Yesterday brought my 20 days at Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital to an end. I usually work in a private hospital and wanted to work at Charlies to see how the ‘other side’ works. It certainly was interesting to see how a PR department functions with no budget whatsoever!
At my other employer, we have resources to produce visually good publications, have photoshoots, access to graphic designers, money for events and money for sponsorships.
In the public sector, there was not even a budget for these things, the only costs were for staff salaries and sundries (stationery etc). It is really difficult to do anything exciting or creative with no budget. The main work the department did was media and internal communications. There was a glossy publication they used to print for external stakeholders however they changed this to online to save costs.
At my placement i made some very good contacts for the future. Health is a fairly small network in Perth so i think having some contacts and the knowledge of the public sector would give me some great benefits. However, one thing i did find out is a love my current job and i’m happy to stay where i am, for now!
Jodie Leishman
2 comments:
Hi Jodie,
I could not resist posting a comment here :) You've raised a very interesting issue in your post. In fact you could even write a new post about it. It's the difference between PR in the public sector and PR in the private sector.
I totally agree with you that budget is one major difference. This is also the case here in Mauritius. I know people who've worked both in the private and public sector and who said they had more opportunities to expand their PR skills in the private sector. I also believe it is much more vibrant on the private side. I think you have a great topic here and you could even reflect on it in your report. I am sure you have noticed much more differences during your internship between these two sectors.
Lucky you to have experienced these as i believe now you are in a better position to choose your future path in the profession. Now you know where you want to be. That's awesome dear.
Cheers
Youshrina
Hey there Jodie,
I could not agree with you more on this one. I have work in an NGO-Amnesty International Mauritius Section(AIMS). The budget there is quite limited for PR activities as well. It does not give us much chance to expand our tactics. At AIMS, due to limited budget, we had to suspend the concerts which I was working on for next year until they get sponsor or a proper budget to continue with the program. It does make it inconsistent.
I will say that it is a challenge for those who work in a public sector companre to those who are in private ones.The ones in the public sector have to be creative and at the same time think of the budget.
However, I am pretty sure in the end of the attachment you will be glad that you have work in a public sector to help a cause.
All the best in the future.
Kind regards,
Judeline
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