From coast to coast: PR seniors explore NBC Universal with summer internships
Over the summer, seasoned seniors at the Stan Richards School packed their bags and headed to opposite coasts of the country. Aparna Kumar and Saumya Wali both flexed their communications muscles as they interned for NBC Universal. Kumar lived in the concrete jungle of New York City while Wali soaked up the sun in Los Angeles.
We sat down with the PR mavens to chat about their summer experiences and advice on what to look for in out-of-state internships. AK denotes answers by Aparna and SW denotes Saumya’s.
What did your day-to-day activities look like?
AK: I worked in the Marketing Production department at Syfy Network at NBC in New York City. I worked mostly on digitizing tapes that came in from producers to be used to cut promos for upcoming new episodes of a series or for the movies that are aired each week.
I also helped out in the Creative department with motion graphics title cards for some of the shows and movies that aired this summer. We also did an intern project on how millennial engage and interact with television that we presented to three senior level execs in the office.
Most of the latter half of my summer revolved around the madness that was Sharknado 2, which was really exciting to be a part of. Towards the end, I even got to cut a promo for a July airing of Hellboy! It was a pretty awesome summer.
SW: I was a brand marketing intern for Universal Studios Home Entertainment at NBCUniversal this summer. Home Entertainment includes the DVDs, Blu-rays, the video on demand and the digital versions of the movies sold at various E Tailers (ITunes, CinemaNow, Target Ticket).
I was on the New Release team, which works on all the PG 13 and R rated movies. I got to work on the following movies, all of which have come out this year: A Million Ways to Die in the West, Get On Up, Lucy and Walk Among the Tombstones. I also got to work on some of the movies that are coming out next year such as Fifty Shades of Grey and Fast and Furious 7.
Some of the tasks and projects I worked on were: managing timelines and factsheets, creating marketing decks for the USHE sales team, doing competitive analyses of past USHE titles to predict projections of future titles, conduct research on industry trends, write synopses for digital bundles and create street date analyses that would dictate which days would be best to launch the products.
I also would attend the meetings that the rest of my team would attend which included our weekly brand team meetings, the marketing team meetings and our New Release Team meetings with our VP.
Lastly, I set up informational interviews with various departments and participated in an intern project.
Were there any necessary skills that you learned from advertising and PR classes?
AK: I’ve been video editing for quite some time now and my experiences with Final Cut and Adobe Creative Suite are what helped me get my internship this summer. At UT, I was involved in Texas Tower PR for two years and I free-lanced with some video work, which helped me build a reel and gain experience. I also pursued other opportunities here in Austin such as SXSW, Austin Film Festival, and an internship with Hahn Public Communications, all of which helped land me my summer internship. It was the fact that I jumped in and felt comfortable getting involved right away that allowed me to be successful and branch out while I was there.
SW: Knowing to write concisely; Being able to do thorough research and being able to think analytically and preempt questions my bosses would ask; media helped when the ad agencies came in. I knew what they were talking about and when we would look at the budgets; Excel skills from our required statistics course; being comfortable in presenting information in front of people.
Any advice to students that want to intern out of state?
AK: Articulate about what you’ve accomplished and what you want to learn from whatever position you are pursuing. It is most likely that if a company is recruiting candidates from other states, they are well known to an extent and there is a larger competitive pool than other smaller companies that might be recruiting locally.
From my experiences applying to NBC, the recruiter I first met with on campus asked me point blank what I was interested in doing and how my resume (which he had right in front of him) could help prove why I was the best for that position. I feel as if many students- especially in PR and advertising- know how to add fluff and make things sound better than they actually are, even when it comes down to the way students describe their duties at an internship on a resume.
Most companies and recruiters can see right through this and want to hear straightforward answers about what you can bring to the table. Especially if you’re looking to leave Texas for cities like New York, Chicago, or LA, it’s important to remember that there are hundreds if not thousands of other students competing for these same positions. Make yourself stand out.
SW: Yes, Do it if you can and have the opportunity!
Apply early and know what the designated companies are looking for early on. Embrace living in a new city; you learn so much about yourself by working 9-5 in a place you aren’t used to. Look for student housing and/or temporary living facilities.
How was the company culture of NBC? How about the feel of NYC/LA specifically?
AK: I felt like NBC overall in New York City was seemingly really buttoned up and corporate but my office in particular had a really laidback culture. There was still a definite NYC rush to being there, and I felt it especially when I was on the subway in the evenings and in the mornings.
You can't help but get frustrated with the herds of tourists sauntering about when you're either running late in the morning or eager to go home after a long day at work. Everyone is fighting for a seat on the train- hell to even MAKE the train since they're packed like sardines at six o’clock- but you can't help but feel a strange collective appreciation for the whole experience.
SW: People are so helpful. They also having a refreshing and innovative way of thinking as they constantly want to grow and better themselves. The culture there’s definitely hardworking, young and hip. They do have a lot of perks; it is the entertainment industry at the end of the day. NBC Universal is also big on diversity and inclusion.
On LA culture, once you go Cali, you never go back. Folks there aren’t as warm as they are here in Austin, but I encountered some very nice people there. I’d say it’s super chill and laid back. There’s so much to do and I miss it. I definitely want to go back.
Inspired by this interview? If you’re interested in interning out of state this summer check out job postings on AdGrad or stop by Communications Career Services on the second floor of the Belo Center for New Media.