Team Blog

v-Fluence Blog

01/14/2011

Posted by Isabel Pastrana.

It began with a single phone call. In August of 2010, I was in the middle of making a career change and soon to complete my masters in public relations. Wanting to gain more hands-on experience, I quickly began searching for an internship position that would offer me the ability to learn and work in the public relations field. When I was contacted via telephone by Erin Borrini, I had little knowledge of v-Fluence Interactive. She was very informative over the phone, and her description of v-Fluence piqued my interest in the company and everything it had to offer. After speaking with Erin, I decided this was where I wanted to complete my internship.

isabelle Wanting to be prepared for just about any task that the v-Fluence staff would assign me, I came prepared for my first day of my internship in flats. Little did I know, this would be an internship experience like no other. Instead of being summoned for routine coffee errands, I was introduced to Jason Meuntnich, a Senior Associate at v-Fluence who, as my performance lead, dedicated himself to helping me learn the vastness of all that is v-Fluence. With Jason's guidance, my understanding of and experience with the virtual side of public relations and marketing has grown significantly.

When I joined the v-Fluence team, I supported various Online Market Analysis projects for multiple companies within the pharmaceutical and food and agriculture industries. Here, I assisted in daily monitoring and helped collect, review and evaluate various pieces of news and social media content. In addition, I supported Jason in making recommendations for the client on how to respond and/or improve their online marketing and public relations efforts. This daily online market analysis work helped further refine previously acquired skills, such as writing and research analysis.

Professional development sessions were also a part of my regular schedule. These sessions were coordinated specifically for me, with other v-Fluence Interactive staff, and increased my knowledge in search engine optimization (SEO) tactics, Google analytics, website best practices and language analysis. In addition to gaining many necessary skills in online marketing and public relations, this part of the program gave me a taste of each aspect of the v-Fluence spectrum and the opportunity to meet and work with some amazing people.

In addition to my daily online market analysis responsibilities and my weekly professional development, I was assigned the task of completing two separate research projects during my internship. Both projects allowed me to work independently, gathering data for different clients on various subjects and online influencers.

v-Fluence Interactive never made me feel like I was a rookie working my way to the top or just a temporary face among many. Instead, the v-Fluence staff welcomed me with open arms, guiding me on my journey toward professional excellence and always being patient when the path was unclear. I am proud to be a part of v-Fluence, where you're not just a member of the staff, but a member of the family.

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