Anonymous Internship Recommendation: Qorvis/MSLGROUP

This past semester I was given the opportunity to intern with Qorvis/MSLGROUP, a top-5 public relations firm in the heart of Washington, D.C. This internship provided me with excellent insight into what it’s like to work in both public relations and public affairs, as Qorvis is a multifaceted firm with several international clients.

On a daily basis, I was charged with compiling media lists, assembling clip books, monitoring media/completing media sweeps, transcribing phone calls and hearings, running errands both down the street, across the DMV area and to Capitol Hill, editing documents and more. The formal internship description is as follows:

An exceptionally qualified candidate will Have demonstrated experience leveraging social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter,

Flickr and YouTube to engage online audiences. Have experience planning and staging events Have strong research skills to augment his or her knowledge of international public affairs. Have demonstrated strong writing skills Have demonstrated excellence in course work, internships or previous employment.

The Intern will be expected to: Assist with the development and updating of media lists and other databases, including client,

marketing, prospect and administrative databases. Draft basic public relations materials including news releases, media alerts, fact sheets, client

meeting summaries, status reports and other materials as directed. Participate in client meetings Provide research and reports for a variety of clients across multiple practice areas. Assist with administrative duties including fax processing, sorting, collating, stuffing envelopes,

mailings and other administrative functions as assigned.

I would definitely recommend this internship to those communication majors interested in pursuing a career in agency public relations. However, I would recommend that only students with prior public relations experience pursue this internship, as it is very demanding. If you are to work at Qorvis, you need to understand that you will likely be working more hours than set forth in your Comm386 requirements – I would say that only those students seeking 6 Comm386 credits should work at Qorvis, as they want someone who is as available as possible.

You must be prepared to make sacrifices and work hard, but working at this agency was a very rewarding experience that I would love to have again.

The internship supervisor is Carly Vendemia and can be contacted at cvendemia@qorvis.com.