By Alka Narayana, Intern
In my final quarter of college, it looked like graduating in December would be as dreary as it sounded. It was going to be cold, grey and depressing, and there seemed to be nothing bright to look forward to.
And there I was, applying to every post-grad opportunity and facing constant rejection after countless interviews. It seemed that no place was going to take a chance on me. Yet, I was ready to take my degree in strategic communications and put it toward my passion for public relations.
For years, I felt drawn to the idea that my purpose was to help people and brands find their voice and connect with the right audience. I wanted to bring out the most impactful aspects of a brand’s identity to the public.
While I felt college prepared me for the professional world of communications, I knew I still needed to learn so much more about the inner functions of the PR industry. Ultimately, I decided to seek a position at a PR agency where there was an opportunity to learn and receive hands-on experience!
I learned about The Hoffman Agency from a former college classmate, Kristin Greenfield (thank you so much, Kristin!). With her help and doing an intense deep dive of the agency’s website and LinkedIn, I discovered that Hoffman offered an environment and team invested in training interns to be PR professionals. Hoffman sounded like the perfect entry point to the world of public relations. My only worry was that the tech space was not where I thought I would end up.
Despite growing up with a software engineering dad and brother, I, unfortunately, did not share the same STEM mindset. Venturing into the unknown of the tech space was going to be my most challenging learning curve. Nonetheless, I was still enthusiastic about joining Hoffman since I recognized tech as a powerful, transformative industry full of changemakers!
Now at Hoffman, I’ve found that every day is simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying because I am experiencing just what I desired in my first post-grad experience in the PR world, and I do not want to waste a minute of it!
What I find most rewarding is being fully immersed in the workload and client interactions with such supportive teams. It makes it easier to ask questions on all things technology and PR.
Looking to the future, I am excited to foster strong client relationships and see the fruits of my PR work out in the public sphere!
