How to get your first PR internship, with an email you can copy

An application is stronger when it shows you can do the work and not only that you want the job. This guide covers where to look, what to send, and an email you can adapt. The names and details in the example are made up, so replace them with your own.

Where to look

Start with your university career office and the careers pages of agencies you would like to work for. Agencies post openings on their own careers pages, and some publish a careers email address, as ChangeMakers does on its contact page.

Student membership in a PR body can also help. PRSA has student chapters, and its student society is PRSSA. CPRS Toronto lists events for students to network with industry professionals, PRCA student membership lists member-only meetups, and CIPR has a membership level for students and interns. A name you already know can make an application email easier to start.

What to send

Send a one-page resume and one or two writing samples. A pitch or a press release works best, because it shows what the job involves. If you have no client work yet, write one for a campus club or a local business and say so. The annotated pitch shows what a clear one looks like.

Keep the email short enough to read on a phone. A short email is easier for the person hiring to read in full.

An email you can adapt

Subject: Summer internship application: Alex Rivera, Westfield University

"Hi Priya, I am a third-year PR major at Westfield University, and I am applying for your summer internship. Your team's launch plan for the Harbor Coffee rebrand in March is the kind of project I want to learn from. This spring I ran media outreach for our Sustainability Club's bike repair day. I wrote the pitch, sent it to 12 local reporters, and two outlets covered the event. I have attached that pitch and a press release I wrote for a course. I am available 20 hours a week from June 1. Could I send anything else, or call you this week? Thanks, Alex Rivera"

Why it works

The subject line names the role and the applicant, which makes the email easy to file and find. Alex's second sentence shows the agency's own work was looked at, and the third gives a result with numbers that Priya can check in the attachments. The email ends with one question she can answer in a sentence.

Follow up once

If you hear nothing in a week, send a two-line reply to your own email: you are still interested, and you can send anything else they need. Then stop. One follow-up is enough.

Build the samples before you apply

If your portfolio is thin, spend a week on it. Write a pitch and a press release for a made-up client or a real campus group, and run each draft through Writing Review before you save it. On the student page you can see how students use The PR Assistant to practice on client workflows, and the pricing page has the standard trial.