I first moved to Asia a decade ago. Those days, when people in the public relations business referred to ‘global multinationals,’ it was almost always in reference to Western companies communicating from the outside into Asia.

All of this is changing, and changing very fast: large numbers of rising Asian multinationals are starting to communicate on a truly global basis as never before, and even the reluctant Japanese companies – faced with a dire, declining domestic marketplace – see the urgent need to aggressively invest in international PR.

Based on the statistics, we shouldn’t be too surprised. According to a new Forbes list published last year, a whopping 34% of the world’s top 2,000 companies are now based in Asia.

Maybe most of these 689 companies are generally unknown around the world. But often for imitative reasons following what the old Western multinationals have done before them, these new Asian multinationals increasingly believe that communications can help them build profile and secure competitive advantage. Thus many are asking themselves: “What is PR and how can we use it to help achieve our commercial objectives overseas?” Given the enormous potential that this market represents, the opportunities for the PR industry are compelling and we in the agency business had better be ready to provide some convincing answers.

I can tell you right now that while this next-generation multinational communications market is going through the roof and will be substantial, capitalizing on this trend is without a doubt among the toughest challenges in PR consulting.

Those lacking patience and perseverance need not apply for this kind of work. Quite a few of these ascendant multinationals are complete newcomers to modern marketing, and so convincing them to conduct pioneering PR campaigns can be a daunting proposition to say the least.

Cultivating relationships carefully, understanding the cultural elements in play, starting slowly with a few often underfunded projects to build confidence, and checking arrogant attitudes at the door are all prerequisites to success.

Keeping in mind that inside many an Asian corporation saving ‘face’ can be much more important than Facebook, social media represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

On the one hand, it can be difficult to persuade conservative executives accustomed to exercising the prerogative of top-down control that nowadays the credibility of communication comes from peer-to-peer conversation with people who expect to be heard. But on the other hand, because digital is by definition about data, now we can furnish the tangibility of numbers and proof of PR’s power to make the abstract elements of communications more understood in a clear way that commands greater budgetary resources.

Dynamic talent combinations agency-side are key; that means world calibre foreigners with face-to-face relationship interface in the Asian headquarters cities, working in tandem with senior Asians posted in key Western markets. In the past, it’s just been the former, but now the latter is de rigueur for firms serious about surfing the next wave of commercial opportunity in the world of PR.

This is a picture of me and my colleague Margaret Key with my good friend and former client Michael Choo of Kia Motors Corporation. Back in 2002 when I lived in Seoul, Kia become the first rising Asian multinational I counseled on international communications. It was among the toughest and most satisfying assignments of my public relations career.

Opinions about interns are about as many and diverse as the sweaty-palmed young-guns who clamour for available positions. As far as I have read, however, most of those opinions come from the top. From the decision makers who hire the interns.

I’m not one of those guys. I’m the intern. Well, former intern actually. Over the past 13 weeks, I have worked in Burson-Marsteller’s Sydney office. I’ll begin by saying my experience was exemplary: challenging, enriching, filled with teachable moments and opportunities to take initiative and flex my PR muscles. I received mentorship, respect and the trust from an impressive batch of PR pros.

Not all interns are so lucky.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about interns and internships. I’ve made a number of observations.

I suspect that everyone reading this has had a horrible intern experience. I empathize. Under-performers are out there. I also appreciate that interns represent a significant investment in your organization’s time, money, resources and sometimes, patience. I further understand that you don’t have the budget to pay them as much as they would like; or the time to hold their hands through every challenge.

I get it. There are a lot of dynamics around hiring us.

Employers are thinking about interns.

I can also tell you from my own experience that interns are thinking about their employers. Just as you consider whether you would hire us, we consider whether we would say yes.

So what does the intern really think about your company?

1. Your intern has something to contribute, value to add, ideas to table.

I leapt at every opportunity to sit in on a brainstorm, strategy session, or client briefing. I listened to my colleagues’ client challenges and sent them articles that I thought would be of interest. I shared what I knew about SEO with the team when a new website was launched.

And a funny thing happened. I saw those brainstorm ideas, strategic insights, questions, observations, blog URLs and pointers trickling into client briefs, pitches, action plans and search results.

My colleagues trusted me with sitting in. They took a calculated risk by introducing me to the client.  Their trust was repaid with a fresh perspective and stuff they could use.

When interns are given the time and space to shine, they are more likely to do so. Going into my internship, I knew that I would have to build media lists and make photocopies.  I hoped it wasn’t all I would be asked to do. It wasn’t. My colleagues recognized that I had more to add than just warming a seat and filing. That recognition got the best out of me.

2. Your intern doesn’t expect a lot.

Your intern doesn’t (or perhaps shouldn’t) expect a gold star for every error-free keystroke. Your intern doesn’t (or shouldn’t) expect to be invited to every single meeting and high-level business strategy session.

Your intern doesn’t (or shouldn’t) expect the world from you; however there are a couple of things that are reasonable for the intern to expect:

To receive mentorship, guidance, direction, feedback. We are here to learn. Please give us that opportunity. We are hungry for knowledge, interested in new experiences and eager to meet new challenges.  If we’re not being trained, briefed, or mentored, then how can you as an employer ever hope to get the best out of us?

To feel like a part of the team.  We are around only for a short time, but we still want to feel involved. Employees may tend to view this transience as an excuse not to get to know the new face. Why both getting to know the intern when they’re going to be out the door in a few weeks time anyway? Employers will get more out of interns who are welcomed, valued, and respected. Encourage your employees to invite the intern out for lunch and out for drinks. Include them in relevant meetings and email threads.

To have a chance to prove himself or herself. We want to excel. We want to show you our best work. We want to impress you. As hard as we try, we can’t wow you with our photocopying and data entry skills. When my employer issued a professional challenge, I jumped to meet it. I was motivated. I was dedicated. I was enthusiastic. And I learned. A lot. I surprised my colleagues with my capabilities when I had the room to explore them. I surprised myself as well.

3. Your intern is making an investment in you and your company.

When a company hires an intern, it makes a significant commitment of resources: Training and onboarding, staff time, desk space, supplies, a stipend. Staff may be hesitant to hand over their precious client relationships or delicate client work. It’s an investment of time, energy and trust.

When an intern joins a company, he or she also takes a risk and makes an investment. Often it yields dividends, but it’s not always an easy step to take. Going into debt to cover rent while working for free is not appealing. That is an investment in a company.

There are a lot of busy consultancies out. Extremely busy. Budgets are tight, but boy wouldn’t it be nice to have another set of hands to help out? Cue the intern!  There are a lot of workplaces seeking interns. Why should an intern choose yours?

4. Your intern believes his or her time is worth something.

I realize that I am walking into a minefield. I have read and heard various strong opinions about the matter of paying interns: I’ve been warned.

I am going to just say it: Interns should be paid. With money.

It doesn’t have to be much.  We’re not doing it for the money. We want the experience. We want to prove ourselves. We want to build our networks and portfolios. We also want to eat more than Raman noodles and ketchup packets.

I understand the arguments opposed to paying interns. I don’t buy them. Yes, we get experience and access to tremendous opportunities; but you also get access to new ideas and fresh perspectives. Sometimes you get a dud, and your incredible mentorship and training program is wasted; but other times, you get an absolute star.  A modest wage or stipend may be the only thing standing between you and the market’s top young talent.  HR theory tells us if you invest the time in the recruitment process, you will see a return.

5. Your intern will talk about your company’s brand to his or her intern friends.

Eighty-two people graduated in my PR post-graduate class.  As a group, we experienced about 75 workplaces on our internships.  Some experiences were horrible. I’ve heard about them.  Some were incredible. I know about those ones too.

If someone in this network tells me they were treated like crap on their internship, I will think long and hard before I apply for or accept a job with that organization. How a company treats its interns indicates, to me, how it will treat its new hires.

The thing about mistreated interns is that they don’t stay interns forever. They become competitors, stakeholders and decision makers. First impressions count for a lot.

The question is: how many bad first impressions can your brand withstand before it has a full-fledged bad reputation among young talent? Do you want your reputation to drive top people to your competitors?

Internships add value to the workplace experience. The mutually-beneficial arrangement offers new graduates opportunities to learn, grow their skills and apply their knowledge, while (hopefully) providing companies with inexpensive, driven and intelligent keeners who help get the job done.

My own internship experience was invaluable. It affirmed my career choice. It empowered my professional growth. It positioned me for entry into the workforce.

I think my company did a pretty good job.

Zack Sandor-Kerr is a public relations practitioner from Toronto, Canada. He has spent the last 13 weeks as in intern at Burson-Marsteller in Sydney. He returns from his travels in March, where he will begin his job search. Zack blogs on Pizza Friday.

Guest post by Christine Jones

Women are in the headlines a lot these days. The release of Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar a few days ago marked another remarkable step in the journey of this inspirational yet humble woman. Last month, there was the canonisation of Mary McKillop, Australia’s first saint – again, a woman driven to help others in her quiet, self-assured but determined way. Less humbly, but by no means with less determination, we see women in politics – Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female prime minister; Hillary Rodham Clinton, US secretary of state who recently visited our region; Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany – also the country’s first female leader; and even Sarah Palin, who looks like having another go at the White House.  Then there’s women in business – Gail Kelly, the CEO of Westpac Bank in Australia; Wei Sun Christianson, CEO of Morgan Stanley in China – who has prevailed in what is still considered a man’s world; and Oprah Winfrey – due to touch down in Australia next month, whose name and show can literally turn any business or person into an instant, multimillion dollar success.

So what do these women have in common? And more to the point, what does that have to do with me and the thousands of other ordinary women like me, working just as hard every day?

You see, I believe there are three things these women have in common and all women need to achieve success. It’s not a gender target – although I don’t mind the Australian Government letting businesses know it’s time to get serious about creating an even playing field. It’s not necessarily a good education – though it obviously helps; or good luck, which can clearly play a part for some, but not all people.

No, the three things that any one of us need are ability, self-belief and opportunity.

Ability is not necessarily defined by education, but by knowing yourself and identifying a skill you have – be that a connection with others, creativity, great writing skills or business acumen.

Then, you have to have the self-belief to act upon this skill and use to it to go further than where you are now. This requires inner strength so you are not defeated when faced with the setbacks you will inevitably encounter on your journey to your future.

And lastly, you need opportunity. If this does not exist, then you must seek or create it. Take Aung San Suu Kyi. She has spent the last seven years under house arrest with seemingly little chance of keeping her dream for democracy going. Yet, here she is, free again, with just as much support as she had all those years ago, despite her situation.

So, in your current role – whatever and where ever that is – at university, in an agency, corporate or Government department, you must ask yourself three questions and answer them with brutal honesty. What am I really good at? What does my ideal job look like? And, does this company offer me the opportunity to become the best I can be?

That’s what I like about Burson-Marsteller and what drew me back to the firm from a senior, global in-house role at the headquarters of a large pharmaceutical company.

When people think about B-M, they probably think about Harold Burson as the elder statesman of the PR industry.  I bet they don’t know that B-M in Asia-Pacific employs more women in senior roles that just about any PR agency I know. In every country on the Asian mainland where B-M has an office, its market leader is a local woman. Beyond that, there are women at every level of management – in business development, finance and marketing.

Now, you might say I am biased because I work here. But facts are facts. All I am saying is, you need to make sure you are in a place where you can genuinely use your best skills and create and seize opportunities. It’s not all you need, but it is a vital ingredient.

Christine Jones is regional managing director at Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific and is based in Australia. She has 25 years of experience working in communications roles in Australia, Asia, Europe and UK. She is married with two children aged 10 and 9 and loves the beach, exercise and hanging out with her family and friends. If you have a question about your career in communications you can email Chrissy on christine.jones@bm.com

On August 31^st 1985, China Global Public Relations opened its doors for business in Beijing. This event marked the entry of Burson-Marsteller into the Greater China market through its joint venture with Xinhua News Agency. This predecessor entity lasted eight years, after which Burson-Marsteller opened offices under the B-M brand in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Harold Burson once commented that his visit to China in 1986 was among his most memorable, but in those days it must have been difficult to foresee just how far and how fast Burson-Marsteller’s relationship with China would progress. Today, as B-M China celebrates its 25^th anniversary, we can look back on a quarter century of achievement during which time our China business has expanded to four offices with more than 150 professionals serving the growing needs of an expanding community of clients (foreign multinationals communicating with China, and Chinese multinationals communicating around the world).

It’s an understatement to say that the Chinese market is an important one for Burson-Marsteller both in Asia-Pacific and globally. Yes, it is important on account of the sheer size of its domestic market and strategic value to our clients. But its significance transcends the financial quantity of imported PR investment from overseas. When I think of B-M in China, I think in terms of the rising quality imperative, with excellent prospects for the expanding export of Chinese ideas, talent and client commerce to the rest of the world.

Under the leadership of Cindy Tian and her rising team, Burson-Marsteller China has continued to set the standard as a premier strategic communications consultancy. Our China business has client relationships stretching back for years with some of the firm’s flagship global clients. We have done groundbreaking client work in the digital, technology, industrial, brand marketing and corporate spaces and are now rapidly growing our business in the energy sector, among others. When I first visited B-M China earlier this year, I was immediately impressed by the sense of enthusiasm, professionalism and commitment to client service that characterize our offices around the country.

As Burson-Marsteller China celebrates its landmark history today, our Global CEO Mark Penn could not be stronger in his staunch support of building a successful China business for the future, so please join us in congratulating B-M China on 25 great years of business achievement, with best wishes for many years of continued prosperity to come.

Check out B-M Seoul’s new ‘Intern-Speak’ blog, the first of its kind in Korea. I like it because the idea is to engage the rising next generation of PR talent, listening to what they have to say and providing a place where colleagues can build peer-to-peer relationships with each other.

I just don’t accept that junior turnover is an insoluble problem for PR agencies. Sometimes I see this depressing tendency for senior managers to throw up their hands and assume high staff churn will always be with us, so why bother doing things differently?

Such wrong-headed thinking results in attitudes where entry-level staff can feel like they are an anonymous labour commodity expected to fail, rather than as a precious community of individuals supported to succeed.

Just about every PR firm’s offices are brimming with young digital talent. When they see their firm using modern platforms and techniques, I hope they will see a future in the consultancy business and be empowered to proactively advocate the digital approaches senior people in the profession need to personally master.

Let’s face it: there is a generation gap in pretty much every PR firm (crudely between the older ‘analogues’ and the younger ‘digitals’), and this makes staff retention more difficult. PR business leaders of high caliber and true character should confront that reality as a motivating challenge to overcome, not as a necessary evil to accept as a given.

PR leaders need to wrap their heads around the fact that the future of our business will be built by people who ‘get’ the importance of transparency and information-sharing, where the credibility of communication comes from fearless conversation, not from timid control.

That’s why I like the thinking behind B-M Korea’s intern blog.

One of the key influences in my recent PR life is Steve Bowen, who joins Burson-Marsteller on July 1st [from Edelman] as our new regional Managing Director for Marketing & Training in Asia-Pacific.

I first met Steve in 2002, when he was the head of international public relations at Kia Motors Corporation (KMC)  in Seoul, Korea. At that time, Kia was looking for its very first global PR agency, and as the brand new Managing Director of Edelman Korea, I was keen to put a few wins on the board.

For all the credit I’ve received in my career for building PR businesses in some very challenging circumstances, I always remind myself of the people who helped create the winning conditions along the way. It was Kia’s confidence in selecting my old firm — when the great Mark Juhn was KMC’s COO — that really jump-started the rise of “The New Edelman Korea,” and Steve was the best kind of client whose support and encouragement I will always well remember.

As my customer, Steve provided thoughtful and clear feedback and well educated the agency about his company’s business. He was the exemplar of excellence, a champion of quality, and a factory of new ideas. Better yet, he valued listening and thinking before just talking and doing.

Today international PR for the rising Asian multinationals is becoming an important part of our business, and Steve’s pioneering experience and track record in this area from his Kia years will help take our game to the next level.

I’ve blogged about the benefits of working with friends before, but in Steve’s case the new wrinkle is that while many people think of him as an Edelman guy, in fact he is a ‘Burson Person’ who is now returning to the consultancy where he first cut his teeth in the PR business.

Here I am speaking with Glen Frost of Australia’s The PR Report about Burson-Marsteller’s approach to Evidence-Based Communications:

A few weeks earlier at New Delhi, here I was interviewed by Ashwani Singla, the CEO of Genesis Burson-Marsteller, India’s premier public relations consultancy. Of particular interest to PR industry types is our tackling of the procurement trend in communications services.