What do I wear? That was my biggest concern the night before
my first day of co-op at Cashman and Associates. For those of you who don’t
know, Cashman and Associates is a PR and event-planning firm in Philadelphia.
They deal with various clients ranging from the fashion industry to food and
beverage. Having already volunteered for the Philadelphia Collection Kickoff
party that Cashman organized a few weeks ago, I knew these women (and men) were
stylish and I really wanted to make a good impression on my first day. I
pick out a simple, yet cool and professional, outfit that I felt confident in.
As I walked to the subway the next morning, I was growing
more and more nervous. I’m not sure why, considering my best friend had worked
there over the summer and filled me in on all of the office expectations, and
was fully prepared for the fast pace world of PR. Yet, I wasn’t really sure
what to expect from the woman I report to, Michelle, and what type of work I
was going to be doing.
When I arrived, I was greeted by a very friendly Michelle,
which put me at ease right away. She told me where to sit and where I could put all
of my things, and told me Steven would fill me in on how everything worked in
the office. Steven had held a orientation in early September, which I attended,
where he explained most of the office details. Steven eventually came over and explained all of the work I was going to be doing: press clippings,
event listings, recaps, deliveries (if Michelle needed me to), etc. After a quick walk through with Michelle, I
went to work on press clippings for her clients. Press clippings are for the
client to see that Cashman is doing their job in getting these clients PR, basically
to show results. Press clippings are not hard, just tedious. Since it was my
first day, I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of press clippings and how
fast I was supposed to be getting them done. I had to do various clippings for multiple clients, plus the clippings Michelle was finding and sending to me. Now that I have been at Cashman
for a week, I think I got the hang of press clippings. I found out the hard
way that those are the easy part.
On Wednesday, Michelle sent Gabby, a fellow intern, and I
out to hand deliver invitations for an event that one of Michelle's clients were having. The locations of these places
ranged from the Mainline to South Philly. It took us four and a half hours driving all over Philadelphia to 15+ locations… We
were exhausted by the time we got back to Cashman. Since it was 5:00, we got to
leave for the day. Overall, I am excited to see what this co-op has in store
for me!
Emma
Emma
I was also so frazzled about what to wear my first day! It seemed like after the first few days things fell into place though. I was actually surprised at how casual a lot of my co-workers were, but I'm still not comfortable dressing as low-key as they do. That's crazy that you had to drive so many places during your first week of work, you're lucky you weren't alone, I would be so nervous! Sometimes I wish I was sent on more errands like this though, because my internships seem to keep me in the office or at a desk (or copy machine) most of the day.
ReplyDeleteI had to do press clippings my first day too! It's very nerve racking to be put right in the middle of everything. I was so afraid I'd make a mistake or that I couldn't do it. Luckily over the next few days it became very easy and I became more comfortable. I don't know how you drove all around Philly and not had a panic attack. I would have been freaking out and so anxious. Way to go for figuring it out and being calm in the situation! I love working for a PR company because it's fast paced and there's always something to do. I hope you enjoy it!
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