Atomik Research and 4media group welcome interns with open arms, and play host to dozens throughout the working year. More often than not our interns are from overseas, specifically America, and come to London in search of experience in both life and the PR and media sector. In return we get to utilize their skills, train them up and get them involved in our exciting campaigns. One of our recent interns, Riley, talks us through her experience at Atomik Research, from learning the PR research process to experiencing her first experience in an office environment and first experience of PR Research:
I have been interning at Atomik Research for about two months now and I would say the experience has been like no other. I came to London from Connecticut in June, alone and nervous of what lay ahead. The first few days in London were about adjusting to the culture and learning my way around before starting my internship. I walked past the office three times making sure I knew the way from my flat and peered in the windows in anticipation of what was ahead of me.
My first day was nerve racking but the team soon made me feel comfortable. Tim, my supervisor, showed me how to script a survey in Decipher and as he walked me through everything I needed to do, I rapidly scribbled down notes and then it was my turn. He sent me a draft of a survey and I began to script. I was surprised by the amount of steps it took, I had never thought about PR research being so complex. There were a lot of conditions to the questions meaning that certain questions were only supposed to be seen by certain people but there was a huge sense of accomplishment when I tested the link, and everything worked how it was supposed to.
Later that day I was instructed on how to draft a survey and how to write the report that we sent to the client. Drafting the surveys takes a great amount of creativity and it was interesting to see the experts at Atomik coming up with the questions with ease. My main task was to write executive summaries for clients. This was my chance to become a storyteller. The research told a story and it was my job to pull it out. Some of the research spoke to me more than others but it became a fun challenge to put myself in the shoes journalists and broadcasters to try to figure out what they would want to see out of the research.
During my internship I have had my hand in all parts of the PR research process from brainstorming and drafting the surveys to analysing the data to make it easier for the client to understand and I have learned a lot. This is my first time working in an office environment; I have learned a lot about myself as well as the PR research process. I have learned that working at a company like Atomik Research, where you feel comfortable to ask for help or speak your mind, is important. My team quickly made me feel part of the team here, thousands of miles from home, and I am really grateful I got to work with such great people doing something I grew a real interest in.
After this internship I will back to Connecticut to start looking for my first job. Through this internship I have widened my search to not just look for jobs in marketing but to also for jobs in market research. I now know what to look for in a company. I want to look for a company just like Atomik Research and 4media group.
