Getting your foot in the door at a top advertising or public relations firm is hard. “Students flock to these companies for jobs,” says Commerce Career Services Interim Assistant Director Sarah Isham. “Advertising and public relations firms don’t necessarily need to do heavy recruiting.” 

A concerted effort this year by Commerce Career Services and Marketing Area Coordinator Jack Lindgren to create new marketing externships gave 17 McIntire and University students a unique opportunity to work at a firm of their choice. The externship experience won kudos from both students and employers. “The response from employers about our students was tremendous,” Isham says. “Most, if not all, want to continue the program next year.”

While the buzz around Grounds is that McIntire students—and U.Va. students in general—do not have enough opportunities to interview with advertising and public relations firms, the new externship program and expanded marketing career trip to New York is opening doors, Isham explains.

Trying on a Career
Lindgren wanted students in his marketing promotions class to experience a typical day at a large advertising firm. Both he and Isham agreed on a strategy to ask firms for a one- to two-day opportunity for students to shadow an employee, rather than the traditional one-week externship.

“We know it’s a very big deal to ask someone if a student can shadow them, to work on projects, to ask questions,” says Isham. But asking for less time resulted in more externships. Eleven students in the fall and six in the spring got a chance to live a day or two in the life of an account manager, media buyer, or account planner.

“Externing in the advertising industry provides an invaluable experience seeing just how an agency operates,” says McCann-Erickson Assistant Account Manager Debbie Beisswanger (McIntire ’02). “It helps the student grasp how the various departments—account management, media, creative, planning—operate together to provide service to the client.” 

That inside look was just what fourth-year McIntire student Kristin “Krissie” Morris gained from her externship at Deutsch Inc. in New York City. “It was an amazing experience,” she says. “I got to see firsthand what all the departments at the agency do—something you can’t really learn from the classroom. All the advertising agencies I interviewed with this spring for a full-time position next year have been impressed with my knowledge of how an advertising agency actually runs.” 

“A Great Way to Network”
This year’s student trip to visit New York advertising and public relations firms was the largest ever, Isham says.

“We were also able, through the successful externship program, to gain a few additional contacts for the trip,” she added. “We had 33 students participate, including seven from the College, so it was not only McIntire students. It was great to have a mix of students with a variety of interests and backgrounds. A second group of 29 students interested in investment banking also made the trip to New York banking firms.”

Jessica Karr, a third-year McIntire student, was able to get an inside look at several advertising agencies and a postproduction house. “We learned about different ad agencies methodologies and asked questions,” Karr says. “I made numerous contacts, which will help me in my internship search.”

“Since our trip, we have several students who have interviewed at agencies based on their participation in the trip, which is very exciting,” says Isham. 

The New York trip also featured an alumni networking event, called the Advertising Exchange. “The alumni event was a great way to network with alums and get advice from people who were once in our shoes looking for internships,” says third-year McIntire student Stephanie Santoso. “After the trip, I knew for certain that I wanted to work in advertising.” 

Stellar Students
Isham credits Lindgren for creating the new internship opportunities and increasing the marketing recruitment possibilities for students, but she also gives students kudos for being proactive and successfully selling themselves.

One such student is fourth-year McIntire student Leah Kim, who recently was selected as one of the American Advertising Federation’s 25 Most Promising Minority Students and featured in the Feb. 10, 2003, issue of Advertising Age. “I am honored to be one of this year’s finalists, and I’m excited about the new relationships and opportunities that opened up because of this award,” Kim says.

“Employers tell me, ‘Your students are phenomenal,’” says Isham. “Ogilvy & Mather’s recruiter, who came to recruit for full-time positions, has been extremely impressed with our students. Both Ogilvy & Mather and Lowe & Partners Worldwide, firms that have never recruited here before, are now coming to recruit. And I just received a letter from another ad agency, BBDO, which has a large scholarship and internship program, and they requested that our students apply.”

Santoso is looking forward to her summer internship in New York with McCann-Erickson. “Their work is some of the most creative and successful stuff out there,” she says. “I’m going to be working in media, which is the aspect of advertising that particularly interests me, so the position is a perfect fit!” 

“The opportunities keep growing,” says Isham. “It’s exciting to hear students say, ‘I can’t believe all these opportunities.’” Although she doesn’t say so herself, it’s plain that Isham deserves credit as well.