A Wealth of Knowledge Gained Through an Internship at a PR Agency in Jakarta

I can’t believe it’s been almost three months since I started my internship at Media Buffet PR, a PR agency in Jakarta. Let me start by sharing the story of how I first applied to be an intern here—it’ll be fun, haha. As a senior, I really wanted to intern at an agency, especially after learning about Media Buffet PR’s culture. Not only was I curious about how the consultants handle so many clients, but I also wanted to find a company that matched my work style.

As it happened, in the previous semester I’d already had experience working at several types of companies, but never at an agency. So I applied, and thank God I got accepted—thanks to Media Buffet PR’s tips for landing an internship.

Over the past three months, there’s definitely been so much I’ve learned. What exactly? Keep reading below to find out!

Lessons Learned from an Internship at a PR Agency in Jakarta

PR Writing

First and foremost, of course, is PR writing, since I held the position of PR intern. Although I’d already learned a lot in college, I still felt I lacked practical experience in PR writing. During my internship at Media Buffet PR, one of the consultants challenged me to write a press release. At first, the press release I wrote had a lot of flaws, ranging from errors in the writing perspective to a writing style that was too stiff. Fortunately, the consultants at Media Buffet were patient in teaching me. They helped me cross-check the press releases I’d written to see if there were any remaining errors, gave me tips on good writing practices, and repeatedly reminded me whenever I made the same mistakes. I’ve noticed a real improvement in my PR writing skills since joining Media Buffet. I’m so happy!

Staying Up to Date

One essential quality for a PR professional is staying up to date. PR students are surely well aware of this requirement. From the very beginning of my internship, I was assigned to work on daily news updates. These daily news updates are summaries of news about clients and competitors that are sent to clients on a daily basis. Since the client I handle is iQiyi Indonesia, I’ve stayed up to date on dramas, movies, and anime. Even if I haven’t watched a particular movie, I can still hold a conversation with anyone because I’ve picked up at least some knowledge about the movies being discussed from media coverage.

Oh, and every Monday, the Media Buffet PR team also holds a discussion about the topics that have been trending over the past week. This discussion is led by our CEO, Bima. After hearing a brief explanation of the trending topics, the team relates them to the PR and digital marketing industries. During this one-hour session, I gain a lot of valuable insights from Bima, as well as from our consultants and associates.

Media Relations

In the second month of my internship, I was given the responsibility to practice media relations. Coincidentally, at that time, iQiyi Indonesia was holding a Mandarin language learning program and had invited media representatives. My tasks were fairly straightforward: contacting journalists and reporters, confirming their attendance before classes began, and sending out certificates of completion after all sessions had ended. Although it seemed simple, I actually practiced effective communication—especially through text and writing.

In addition, I also helped out when iQiyi wanted to distribute merchandise to reporters who had assisted with publishing iQiyi content. From packing the merchandise and shipping it to entering data on the items that had been sent, I worked alongside the consultants and associates in charge of iQiyi. It was a blast!

There were so many other things I learned during my internship at Media Buffet. I’m confident that all these lessons will help me become an impactful and professional PR specialist. Bottom line: these past three months were totally worth it! 🙂

Written by Debora Septenia, Public Relations Intern at Media Buffet PR