Insights from the Inside: What’s it like to intern with PAN?

As the leaves change to yellow and the air turns crisper, I’ve started packing my bags to return to school and had time to reflect on the three months I’ve spent with PAN Communications.

In June, I moved from the west coast to Boston and worked as the marketing team’s intern for the summer. And it’s been a privilege to have been the first ever PAN intern to temporarily relocate across the country.

When I started my first day, I was welcomed into the company with genuinely warm introductions and open arms. While I’ve noticed that many marketing and PR firms boast that their interns will do “real work” and won’t just be extra hands to fetch coffee – with PAN you actually do “real work” that matters. PAN truly values its interns.

Not only did I have the opportunity to work with the marketing team to craft email campaigns, buyer personas and in-depth social media competitive analysis, I also helped out with PAN’s social team to promote #PANEast’s company culture with gifs, videos and photos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Though I learned a lot, here are a few standouts from my internship experience:

1. If you’re stuck, first try Googling it, then ask someone

We are a generation of Googlers. We live and breathe the search engine’s endless resources. Oftentimes, Googling information is assumed, because it’s become the norm. But I’d like to verbally address how important it is, especially when you are starting a new job. Google became my go-to source for all business, marketing and PR related terms I was unfamiliar with during the beginning of my time at PAN.

With new jobs, it can be difficult to gauge what you should ask help for versus what you should figure out for yourself. But don’t forget about trusty, ol’ reliable Google before you go bugging your boss for answers.

2. Volunteer for the scary, hard tasks

After a couple of weeks with the company, I volunteered to help outline a blog post announcing PAN’s new website. I had little knowledge of what I was supposed to do beforehand and had to jump into researching and writing it immediately. It was frightening at first because working with an integrated marketing firm was new to me and it was out of my knowledge or expertise. However, it forced me to scan through old press releases and research the industry, ultimately expanding my knowledge about marketing and PR.

Taking initiative at PAN is well appreciated. Every time I volunteered to help out with a task that seemed difficult and intimidating, I ended up learning that I’m capable of doing it successfully.

3. Have fun

Let’s be real: If you don’t like what you’re doing, what’s the point?

The biggest highlight of this internship – which also made this the most enjoyable internship I’ve had thus far – was that while I had a lot of freedom to explore new ideas for marketing and social campaigns, I was able to get constructive feedback thus informing me and ultimately improving my strategies and work.

At PAN, you’re surrounded by wonderful, smart, motivated individuals. While challenging (in a good way), it’s easy to enjoy the work you’re doing.

I can say with absolute certainty that this summer was well spent. I learned about how an integrated marketing firm operates, made several connections and heavily beefed up my resume and portfolio. I feel more confident in my skills as a marketer after this internship, and I will take these new strengths back to school and eventually into my career.