By Hayley Hendrickson, Account Coordinator
They say time flies when you’re having fun. Well, I can confirm that time has flown – it’s truly mind-boggling that three months ago, I was just beginning my journey here at The Hoffman Agency. It feels as though my mind has expanded with all the new information and skills I have picked up along the way. Having to dive deep into the world of semiconductors without any prior knowledge was a bit overwhelming at first, but the best piece of advice I was given was that as PR professionals, it’s not our job to be the tech experts – our job is to communicate clearly and effectively to the public.
My favorite part of my internship experience has been the people I’ve worked with. Whether it’s an Account Manager or an Account Coordinator, everybody has been encouraging, helpful, and down to earth. Everyone at Hoffman is treated as an equal and even as an intern, my voice was never suppressed but was listened to by the whole team. From day one, I felt welcomed and galvanized by my co-workers to give it my best shot, even in times when I felt unsure of myself.
One of my most memorable projects was a semiconductor facts social media campaign I owned from the start of my internship. It helped me both find my feet in the tech space and learn to write in a way that I hadn’t before. Taking a stab at writing from a PR lens can feel like fine-tuning an instrument. It’s constant trial and error — you can overcorrect or undershoot, and then finally, you get it just right.
My advice to those just starting a career in tech PR is to be curious. The tech industry can be difficult to wrap your mind around at times, but if you approach each piece of content with the knowledge that there is a story, or at the very least something interesting, in there somewhere, you’ll find the experience to be enriching and engaging. If you look hard enough, you can find the human in the story even when the technology itself feels so black and white.
I am excited about the future and I look forward to expanding my perspectives on writing, storytelling, and human connection. I hope I never stop learning because if I do, that means I’ll have stopped improving. You never reach a point when your instrument is optimally tuned — you just have to keep tinkering with it.
