Hello all,
I only started my placement last week, and I’m currently just two days in. I’m at Bright Communications in Fremantle, which is a small, boutique consultancy that does a range of PR related things including event management and media relations.
When I was looking for my placement, and previously when I’ve looked for work experience, I tried to steer away from consultancies. I was under the impression that all consultancies would be full of money hungry professionals, and the poor PR workers would be trying to juggle projects and clients whilst always making a profit (a view I blame on PR Consultancy 300). So I guess ending up in a consultancy, even a small one, can be seen as a good thing, as it should prove me wrong (or right).
And so far, it has definitely proved me wrong. The two days I’ve done have been really good. I think a big difference to what I think of when I think of a ‘consultancy’ is the atmosphere of the office. Being a small company (there is just the one lady, Janine), and sharing an office with another boutique PR based company, the environment is fun, open and relaxed. This has made it easier to settle in and begin learning about the projects I’ll be working on over the next couple of months.
Another thing that took me by surprise was the amount of work I did straight up. I had talked to a few friends about their placements and work experience in the past, as well as read some of the posts on the blog, and I got the impression the first few weeks would be mainly shadowing, coffee runs and simple tasks. With this in mind I went in a little complacent that I would just be in the background for a while. This was not the case. Within the first day I had drafted an event plan, a fact sheet and a media release, things I hadn’t in nearly a year! Luckily Janine had plenty of examples for me to work off, and I also had my laptop with me so I could search through some old uni work to refresh my mind. So a bit of advice for anyone who hasn’t started their placements yet (or even if you have), brush up on some techniques, because you never know what might be thrown at you…
That’s all for now, hopefully with my next few posts I can get into the projects I’ll be working on.
Lauren.
2 comments:
Hi Lauren,
That's great that you're getting a lot of tasks to do. I've heard the same thing from friends too- but prior to reading your post I thought it was maybe because they were working at a consultancy, where time is precious (time is money!) so they didn't have the time to find jobs for their interns to do, as apposed to an inhouse role where there's a bit more time and structure to the work. But it's great to hear you've been able to get involved! I'd definatly recommend people try to get their placement in a smaller office as the less people their are the more likely it is you'll be able to do stuff. There's only one other lady in my office and it's been good!
Niki
Hey Lauren,
You picked a good one with Janine and Bright Comms. I was fortunate enough to have your job well over a year ago now and it was by far the best thing I ever did to hone my PR skills. Look at it this way, I learned more in that year with Janine, than my entire three year degree!!
Glad to hear you're having fun there - a little tip, Janine's favourite champaign is Veuve Clicquot... that might come in handy one day!!
Give me best to Janine, Caitlin, Sarah, and Claire.
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