Interning at Sterling Jewelers

by Meghan Caprez

Most students have a pretty good idea of where they’d like to work in the public relations industry by the time they need to complete their internship for credit at Kent State. Going into my internship, I was convinced that I wanted to work in corporate public relations, and I wanted to focus my skills in social media. Boy, did I change my mind!

As a marketing intern at Sterling Jewelers Inc., I was able to work on a variety of projects, from creating social media content for Kay and Jared to researching competitors’ customer appreciation store events. I worked on competitor reports, measured sentiment and drafted creative “wish lists.”

After three months, I learned that social media is not the end-all, be-all of my public relations skills, and I do not want to siphon myself off into that one small area of the industry. I did, however, really enjoy the corporate atmosphere, and my internship helped me to see that corporate is the right fit for me.

When looking for an internship, students should search for one in the areas they are interested in, so, like me, they can determine if it is the right fit for them. After finding that perfect internship, it is important to effectively and efficiently complete every project with a smile on their face. As my supervisor said, “There’s a difference between aptitude and attitude. Aptitude can be taught, but you can’t teach someone to have a good attitude.” At the end of the day, a good attitude can make the difference between a mediocre and a stellar internship experience.

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