Why ComGroup's Internship Program is a Success
An internship is a great first step in a college student’s professional journey. A well-structured program equips interns to work in an industry and in environments they’re not familiar with. The Communications Group (ComGroup) developed its internship program in 2020 to do just that. Nearly five years later, the CGXperience continues providing interns with unique learning experiences tailored to their interests while honing their professional skills in specific areas to foster the next generation of leaders in the public relations profession.
Following are five ways ComGroup’s internship program stands out from other internship programs and benefits everyone involved.
It’s a multi-faceted program.
The CGXperience is comprised of three layers – Micro-Internship, PR Internship, Resident Internship. Each layer feeds into the next, meaning we’re able to choose interns that we know fit our culture and have the knowledge base needed to be a successful intern.
The CGXperience is a mix of paid and unpaid opportunities. Our PR intern and resident intern are paid positions as they’re long term internship opportunities. Our micro-internship is utilized for special events and, while unpaid, puts that group of interns in front of our staff. Seeing potential candidates in action gives us insight and makes finding and choosing an intern easier. Students who choose to participate in our micro-internship are generally prioritized in the selection process of our PR internship, giving those candidates a leg up for staying connected and involved with us.
It’s built on relationships.
Everything in public relations is built on relationships. Our internship program is no different. There are two key audiences we’ve established relationships with that make our program a success: professors and our interns.
Let’s start with the college and university professors. They know their students, want them to succeed, and know internships are important. Due to the relationships we’ve built with professors across the state, they trust us to provide their students with high-quality learning experiences and will recommend our internship program to their best students.
The relationship established with our interns during their time with us is also a factor in our program’s success. Our former interns are our biggest ambassadors. We want them to recommend the CGXperience to their friends. Therefore, mentorship is a top priority of our program. This is how we most effectively sharpen our interns’ soft skills and technical skills so they’re ready for a professional work environment upon graduation.
This relationship not only benefits the intern with college credit, real world experience, and networking. Organizations benefit as well due to the affordable assistance, professional fulfillment through mentoring the next generation, and fresh perspectives from aspiring professionals. Intern supervisors can get an additional benefit that I can speak to from personal experience. Every intern I’ve had the pleasure of supervising has taught me something: how to be a better manager, the importance of investing in the next generation, and so much more. Those are invaluable lessons that have helped me to grow as a professional and bring great satisfaction.
We give interns real work so they see real results.
Every intern that comes through our doors works on real work and, most of the time, they see the end result. From media kits to news releases, we use the work they do and that brings interns a high level of satisfaction.
In addition to those assignments, our PR interns complete a passion project based on their interests. This project stays with the agency long after their tenure, allowing each PR intern to leave their mark.
The CGXperience creates a talent pool.
Many challenges present themselves when hiring someone. First is the hiring process itself. After that, new hires have to learn about company history, learn about internal processes, find their place on the team, and so much more. Hiring a former intern that you know has the skills to do the job makes the hiring process easier and reduces time spent on orientation and training. In the four years since the CGXperience was established, two interns were hired to full-time positions, filling needs in our agency that allowed us to better serve our clients. The onboarding process was also much smoother and quicker due to their familiarity with ComGroup.
Everyone is committed to seeing the program succeed.
At ComGroup, everyone wants to see our interns get the most out of their time with us. Their support is vital to our program’s success and helps our interns feel like they’re part of the team. It starts at the top of the ladder and works its way down.
There’s much more we could say about creating the structure for your internship program and establishing key relationships, which is why we’re continuing this series through. Check back on our blog or follow ComGroup on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter/X to see the next installment so you can decide if an internship program is right for your company.
