I never thought I would be in a position where I would be supremely disappointed that I had to stop working, but the unthinkable has occurred, and with it comes ten weeks of memories and experience that I will never forget.
My devout readers are by this time well aware of my position, but for those that have come late to the party, I spent my summer as a public relations intern at Octagon.
There is certainly a long list of words that I could use to describe the position and my experience, but chief amongst them are undoubtedly amazing, fast-paced and rewarding.
If there was one thing I learned in the first week that I will carry with me for the rest of my career, it’s that the word “routine” does not exist in this industry. Some people say that “every day is different,” but in my mind, that’s a severe understatement, and I would argue that every ten minutes is different.
Working at a frantic pace, juggling multiple tasks at once, and always being able to think on my feet are things I was forced to master over my ten weeks with Octagon, and they’re skills that I know will continue to pay off in the future. Occasionally, the great Tennis interns would also lend a helping hand, and it was great to work both collaboratively and individually on projects.
Although everyday was completely different, there was a semblance of consistency in the types of projects that I completed. Naturally as a PR intern, communications oriented tasks were the most common project I found myself doing, with some miscellaneous work mixed in.
These duties ranged from drafting press releases, to making sales calls for our speakers, to assisting in communication initiatives for athletes who we knew had a big announcement coming. Needless to say, these projects were extremely varied and time consuming, both things that I embraced.
In addition to my traditional tasks, there were also two major projects that I had to complete throughout the summer. The first one was a solo project in which I was tasked with the duty of putting together a PowerPoint presentation for recruitment purposes that highlighted our athletes’ accomplishments and awards. This probably took two weeks of all-day work, as it required me to individually look up all 546 current athletes and personalities and assemble a list of their awards, accomplishments, and honors. That said, the hard work was definitely worth it; the end result was fantastic, and it’s something I can now add to my portfolio.
The second major project was a company-wide project designed for the interns called “Project X.” Luckily, the name is far more mysterious than the objective, which was to formulate a marketing plan for a specific athlete and make a 25 minute presentation to the entire company. My group consisted of three interns in my office, along with one in New York, so we were forced to meet via conference call every week with our teammates and advisors. The project was presented at the very end of the summer, and it went very well.
This truly has been a dream summer for me, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience or company to learn from. This has undoubtedly been one of the best experiences of my life and has only further reaffirmed my intense desire to work in this industry. I learned an incredible amount in my time here, ranging from general concepts like how to balance multiple projects at a time to drafting press releases. The skills I learned I’ll take with me throughout my career, and I know they will continue to pay dividends in the future. I had a great relationship with my boss, who was an immense help and is someone I plan on staying in contact with for a long time. The industry contacts I made to go along with simply having Octagon on my resume is truly invaluable, and I could not have asked for a more rewarding and incredible experience.
Thank you to everyone that tuned into the blogging experience, and I hope in some way you got something out of it. Whether it was my charming wit or simply insight into the industry, I hope you enjoyed what you read.
Feel free to email me at stuartyacobian@gmail.com.