, think about all those facts, figures and acronyms listed in your annual report. Impressive? Sure. But why should anyone outside of your company care? It’s simply not enough to say your company exceeded profit margins or goals for the year. What were the challenges the company faced and how did it overcome them? Is your company’s successful performance the result of a group of employees that went above and beyond expectations? What does this year’s success mean in terms of the company’s future? How does your company’s success benefit the community at large?

If you’re a nonprofit, it’s even more important to resist the urge to weigh people down with a laundry list of programs, statistics and financials. Yes, those things are necessary to be transparent, but if you want media to pay attention and potential donors to contribute their hard-earned dollars or time to your organization, you have to also be personal.

In her book “Corporate Legends and Lore: The Power of Storytelling as a Management Tool,” Peg Neuhauser draws a parallel between nomadic Indian tribes of the American Plains and today’s modern organizations. As tribes moved from place to place, Neuhauser writes, they each carried a bundle containing significant artifacts from the tribe’s past. At campfires and rituals, this “sacred bundle” would be opened and the tribal elders would recount the stories behind each artifact.

Every organization has its own sacred bundle. In PR we often help clients to identify the artifacts for their bundle – the newsworthy stories that set their organization apart. We then package these stories as press materials, marketing collateral, website content, personalized annual reports and more.

Perhaps now you’re thinking to yourself that your organization doesn’t have any good stories for a sacred bundle. To help you out of this predicament, Neuhauser recommends identifying basic narratives such as:

How We Started

This is the story of how your organization was founded – who started it, and why. This often captures the need for your work to exist as well as the approach your group has taken to address this need.

Emblematic Victories

These demonstrate your group’s effectiveness. Instead of just saying “we made a difference!” this is your chance to demonstrate how that difference was made.

What We Learned in Defeat

Everyone falls off the proverbial horse from time to time. The trick is to get back up and ride again. Lessons learned in the course of defeat should be embraced for what they can teach you, and others.

Nature of Our Challenge

Stories about the fundamental nature of the issues your organization is tackling remind staff and community the reason their time, attention and energy are needed. They also serve to connect to the media and public with individuals and/or families in need versus numbers and statistics.

Performance Stories

Employee performance stories show the exemplary levels of professionalism, creativity and commitment your people bring to the organization or challenge at hand.

Where We Are Going

Look ahead five, 10, even 20 years from now. What would the world look like if your company did its job, met its goals, adhered to its vision? Paint a big picture that evokes a feeling of the future that staff, media and the community at large can invest in emotionally.

Now that the creative juices are flowing, the only thing left to do is capture your thoughts and look for regular opportunities to share your sacred bundle with media and the community. Happy storytelling!

Copy is Key in Your Marketing Menagerie

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By Maureen Legg, Account Executive

Companies often think that their big fancy brochure is the cat’s meow, but it turns out to be a dog and they have to eat crow. It’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back and the board wants to throw the marketing manager to the lions.

That guy’s goose is cooked so he decides to talk turkey. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, he says, and because the company had nothing meaningful to say the brochure ended up being an old dog that couldn’t do new tricks. You might think he’s jumping on his high horse, but really he’s taking the bull by the horns and should get the lion’s share of kudos for recognizing a white elephant when he sees one…

Before you go cuckoo managing your menagerie of marketing collateral, what can you do to avoid getting saddled with a white elephant? Well, for starters you can make sure you are writing good copy.

You might think I’m playing possum with the use of the term “good,” which is vague and subjective. So before your feathers get ruffled and you decide this blog post is for the birds, let me go whole hog and define “good copy” as “copy that gets your attention.”

Now, how do you get someone’s attention?

Well, you might amuse them with some word play (clearly, one of my favorite approaches). Much like this British headline did to herald the coming of our client’s film to the U.K.

Star Trek set to stun at SCI-FI-LONDON

Not taking your business too seriously can create staying power among your readers who appreciate a good pun and some pithy wit.

But more importantly, good copy does not subscribe to the “if we write it, they will come” theory. If you’ve got nothing to say, then all the copy in the world can’t make that interesting. But if you’ve got something say, then dare to be different about how you say it.

Good copy also answers the question, “Why should I care?” It’s not just about telling the reader what they don’t know — it’s giving them a reason to want to know more. That requires getting inside the mind of your intended reader and finding their hot button. What you think is interesting about your company is not necessarily what will resonate with your audience.

Copy also has the power to differentiate you from the crowd … if you let it. If you’re reluctant to make stand-out statements about your business, copy can only do so much to make an impression.

And there’s really no substitute for knowing what you’re talking about. Investing time to share information and knowledge with your public relations agency enables them to inventory your assets, create a branding strategy and develop powerful messaging to tell your story.

Of course, there’s also the important relationship between design and copy, but that’s a horse of a different color and fodder for a future post.

Did I get your attention … or did I just get your goat?

(W)right On’s Julie Wright to Discuss Social Media at Local Business Summit

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Julie Wright, president and founder of (W)right On Communications, will speak about social media at the Economic Development Corporation of Southwest California’s 4th Annual Business Summit on May 9 in Temecula.

Wright, who is one of three scheduled speakers, will discuss how entrepreneurs can best use social media platforms to promote their businesses.

“So many businesses are already using social media, so I will share tips that will help them take their program to the next level to truly engage their customers and stakeholders while seeing a return on the investment,” Wright said.

In addition to social media, business professionals will learn about trends in cloud computing and employee recruitment. The event will also give attendees an opportunity to talk to vendors and network with other professionals.

The 4th Annual Business Summit will be held from 7:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, May 9 at Temecula Civic Center, located at 41000 Main St. Join us to hear Wright’s presentation, and be sure to stop by (W)right On’s table!

Registration is $20 and ends on May 8. To register, visit edcsummit4.eventbrite.com.

A Guide to Facebook Business Pages

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By Kristina Houck, Research and Online Content Specialist

With 901 million monthly active users, Facebook is a perfect place for businesses to connect with customers. So if you have a business and don’t yet have a Facebook business page, what are you waiting for?

During last week’s So Cal Business Networking and Internet Marketing Expo in Del Mar, speakers encouraged business owners to utilize Facebook and other social media platforms to grow their businesses. It was a great reminder to me that, despite Facebook’s immense popularity, many businesses have not embraced this platform for connecting with customers.

I’ll recap some of the basic essentials presented for establishing your business presence on Facebook, as well as some tips from our team. (If you already have a business page on Facebook, skip ahead for the tips from (W)right On!)

1. Create a business page

It’s important to not use your personal page to promote your business. After all, it’s against Facebook’s terms and conditions. Create a page just for your business and utilize Facebook, as well as third-party applications, to brand it as your own.

2. Brand your page

Create a custom URL to easily promote your business on Facebook. Use a cover image and profile image that best represents your company. If you don’t have a good photo, take one! The (W)right On team recently took new group pictures that will be unveiled on our page soon. You can further customize your page by selecting custom images for the tabs you created (not for default tabs such as Likes and Photos).

3. Provide useful content

Useful and entertaining content will increase interaction on your page, and interaction is essential on Facebook. Facebook’s default settings sort newsfeeds by top stories. Therefore, your page will be more visible if other users like and share your content. Post a variety of status updates, including photos, videos, links and questions to increase participation. You can also host giveaways and contests, but be sure to adhere to Facebook’s promotion guidelines. It’s also important to show your company’s personality. (W)right On, for example, often posts pictures of frog figurines as our President Julie Wright loves frogs! Our client Tri-City Hospital Foundation shares photos of volunteers giving back to the community.

4. Get “likes”

Drive people to your page. Do this by inviting your personal Facebook friends to ‘like’ your page and informing others about your page by using icons and social plugins on your blog and website. Also include a link to your page in your email signature. If you have a Twitter account, share the link to your page with your followers.

5. Set aside time for Facebook

If you’re worried about the amount of time managing a business page takes, don’t be. Set aside 20-30 minutes a day to post on your page and engage with your fans. As you gain more fans, you might want to increase the amount of time you devote to your page so you can properly monitor comments. You can save time by importing your blog posts on Facebook using a third-party app. You can also schedule some status updates by using social media management systems like HootSuite. But I recommend you also post manually as some sources say manual posts increase engagement. Basically you want to let your fans know you’re actively on your page and reading what they say by interacting with them!

If you’ve already established a business page, you’re well aware of its recent makeover when Facebook upgraded all business pages to the new timeline design on March 30. While some were wary of the changes, (W)right On has found the new design provides businesses with several benefits. Here are a few of our tips for making the most of your business page and Facebook’s new layout:

1. Use the admin panel and insights

The new admin panel is very user-friendly. You can now open your admin panel directly on your page instead of navigating to another page. Click on “Insights” to analyze your page’s user growth and engagement. Use this information to better understand what content your fans respond to.  

2. Highlight and pin posts

While your page has a two-column layout, you can highlight a post and expand it to widescreen. To do so, hover over the content and click on the star. You can also pin a post to the top of the page for as long as a week. To do so, hover over the content, click on the pencil and choose “pin to top.”

3. Learn what people are saying

Fan comments used to get lost on the old layout. Now, fan posts to your page or mentions of your page appear at the top of the right-hand column. This is a great way to easily read what others are saying about your business. With that said, you can also choose to hide this box in your admin settings.

4. Check private messages

Users can now send private messages. Fans could only comment on business pages before the switch to timeline. Be sure to regularly check your messages and respond to your fans.

5. Have fun

While you may create a business page to gain more customers, don’t think of Facebook as work. Have fun engaging with fans and potential customers!

Have more questions about Facebook business pages? Contact the (W)right On team for all your social media needs!

PR: One Part Legwork, One Part Arm-Twisting and a Dash of Brilliance

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By Julie Wright, President

Albert Einstein quipped that genius is one percent inspiration and 99% perspiration. My formula for PR genius is very similar; however, it includes equal parts sweat and influence. Or, as I like to put it: one part legwork, one part arm-twisting and a dash of brilliance.

With advertising or direct mail, you can control who sees your message, where they see it and when. You can apply metrics to gauge how many times an ad needs to run before the target really notices it, or how many thousands of recipients need to receive an offer before the desired number take action.

But PR pros are in the business of ‘earning’ media coverage and generating positive word of mouth. Let’s just say that a lot of things have to align in the time and space continuum to achieve PR success. Therefore, we sweat the details, probably more so than most other marketing specialties!

Whether the campaign bombs or soars in the end will come down to how well all of our messaging, storytelling, pitching and spokespeople worked to influence the opinions and actions of others.

And here’s another old saw: “you can control everything but the weather and other people.”

Our creativity (that dash of brilliance) can set our client’s message apart and ensure a compelling story that captures attention and generates interest.

But we can’t be truly successful unless we sufficiently influence the client to endorse our approach, the campaign spokesperson to adopt the right messages and get the story across, the targeted reporters to cover it and, ultimately, the readers or viewers who must connect with the content in a way that changes their perceptions or prompts an action.

When we get the formula right and our ideas, effort and influence come together, the return on investment is tremendous with people often amplifying our client’s message through shares, likes, Tweets and yet more media coverage, invitations to speak and positive word of mouth.

With so much riding on our ability to influence other people’s behaviors and actions, what are some of the ways we work to influence our clients, campaign spokespeople, media and our target audiences?

Communicate with Clients

Clients may be the toughest to influence. Start by clarifying their objectives for the campaign or project. What would they consider ‘success’? Next, manage their expectations. They need to know what it will take to achieve their idea of success with a timeline, budget and strategies. Keep clients informed of project status – they should never have to come to you for an update. If you’ve managed expectations, are moving ahead with the project in a manner consistent with the expectations you set for the client and are proactively communicating with them, you are building a platform of trust. And, ultimately, you can only influence your client if you have their trust.

Understand the Role of a Spokesperson

Campaign spokespeople need to be provided with messaging that is short, easy to recall and relevant. When everyone agrees to the key messages in advance, all press materials, interviews and presentations can flow efficiently and consistently from that point forward. For inexperienced spokespeople, media training and ongoing coaching and feedback helps them improve. For members of the agency team that do not have experience in a spokesperson role or as media having interviewed numerous spokespeople to know what’s effective and what’s not, it’s recommended they seek out volunteer opportunities either by joining a nonprofit’s committee or freelancing for news outlets. Expert spokespeople like scientists or technologists, who are unable to speak in layman’s terms, pose a unique challenge. Pre-interview them and ask “what does that mean?” every time they use jargon, and when they make a point ask “why is that important to people?” Eventually, they’ll start telling their story in a manner that’s accessible to people outside of the lab. There are many resources where you can study and read about media interview and presentation best practices.

Get to Know the Media

Knowing how reporters work, what kinds of stories they’ve covered in the past (hint: read their stuff) and plan to cover in the future (hint: ask them), and how to be responsive and accurate in fulfilling any of their requests for information, will go a long way to building your influence with this group. Knowing your client’s business sufficiently well so that you can answer background questions reporters might need answered before they’ll commit to a story is also essential. In today’s electronic era, also know how to write a short email subject line that contains the pitch’s news hook. Be able to set up your client’s story in one sentence and back it up with a few key details. And use hyperlinks rather than long scrolling messages.   

The subject of influencing these three groups – clients, spokespeople and reporters – are blog posts in their own right, but the tips offered here should help. Ultimately, influencing target audiences is as close to a three-word definition of the entire public relations profession as you’re ever going to get, so I would need to write a book to expand on that topic. And I’m too busy sweating, arm-twisting and thinking about client projects for that!