MULTI-SKILLING IS key

When I started my internship I kind of knew that some of the skills that I had would help me at some points but I didn’t know to what extent. What I have learned since then is that multi-skilling is key.

Gone are the days where the most sought after types of people in the professional industry were specialists and where we were only requested to be knowledgeable and have expertise in a unique field or area. Today, more and more organisations are looking for employees with a range of skills or knowledge for working on several different projects, which may not necessarily be a part of the worker’s technical job description of skills.

This also applies to us, interns. While some still think that Internship is about picking up phone calls and making coffee, my experience is offering me another perspective and teaching me the importance of multi-skilling. This led me to share with you some skills that have appeared to be quite important during the first months of my internship experience:

1. Designing

Although not an incredible designer, I have to say that I have some insight into the matter due to numerous works and projects during the last two years. The knowledge acquired during those times has enabled me to assist other team members when needed. For simple or complex design it is always important to have someone on board as it saves time and prevent the firm to outsource someone with the same skills.

Tips: Be familiar with Photoshop and InDesign. This doesn’t necessarily mean that that you will be expected to be a professional designer but knowing the basics will help you assisting your team members.

2. Writing

It has become very clear to me that good writing skills are essential in the PR industry.  The better a team’s writing skills are, the quicker a firm can expect to finalise and send out written pieces. In my case (as someone whose first language is French), the language barrier has at times been a bit of an issue. However, this has never stopped me from trying until I get it right as I believe that becoming a good writer is a process.

Tips: Start blogging. Having a blog and writing about a specific topic on a regular basis will not only help you to get noticed but will also help you to develop and unveil the hidden writer in you. It will lead you to conduct research, gain more knowledge and improve your vocabulary.

Always ask team members to have a look at your work. Even for writing purposes, team work is important parts of PR. Don’t hesitate to ask other team members to proofread your work as they will often look at it from another angle 

3. Ability to create effective social media content and manage social content systems
   

As said it my previous article (WHAT I THOUGHT PR WAS VS THE REALITY), social media are much more than tools to stay in touch with friends and family members; they have actually become a must-have for organisations wanting to create an everlasting impression. You cannot expect to be effective in the PR industry without having a good understanding of how social media works. Luckily, it is becoming easier and easier to effectively use of the various available platforms.  I have been introduced to post scheduling, keyword searches, the effective use of hashtags; social media content planning and many other tools and tricks that will certainly help me to become a social media guru.

4. Multi-tasking

I know that the effectiveness of multi-tasking has always been questioned, but I have learned that for some projects, being able to deal with more than one task at the same time is very important especially when you are part of a small team. Sometimes, the workload is so high that a collaboration of all team members is required. However, one should be careful not to lose focus on the main objective and the desired outcome and above all, not to forget anything, even if it means pasting post-it notes all around your desk…and your laptop screen.