Greetings to all!
Perhaps like the few of you, my internship began ahead of
summer enrolment. In fact, it took place from March to September last year.
Akin to many of your own experiences, these seven months proved an eye-opener.
As such, most of what I’d be sharing with you here will be in retrospect.
Thanks in advance for your kind attention. And I hope that this practical unit
likewise provided you an incredible learning journey!
Before I slink off recounting experiences gleaned as an
intern, I’d like to comment on the interview process. For a shrinking violet
like me, being interviewed by no-nonsense corporate types was daunting to say
the least. A few face-to-face interviews later, I’ve become emboldened and am
the better for it. What I’ve observed is that fortunately or not, fair or less
so, likeability and affinity are contributing factors in interview outcomes.
Future job seekers would also do well to ask themselves if they’d thrive and
flourish in the perceived workplace environment/culture as projected by the
interviewer before plunging headlong into a career placement that looks good on
paper.
And onto the placement proper, I interned at a business-to-business
(B2B), (government-to-business) G2B events marketing company. The lean outfit runs
and plans regional events in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
No pun intended, my time there was very eventful having helped run distinct
events held at the GSC Pavilion and The Westin Kuala Lumpur and in the process,
met an array of personalities.
From the outset, it was a steep learning curve which
yielded a rewarding job experience overall. I had hit the ground running in the
first week, pooling relevant media contacts and drafting/signing off on my
first press release. Frankly, I was terrified at first of the writing prospect
as it revolved around IT for Human Resources (HR), a subject very foreign to me
at the time. Backed by research material provided (as this was my first
assignment), I went on to write about the usability of cloud computing as well
as clients’ systems suites for payroll, e-learning and other HR
needs/functions.
It has since impressed on me that PR practitioners need to quickly
become experts in specialist industries such as finance, healthcare etc. This
is especially pertinent for fledging professionals from a generic Business
School/Communication Studies background. In the weeks and months ensued, I
found myself primarily immersed in trends/issues relating to oil and gas
(O&G), HR and finance sectors. PR practitioners simply must ‘know’ the
industry/client/community.
In summary, this working opportunity has provided me the
chance to involve in Marketing Public Relations (MPR) and work closely with
skilled, seasoned professionals.
Until the next instalment, keep well.
Yours sincerely,
Eunice
Curtin Singapore
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