Intern Pr Communications Chicago Only

Intern, PR & Communications (Chicago Only) at Praytell — Research Report

Introduction

The Intern, PR & Communications (Chicago Only) role at Praytell is the kind of internship that can accelerate a young communicator’s career fast, especially if you want exposure to real client work instead of shadowing from the sidelines. A strong Praytell internship can sharpen your writing, media strategy, and account coordination skills while giving you a clearer picture of how modern public relations agencies actually operate.

For this posting, the internship/job period is listed with Deadline: Not mentioned, which usually means candidates should apply as soon as possible and not wait for a formal closing date. If you are trying to learn how to get hired at Praytell, this role is especially useful because it sits at the intersection of media relations, brand storytelling, and day-to-day client support.

Overview of Praytell

Praytell is a creative communications agency that blends public relations, social strategy, influencer work, content, and integrated campaigns. In practical terms, that means the company does not operate like a traditional press-office-only PR firm; it focuses on building stories that travel across media, social channels, and digital platforms.

In the agency market, Praytell competes with other modern communications shops that position themselves as strategic and culturally fluent rather than purely media-led. Its niche is the ability to connect brand message, earned media, and audience relevance, which is attractive to companies that want campaigns to feel current and human rather than overly corporate.

The firm’s services typically include brand communications, media relations, crisis support, thought leadership, influencer strategy, content development, and integrated campaign planning. For clients, that creates a one-stop communications partner; for employees, it creates a fast-paced environment where writing, judgment, and responsiveness matter every day.

People are drawn to Praytell because agency work there tends to offer a close look at campaign development and client service, not just administrative support. A candidate in Chicago is likely to value the city’s strong media, consumer, food, beverage, and lifestyle ecosystem, which makes the internship especially relevant for communications students who want real market exposure.

Praytell also has the kind of reputation that appeals to ambitious early-career candidates: creative enough to be interesting, structured enough to teach process, and client-facing enough to build marketable skills. That combination makes the role attractive for students who want a resume line that signals both polish and hustle.

Intern Role

Role Overview

The Intern, PR & Communications (Chicago Only) supports account teams with the day-to-day work that keeps campaigns moving. That usually includes media monitoring, research, list building, draft support, status tracking, and helping coordinate deliverables across teams.

In a strong internship like this, your work directly affects how efficiently the team operates and how polished the client experience feels. Even as an intern, you may contribute to pitches, coverage tracking, event prep, and copy review, which means the role can have real business impact rather than being purely observational.

Detailed Responsibilities

• Monitor media coverage and compile daily or weekly recaps.
• Build and maintain media lists with accurate outlet and journalist details.
• Draft outreach support materials such as pitch angles, backgrounders, and briefing docs.
• Assist with press release formatting, proofreading, and fact-checking.
• Track client deliverables, deadlines, and follow-up items in project systems.
• Help prepare materials for events, interviews, announcements, and media opportunities.
• Support social and communications research, including audience and competitor scanning.
• Organize spreadsheets, coverage reports, and status updates for account teams.
• Attend team meetings and capture action items for follow-through.

Day-to-Day Workflow

A typical day usually starts with checking email, reviewing client updates, and scanning media for relevant coverage. From there, the intern may spend time updating trackers, pulling research for a pitch, refining a media list, or formatting a draft for review.

Afternoons often bring meeting-heavy coordination: team standups, check-ins with account leads, or last-minute changes tied to client timing. The best interns are not just fast; they are organized enough to keep multiple moving parts straight without letting details slip.

Because PR work is responsive by nature, the workflow can shift quickly when a journalist replies, a client requests edits, or a campaign deadline moves up. That makes this role especially useful for learning how communications teams operate under pressure while still protecting quality.

Tools and Technologies

Praytell interns in PR and communications typically work with tools that help manage media, tracking, and collaboration. The exact stack can vary by team, but candidates should be comfortable learning agency-standard platforms quickly.

• Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets for trackers and lists
• Google Docs and Slides for drafting and presentations
• Slack for internal communication
• Asana, Monday.com, or similar project management tools
• Media monitoring platforms such as Cision, Muck Rack, or similar tools
• Basic social listening and web research tools

Skills and Requirements

Technical Skills

For this role, the most important technical skills are writing, editing, research, and media literacy. Candidates should know how to write clearly in a brand voice, summarize information accurately, and turn scattered notes into usable communications materials.

It also helps to understand the basics of earned media: how journalists work, what makes a pitch relevant, and why timing matters. Familiarity with public relations reporting, media lists, coverage summaries, and content organization can make a candidate immediately more useful.

Soft Skills

Praytell is likely looking for interns who are proactive, reliable, and pleasant to work with under deadline pressure. In agency environments, small details matter, but so does attitude, because the intern often becomes the person everyone trusts to handle the tasks nobody wants to redo.

• Strong written and verbal communication
• Attention to detail
• Time management and prioritization
• Curiosity about media and culture
• Teamwork and responsiveness
• Comfort with feedback and revision

Experience Expectations

Most candidates for a communications internship like this are students or recent graduates in public relations, communications, journalism, marketing, English, or a related field. A strong portfolio, writing samples, class projects, or campus media experience can matter more than a perfect GPA.

Internships in PR often reward evidence of initiative, so a candidate who has managed a student publication, supported a campus event, or written for a brand account will usually feel more credible than someone with only coursework. If your experience is lighter, present it through outcomes: what you wrote, who used it, and what improved because of your work.

Salary and Benefits

For a Chicago-based PR and communications internship, a realistic market range is often around $18 to $25 per hour, with the higher end more likely at competitive agencies or for candidates with prior relevant experience. If the role is unpaid, that would be less attractive in the current market, since many communications internships now benchmark against paid opportunities.

Common perks in an agency internship may include hybrid flexibility, mentorship from account teams, networking exposure, and direct feedback on writing and client work. Some firms also offer transit support, wellness perks, or professional development access, though these vary by company and team budget.

In stronger internship programs, high-performing interns may be considered for future contract, junior, or full-time openings. That conversion path is often one of the biggest reasons students pursue an internship at an agency like Praytell: it can become a launch point into account coordination, junior account work, or communications support roles.

Hiring Process

Step-by-Step Stages

1. Application submission with resume and any required writing samples or portfolio links.
2. Initial recruiter or coordinator screening to confirm fit, interest, and availability.
3. Assignment or work sample, often focused on writing, pitching, or research.
4. Interviews with team members, account leads, or hiring managers.
5. Offer, references, and onboarding details for the selected candidate.

Application Timeline

Because the deadline is not mentioned, the safest strategy is to apply early rather than wait for a closing date. Internship reviews in PR can move quickly, and strong candidates often hear back within one to three weeks of applying, though timelines vary based on team capacity and hiring volume.

In many agency searches, applications are screened continuously, which means the first qualified pool often gets the most attention. If you are serious about this Praytell internship, submitting a polished application early is a practical advantage.

Screening Methods

Screening usually begins with the resume and any writing samples, which are often judged for clarity, professionalism, and relevance. Recruiters may also look for keyword alignment around communications, media relations, PR, content, research, and project coordination.

If there is an assignment, it will likely test how you think, not just how you write. Expect prompts that assess judgment, organization, audience awareness, and whether you can produce clean work under a deadline.

Interview Preparation

Example Questions

• Why are you interested in PR and communications at Praytell specifically?
• How would you prioritize multiple urgent requests from different team members?
• Tell us about a time you wrote or edited something for a specific audience.
• How do you research journalists or outlets before pitching?

How to Answer

Use the STAR method: situation, task, action, and result. For this role, keep your answers concrete and communication-focused, showing exactly what you did and how it helped the team or project.

When answering writing questions, explain your process, not just the final product. Interviewers want to know how you think about tone, accuracy, audience fit, and revisions, because those are the habits that matter in daily agency work.

What Recruiters Evaluate

Recruiters usually look for polished communication, genuine interest in PR, comfort with feedback, and evidence that you can handle detail-heavy work. They also want to see whether you understand the pace of agency life and whether you can stay organized without constant supervision.

For a Chicago-focused role, they may also value familiarity with the local media and business landscape. A candidate who can speak intelligently about Chicago outlets, industries, or cultural trends tends to sound more ready from day one.

Get Selected

Practical Tips

• Tailor your resume to communications, writing, research, and coordination work.
• Include at least one writing sample that shows clean structure and good judgment.
• Quantify your experience where possible, even in school or club settings.
• Use language that matches the role: media, coverage, pitch, content, and reporting.
• Proofread everything twice, because PR hiring teams notice sloppiness immediately.

Common Mistakes

Many candidates get screened out because their materials are too generic. If your application could fit any internship at any agency, it is not specific enough for Praytell.

Other common mistakes include weak writing samples, vague experience descriptions, and failing to show any understanding of the company’s client-facing work. Another fast way to lose credibility is sending materials with typos, inconsistent formatting, or overly casual language.

How to Stand Out

The strongest candidates show that they already think like junior communicators. That means they can discuss media relevance, explain why a story angle works, and present work in a way that feels neat, strategic, and client-ready.

• Build a small portfolio with one press release, one pitch sample, and one coverage recap.
• Reference a real Praytell campaign or client type in your cover letter.
• Connect with current employees or alumni for insight before interviewing.
• Demonstrate local awareness of Chicago media and culture.
• Show that you can move between creative writing and administrative precision.

Final Thoughts

The Intern, PR & Communications (Chicago Only) role at Praytell is a strong fit for candidates who want more than a line on their resume. It offers a practical path into public relations, agency operations, and brand communications while building skills that employers consistently value: writing, organization, media judgment, and responsiveness.

If your goal is to learn how to get hired at Praytell, focus on showing real communication instincts, not just enthusiasm. Apply with polished materials, tailor your story to the role, and make it obvious that you can contribute from the first week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Salary for this role?

The realistic pay range for a Chicago PR and communications internship is typically around $18 to $25 per hour, depending on the company’s budget, the candidate’s experience, and whether the role is paid or stipend-based.

Hiring competitiveness?

It is likely competitive because communications internships attract many applicants and agency roles tend to reward both polish and potential. Candidates who bring strong writing samples, relevant experience, and a tailored application usually have the best odds.

Most important skills?

The most important skills are writing, editing, research, organization, and professional communication. A strong intern also shows curiosity, responsiveness, and the ability to handle feedback quickly and well.