How To Become A Public Affairs Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is a public affairs internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

David Cunningham

The term public affair is used to describe an organization's relationship with its stakeholders. And stakeholders are individuals or groups with interest in the organization's affairs, such as politicians, customers, communities, and clients. The Public affairs intern will report to the project coordinator and primarily support the development and execution of public affairs campaigns on behalf of an organization's clients, as well as with office administration tasks and other duties as assigned.

The duties that you will perform in this capacity include researching and databasing as needed for all client projects. You'll also assist with planning and organizing events, and work with the social media coordinator to plan posts and other content. The intern may spend time developing basic graphic design materials for clients and firms to market products and services, and assist with office administration tasks.

As this is an internship opportunity, most candidates will likely be in the process of completing their bachelor's degree. Disciplines such as marketing and related are best suited for this internship. Although most internships provide next to nothing when it comes to compensation, this one is different. The average hourly salary for this position is $14.47. furthermore, if completed successfully, this can lead to a permanent position at the organization.

What's a day at work look like for a public affairs internship?

David Cunningham

Professor, University of Maryland

A day at work for a recent graduate will still be structured similarly to how it would be before the pandemic; however, the location of that work might just take place remotely. I predict a typical day for many of our recent graduates will include research, quantitative/statistical analysis, writing reports, and engaging in public affairs activities.

ScorePublic Affairs InternshipUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $31,924

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.59%

Asian 5.36%

Black or African American 10.42%

Hispanic or Latino 12.28%

Unknown 5.12%

White 66.23%

Gender

female 63.62%

male 36.38%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a public affairs internship

Explore public affairs internship education requirements

Most common public affairs internship degrees

Bachelor's

80.4 %

Master's

9.7 %

Associate

5.3 %

Start to develop specific public affairs internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Public Affairs	10.64%
Press Releases	10.17%
PowerPoint	7.56%
Public Policy	6.40%
Regulatory Submissions	4.58%

Complete relevant public affairs internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New public affairs interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a public affairs internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real public affairs internship resumes.

Research public affairs internship duties and responsibilities

Manage official MDA YouTube and Flickr channels.
Post daily email traffic alerts and manage Facebook content.
Manage alumni database, and communication with other departments and alumni.
Review BAMC IRB minutes for cross-filing to UT IRB.

Prepare your public affairs internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your public affairs internship resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a public affairs internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable public affairs internship resume templates

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