Raising the bar of the Zeno NY internship as a whole is not an easy feat – but, as a group, this summer’s team has changed the game. As the intern manager, working closely with each individual to track their growth and progress, I can say that confidently and absolutely.

As an intern at Zeno, you are given so much opportunity to shine and equally as much opportunity to impress. Often, this is because our program is designed to position our interns as a pivotal part of their account teams and a crucial piece to the success and execution of our client work. With so much opportunity, comes an equal amount of responsibility and a level of accountability that sets our interns up for success as they continue to grow in this field.

Zeno not only teaches you the fundamentals of PR but demands that you understand the value and impact of your work. What might feel like an admin task is really the foundation by which we succeed as a team. One of our star interns noted, “I’ve seen a handful of times the footprint of my daily monitoring and reporting, and how it can be the catalyst for larger client discussions and pitch angles.”

This summer, the interns across the Zeno U.S. network had the unique opportunity to work together to create a plan for one of our pro-bono client’s upcoming projects. Through this, they were forced to organize and delegate responsibilities in order to deliver a comprehensive campaign. We were so impressed by the level of professionalism and attention to detail these interns put forth. One of the intern team leaders reminisced, “I loved having the opportunity to run a campaign and work with my team to approach this project with a 360 perspective.”

The progress of this particular intern class as a whole can be attributed to their relentless ambition to exceed expectations and their ability to engrain themselves in their accounts – a quality that is needed to succeed as an intern at Zeno. We’re constantly looking for intern candidates who are hoping to be challenged and looking to hone their skills as a PR professional but most importantly, someone who is excited to learn.

5 Top Tips for future Zeno interns:

• Be proactive: Identify opportunities to alleviate the workload for others or anticipate an ask
• Take note: When your supervisor provides you with edits or feedback to an assignment, make sure to incorporate these learnings immediately
• Raise your hand: There are countless opportunities to get involved – whether its staffing an event, helping out with the culture crew, jumping in on mailers. We love someone who is eager to get involved and lend a hand above and beyond their account work!
• Think 360: Instead of just pressing send on an assignment, think through any and all questions – maybe take a stab at a client ready email!
• The devil is in the details: Attention to detail is one of the first check boxes I look for when considering whether an intern is ready to move to the next level