Three Lessons Learned: My Internship at Dala Communications

This fall, I had the opportunity to intern with Dala Communications. During my time with the team, I collected more skills and real-world experience than I could have imagined. I also learned three lessons that I plan to take with me to my future endeavors.

1.       Detail! Detail! Detail!

Paying attention to detail will propel you ahead as an intern. Taking the time to review your work and catch mistakes is crucial. It is always better to take your time and put forward your best work. Sometimes I found it helpful to come back the next day with fresh eyes to work on my edits. It allowed me to refocus on my writing and catch the details that I may have missed in the first round of editing. I found this especially helpful when writing press releases because a lot of information is packed into them.

2.       Ask Questions

Never be afraid to ask questions. It demonstrates that you are paying attention and want to do the best job possible. While writing about new industries, I asked lots of questions about our clients. It is incredibly difficult to complete a project if you are confused about the logistics and terminology of an industry. Asking a question and getting clarification allowed me to be more confident in my work.

3.       Be Prepared

It’s so important to be prepared; always having a notebook helped me stay on top of things. A notebook allows you to jot down important information to help you later, brainstorm ideas, and create lists. Taking notes in meetings was helpful for remembering details that I needed later for projects. Being prepared shows initiative. It’s a must.

I have truly enjoyed my time here. I now notice client news in the media and pay more attention to the news overall than I ever did before. This internship has taught me so much. I grew so much personally, and I am forever grateful to the entire team for making my time here an incredibly positive experience.

This blog post was written by Abba Yaney, a junior at SMU and fall 2019 intern at Dala Communications. Connect with Abba on LinkedIn.