Like many recent graduates during the COVID-19 shutdown, it was difficult to know where to turn to jump-start my career. However, after graduating with a degree in public relations (PR), I came across Green Room’s Fellowship Program that was designed to expose recent graduates to the healthcare communications industry and provide hands-on experience in preparation for a potential full-time position. As a graduate of the program — I’ve been a full-time Assistant Account Executive (AAE) since March 2021 — I am eager to share my experience for those looking to land their first PR job out of college, or who are looking to transition to a new career path in healthcare PR.
- Exposure to Clients. As a Fellow, I built the foundation to prepare for the actual work I would be responsible for as a Green Room AAE, which was not something covered in my college classes. I gained exposure to different healthcare clients, from pharmaceuticals to biotech, consumer health and advocacy, where I learned client expectations, gained experience working in different disease states and developed communications materials with detailed instructions and feedback from project leads.
- Dedicated Onboarding Buddy. I was paired with an onboarding buddy who was also a recent Fellow-turned-employee. Having someone who had been in my position to share advice helped me learn how to be proactive in developing my skillsets and gave me the confidence to ask questions and jump into projects to learn as I go.
- Connected & Caring Culture. Green Room has a flexible work environment, with many employees working remotely and an office space available to those who wish to use it. While onboarding, I got to know my coworkers better because of the culture team’s efforts to keep employees connected. Through our coffee chat program, we can connect with colleagues who we may not work with every day and learn more about one another. The team also recognizes hard work through rewards like Starbucks and Dunkin gift card days. The culture team helped me feel connected to the company even in a remote environment.
- Collaborative Learning Environment. As an AAE, I became a core member of a team handling communications for a client in ophthalmology and began supporting internal and external projects from ideation to completion. In this role, I could see the entire process play out and learned valuable lessons on how to navigate media engagement, make strategic decisions about messaging and design and collaborate with the team to ensure items move at a consistent rate.
The skills I learned as a Fellow made for an easy transition to full-time and I would encourage others to explore our program. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about current fellowship opportunities at Green Room, please reach out to Linda@greenroompr.com or visit https://www.greenroompr.com/careers/.
