Olivia   |   Jun 26th, 2009

I love my summer job. I feel relief when I say that, because my job makes me happy that I’m studying public relations in school. After switching majors three times and finally deciding I wanted to study public relations, I knew it was time to get an internship. So I came from small-town South Mississippi to Miami and was presented with the opportunity to interview for an internship with NewmanPR.

With only a few public relations classes under my belt and this being my first interview for a job other than in the food industry or for a campus paper, I was extremely nervous about the interview itself.

Luckily, I had a successful interview and passed the NewmanPR writing test, which consisted of writing a press release, solving a problem concerning public relations and editing a press release. Writing all of those press releases in Leyla’s PR Writing and Design class last semester definitely paid off!

Although I’m not a seasoned player in the field of careers and the “real world,” here are some tips on how to have a successful interview that I’ve taken from my experience:

• Arrive early for your interview — even if you have to wait a few minutes to be seen, showing up early presents a better image of yourself.
• Carefully review your cover letter and resume before submission — any inconsistencies will show a lack of attention to detail. It also helped to calm my nerves because reviewing helped me to remember my talking points.
• Anticipate whatever questions you think your employer might ask you during the interview — by doing this, you won’t fumble your words and will feel better prepared.
• Know something about the company that you are interviewing with — background research is extremely important. It shows you are genuinely interested in working for the company and you know the company that you are applying for a job with. This is one area where I should done more than I did. I knew a little about NewmanPR, but I should have done more extensive research.
• If you are given any test to complete as part of your application, return it as quickly as possible — this shows your employer that you really want the job you have applied for. By making it a priority and applying yourself, you have a chance to show your employer what you can do.

Olivia Hurst is completing a seven-week internship this summer at NewmanPR.