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Fighting tooth and nail for a flack internship
I don't envy new grads trying to break into marketing and advertising. The intense competition for entry-level jobs is apparently forcing our next generation of leaders to humiliate themselves for the right to do menial tasks. Advertising Week created an entire entertainment program out of it, making would-be creatives jump through hoops for the promise of a 30-day freelance gig at entry-level pay. Now, unsurprisingly, public relations is getting in on the act. Eisen Marketing Group, which bills itself as "Cincinnati's largest PR firm," is holding a reality-TV-style competition to hire a single "PR rockstar." Recent grads apply at the Eisen Web site for the honor of being one of a dozen contestants subjected to three weeks of "PR hell" starting in January. Naturally, the humiliation will be aired as Webisodes that Eisen says will follow in the tradition of The Apprentice and Survivor. I imagine one of the challenges will be to find the most creative way to say, "I'm calling to follow up on an e-mail I sent you." The winner gets a paid internship. I can't help but wonder if these kinds of stunts, which arise out of a crappy economy and high unemployment rate, breed resentment from serious candidates looking to build careers. —Posted by Brian Morrissey Previously on AdFreak: |
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November 24, 2009 in Eisen Marketing Group, Job hunting, Morrissey, PR | Permalink |
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One can only imagine the PR opportunities available in glorious Cincinnati.
Things apparently are worse than I thought out there.
Posted by: Laura | Nov 24, 2009 8:23:05 PM
Hi Brian,
Although I do agree that things are tough in the current job market (I'm a grad of 2009), the intention of the NexPhase competition and webisode series is not to "humiliate" or make interns complete "menial tasks". I am a former NexPhase intern who received a paid position at EMG and can assure you I was building my portfolio and not building resentment towards the industry. At EMG we receive resumes daily and are inundated with phone calls. We wanted to provide an outlet for those to submit a resume and possibly receive a paid gig in a tough economic time.
Posted by: Laura Day | Nov 25, 2009 10:59:30 AM
I used to work for a more professional PR firm (also larger and more successful, with clients you've heard of). Now, I'm client-side with a Fortune 100 company.
Well-intended or not, the sort of reputation they are building with this is not going to suit them well in PR vendor-search decision-making processes.
Posted by: meks | Nov 25, 2009 4:46:24 PM
A PR career is absolutely not worth it. You'd make more money and have a better time doing straight sales. PR is bogus and PR at PR agencies is a bunch of well-dressed people pretending to do work while padding their supervisors salaries.
Posted by: Izzy | Nov 25, 2009 5:27:14 PM
Oh for fuck sake I'm tired of graduates being treated like shit. I'm a graduate in a good internship but know plenty of people who are getting a raw deal.
A close friend of mine has 3 days left of her 3 month internship and has been told yesterday that she won't be paid the travel expenses she was promised! In order to impress she was consistently the first in and last out of the office each day and even worked evenings and weekends to to make a good impression. She's even brought in new clients!
It's a shame that she, like many others, have worked their arses off only to finish with the assumption that PR is a nasty, bitchy industry with no morals.
If employers want to sustain any credibility in the media industry they have to treat highly educated graduates with respect and nurture their talents. We've spent 3 years and over £20k on quality education, only to be told to photocopy some bullshit.
One day us graduates will be these peoples competition, clients or colleagues and will remember the companies and individuals that shat all over us.
Any interns reading this should check out http://www.internsanonymous.com/
Posted by: Tom | Nov 29, 2009 10:01:54 AM
"I can't help but wonder if these kinds of stunts, which arise out of a crappy economy and high unemployment rate, breed resentment from serious candidates looking to build careers."
Yes they do. I'm not a fucking seal.
Posted by: Flipper | Nov 29, 2009 2:49:37 PM
i am truly saddened and dismayed to read several of these posts and comments. I am also truly sorry that so many of you have such a bad opinion of PR firms or the professionals that work in them -- the language in these posts indeed speaks volumes. While an entry level position at a PR firm may not be right for you, there are thousands who wish to pursue this avenue as their career path. Unfortunately, there are more looking for jobs than there are jobs available. So, EMG made a decision to give those seeking this career a genuine opportunity to stand out and legitimately earn a position. while it may not be YOUR dream job, it is disconcerting that having that job (or any job) is mitigated or dismissed altogether. I assure you, the competition is neither demeaning, nor menial, but putting actual incoming professionals through the normal paces we face as professionals every day -- and seeing/evaluating how they perform. there is nothing about what we are offering or suggesting that is in any way so negatively construed as the vitriol i'm seeing here -- and that's a shame. we are trying to find and offer an opportunity to someone outstanding to earn a job. I think that is all you can ask of any employer at any organization.
Posted by: Rodger Roeser | Dec 11, 2009 7:04:38 PM
I agree about the appalling language and level of vitriol these posts show. I love a good healthy spirited debate and exchange of differing ideas and opinions as much as anyone, but here's the thing. This type of outburst neither impresses nor "shocks" (believe it or not, most of us who've been in PR a while have heard the "f" bomb before and said it plenty.) It's just that this shows such a decided lack of professionalism, not to mention downright stupidity. A couple of important lessons too many have to learn the hard way are 1) things you post on line don't just easily go away, 2)things you say and do have a way of coming back on you, and 3) PR can be a small world. Just something to think about.
Posted by: Menisa Marshall | Dec 11, 2009 9:05:19 PM
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