Interning During the Pandemic: Former Interns (Now Employees) Share their Experience

In March of 2020, employers everywhere were forced to quickly rethink their models to accommodate and adapt to the new normal – working from home. We saw hiring freezes across the board as agencies looked to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of their existing employees.

For those who found themselves looking for internships, hiring freezes heightened anxieties and made things feel straight up ~scary~. Eventually, Praytell and other agencies resumed hiring and once again began offering internship opportunities, only this time things were a bit different. THE INTERNSHIPS WERE REMOTE.

We sat down with the former pandemi interns, all of whom are now full-time employees at Praytell, and asked them to reflect on their experience starting a completely remote internship.

How did you find out about Praytell, and what made you want to apply?

• Alycia: I met some Praytellians at a PR career fair in college and honestly I hadn't heard about them prior to that day. I mustered up the courage to chat and they had a lot to stay about Praytell – the clients, the culture, the work. I knew this was a place where the sky is truly the limit - and that's what drew me to apply!
• Lola: I stumbled upon Praytell's Instagram and fell in love with the work culture. I started to religiously stalk their page and realized that I wanted to work there – even though I didn't know what PR was at the time.
• Paola: Andy (Praytell’s founder) was one of the guest speakers during my time going through the PR Council's Agency-Ready Certificate program. He seemed so genuine and passionate about his team, that I thought,  "Wow – that's somewhere I want to work."

What was your experience applying to jobs during the pandemic?

• Alycia: There were ebbs and flows. There were a few moments where the pandemic seemed to be getting a little better,  and there were talks of  companies slowly starting to think about resuming hiring, but that quickly went out the window as soon as cases increased. In short, I don't think there was anything that could've prepared me for this, but the silver lining is I learned a lot.
• Christian: There weren’t a ton of internship opportunities, so I decided to do some good ole personal development and participated in the PR Council's Agency-Ready Certificate program. From there, I did my research and fell in love with Praytell. I connected with Praytell’s recruiting lead Brandon Cho on LinkedIn, and although there weren’t any opportunities available at the time, he helped revise my resume and shared opportunities from other agencies. Eventually, Brandon let me know that Praytell was starting their internship program back up and the rest was history!
• Olivia: I started off strong and applied to anything I could find that I felt I could do (PR, marketing, project coordinator, etc.). Eventually, I began to get discouraged after a few months and stopped applying to jobs for a bit. After a short break, the hunt was back on. Ultimately, I got my foot in the door at Praytell after a family friend connected me with Andy. The rest was history!
  

Did you have any reservations about starting an internship that would be fully remote?

• Lola: No, it was the best experience.
• Olivia: I'm more of a face-to-face interaction kind of person, so I was really worried about how I would build relationships with teammates while working remotely. I had also heard nightmare stories about people suffering Zoom fatigue and cabin fever, so I'll admit I walked into this a bit uneasy.
• Paola: I definitely had some reservations about the isolation of it all, and how it would affect my ability to form meaningful relationships with my supervisors and colleagues. I was especially worried in the sense that I knew it would be harder to show all the work I had done and relationships I had built for myself when it came to discussing full-time opportunities at the end of my internship, but eventually, those worries dissipated. Networking (while virtual) was still very much welcomed, and I felt very supported by my mentors.

What are some things you liked about Praytell's remote internship program?

• Christian: I really appreciated all the training we were given during our first month. Not only was it a great way to get a better understanding of how people do things at Praytell, but it was also an opportunity to meet new people across the agency.

• Olivia: The people at Praytell really made the internship what it was. Everyone was so kind, willing to chat, and truly wanted to get to know me. I think that’s why I didn't feel overly disconnected from not being in the office. I also really liked the fact that all of us interns were able to get to know each other so well despite our geographical locations. If we were in person/in the office, I'm not sure I would've gotten to know the SF interns as well (I now consider them good friends)!
• Paola: Everyone at Praytell is keen on seeing you as a valuable part of the company, and willing to give some of their time to teach you the ins and outs. Even remotely, everyone was more than happy to jump on a call to get to know you, give you tips, and make sure they were setting you up for success. The training program was also a huge help! Loved that Praytell created a whole slew of agency know-how trainings.

How has your transition to a full-time been?

• Alycia: It was quite a whirlwind being added onto more accounts, but I felt that the work was more or less consistent across accounts, so I felt prepared.

• Olivia: It was a pretty seamless transition! My account teams and manager set me up in a great position that I was doing essentially the same tasks/had the same responsibilities.
• Paola: I definitely was given a lot more responsibility and autonomy. I have been learning a lot, and I think it's great that everyone trusts you to do your job.

What would your advice to your past intern self be?

• Alycia: Host a virtual happy hour! It's a great way to casually meet your Praytell colleagues.

• Christian: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Ask all the questions you have! ASK THEM.
• Lola: Set boundaries, do not stress out about the little things.
• Olivia: Reach out to coworkers more and set up virtual coffee chats/happy hours to get to know them outside of "work."
• Paola: Be bold and voice your opinions, but also be a sponge and absorb everything you can.
  

Interested in interning at Praytell? Apply to open opportunities on our Careers page.