Meet a now San Francisco PR girl, Andi Teggart. She recently graduated from Ohio University with a degree in public relations  journalism and a minor in retail merchandising and fashion product development. She relocated to San Francisco work in the digital realm at Edelman, responsible for clients’ social media and community engagement.    In her spare time, she enjoys shopping (a bit of an addiction), swimming, exploring new places and meeting new people, writing on her blog Polish My Crown, visiting art museums, catching up on fashion industry news and in general and soaking up her environment which is now the beautiful Bay Area of California.

How did you get started in public relations and what attracted you to the industry?

My first official PR internship was in the summer of 2009 when I moved to Washington DC to intern for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I think non-profit PR internships often get a bad reputation for not being “real-world experience” and I feel the exact opposite! I would not be where I am today without this internship. I was given so much responsibility and really developed my PR skills at this time.

Throughout college, I interned at a PR agency in Columbus, Ohio working for retail-based clients and I definitely enjoyed the fast-pace environment. This internship gave me the “meaty” PR experience – developing media lists, using media monitoring software and doing lots of digital work. I also completed a virtual internship with Intern Queen, Inc. last summer where I again could build and strengthen my digital skills running social media sites and reaching out to people in the online world.

This past winter, I moved to NYC to intern at Marie Claire and although it wasn’t a “PR internship” I definitely was able to grasp not only the fashion industry, but the work fashion publicists do on a daily basis. I would often be running to fashion houses and PR firms to pick up clothes and saw what crazy, chaotic work environments people have! It was a very eye-opening and rewarding experience.

What are the differences between working in NYC vs. SF?

I had never been to the West Coast until my move to SF! In NYC, everything is fast-paced and everyone is ALWAYS working, where as in SF, it seems a little more balanced. In terms of the fashion culture, NYC is very cutting-edge and up-to-date with trends and so are people in SF, but on a downplayed level. In terms of public relations, if you want to work in the fashion PR industry, NYC is hands-down the place to be. San Francisco is a tech-dominated city and many PR jobs are centered on tech clients. Facebook, Groupon, Living Social, Myspace, Twitter – all based in the Bay Area.

What is your favorite part of working in the digital practice?

Not writing press releases anymore! I’m half kidding. I really enjoy the digital practice because it’s only growing. I feel very limitless with my job and with the way social media works, we have so many opportunities to reach potential customers and consumers. The industry is very up-and-coming and every day new practices are taking place on different websites. I also enjoy the communication process working in the digital practice. Working on the digital side of PR, my job is to reach consumers and wrote messages for consumers, rather than investors or the media. It’s right up my alley!

What is the best PR advice you ever received?

I took a class my sophomore year class and I’ll never forget what the professor said to the class: Good writing is clear thinking made visible. Although PR is an industry dominated by relationships and “people skills”, when it comes down to it – you need to know how to write. Whether you are writing press releases or Facebook statuses, it’s absolutely vital to be able to clearly and concisely get your message across to the targeted audience.

Any advice for those looking to get into PR?

Connect with others! Get on social media sites and start building an online presence for yourself. Network – and I don’t mean bombard people to give you a job – but truly ask them for advice and feedback. Stay up-to-date on trends in the public relations industry. Don’t act like you know everything about the industry or pretend to be “an expert” because each and every one of us can be growing and learning and getting better at our jobs every day.

If you haven’t interned in the PR industry, I would highly recommend interning – whether it’s at an agency, for a non-profit or for one company. The most important thing is to stay true to who you are and don’t lose sight of that when you are looking for a job in the industry. Good luck! And of course, feel free to contact me with any questions or feedback.

You can connect with Andi on Twitter @LuckyAndi and LinkedIn plus read her blog Polish My Crown.