Tracking My Progress at APCO Worldwide

By Dean’s Intern Aaron Traub at APCO Worldwide

Two Days at APCO: “Welcome to your first day at APCO. Please follow me to the 11th floor conference room for orientation,” a Human Resources employee said to a group of interns sitting in a waiting room. I was very nervous on my first day at APCO Worldwide; this was an internship I have wanted for over two years, so I was eager to start orientation and get working. The interns and I were taken to the 11th floor conference room where they had folders with our names on them and leather notebook covers with the company’s name stitched on the front of the covers. We reviewed the company’s policies and went over training and office protocol then each intern was introduced to their intern coordinators and taken to their desks. By my second day at APCO I was off to work.

Two Weeks at APCO: Two weeks at APCO Worldwide felt like two months. Work was already piling up.  On my fourth day I was given two research tasks, two biographies on which to work and research for an RFP for a client in Europe. By the beginning of my second week I spoke to APCO employees in the New York and Raleigh offices while doing healthcare research for the APCO employee from Raleigh. I did research for some of APCO’s biggest clients and was thrilled at getting to do research on social media trends and competitors within the field. This not only taught me quick-paced research skills but gave me the ability to understand more about APCO’s clients and how it implements corporate social responsibility, B2B interactions and the type of information employees gather and use from our interactions with clients.

Two Months at APCO: I have learned a good amount within my two months at APCO. I learned how to draft an RFP, communicate with clients and senior associates over pressing matters, work in a fast-paced environment, the jargon of the office (EOD, EOW, decks), how to pull together news clippings and most importantly how to be a team leader and assist with other tasks. I had the opportunity to work on India clips and global solutions clips and learn about the political, social and economic aspects of India, China, St. Kitts & Nevis and Belgium. What I didn’t realize was that these clips contribute greatly to creating relations with clients.

Furthermore, a big chunk of what I did at APCO was tracking affiliate requests and potential new affiliates; this has been one of my favorite projects to work on as it allowed me to sit in on meetings and calls with senior consultants in APCO’s New York and Germany offices, learn about the work APCO employees do with clients and how they communicate to create opportunities. Tracking affiliates has also given me new research projects and opportunities to learn more about the work APCO does and how it mixes its work in with its core values.

I am grateful to be given the opportunity to intern with APCO through the Dean’s Internship program. It has been the highlight of my internship experiences in college and has helped direct my understanding of the work I hope to do after graduation.