By Jayla Curtis, Intern
Working in tech PR was more of a happy accident than an intentional lifelong dream.
As a graduating senior, I entered my last semester on a mission to find a place to start my career. I had done everything I could to set myself up to be a competitive applicant and to land a dream job post-graduation. I was confident going into every application, but week after week, I would never hear back from anyone.
Disappointment began to sink in.
As the semester rolled on, I had to face the reality of not having anything lined up. I forced myself to become more comfortable with the idea of taking a break after graduation, knowing there was a pit in my stomach just thinking about not being able to start my career.
I was very sure of where I wanted to go post-grad: marketing. I didn’t even consider broadening my horizon until I found The Hoffman Agency, which I discovered after seeing that a previous colleague worked here. At first, I had written it off. I wanted to work in marketing, not PR. Something about The Hoffman Agency, however, just stayed in my mind, and I decided to do more research.
The more I learned, the more I thought maybe marketing and PR aren’t that different?
Storytelling was something that stood out to me. The idea of captivating an audience through an engaging story and managing the perception of a brand excited me. I started realizing that PR was something I might want to do. With the help of my old colleague and current Hoffman co-worker (shout out to Aliza Bolliger!), I took a leap of faith and applied.
Now that I am officially jumpstarting my career in tech PR, I feel excited and terrified! There is so much to learn and a lot of complicated words that I still don’t understand. The beauty of The Hoffman Agency is that everyone has been incredibly inviting and helpful. Although I still have a lot to learn, I feel better knowing there is no pressure to understand everything right away!
I am most excited to practice key PR and marketing tasks I learned about in school but have yet to implement in a professional space. Running social media pages, tracking metrics and SEO are big interests of mine. I also want to learn the ins and outs of traditional PR, such as creating media lists and writing press releases. I am hoping to gain as much experience as possible during my internship.
Post-grad life has been filled with relaxation and bliss until now, but I’m ready to transition into the wonderfully chaotic and rewarding world of PR!
After work, my favorite activity is to grab dinner and stream some shows (fascinating stuff!). I love to wind down after work and prep for the next day. Preparation brings me peace!
