LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER
(Monday the 9th of July)
In the led up to my first post since starting my internship
at the Department of fisheries I thought I would try and make it fun, exciting
and comical. Although while I have enjoyed my first day a lot I now know that
my blog could never be like that, the atmosphere at Fisheries just isn’t like
some sort of cruised holiday job… at Fisheries there is a certain sense of
professionalism and independent learning.
It is wholly different to the university system, there is a
certain amount of chatting and occasional fun around the office for sure
however everyone has their own areas and goes about their own work silently
most of the time. Today I found that taking calls from the public and just
writing reports takes massive priority over communicating with people in your
immediate surroundings at the department, the whole environment is very work
geared and there is a definite sense of purpose.
That purpose for me appears to be the checking of an Inland
Aquaculture application form from 2000 and the writing of a new version. It is
plain to me that there are due dates for the report and times when I should
submit a draft but otherwise it is very much my choice as to how I write it. It
seems like I’m left to my own devices in terms of the process I use to write
the new copy, which is exciting because the report does not seem to relate to
the traditional media releases and press conferences that represent public
relations.
As for what happens on my next visits to the Department of
Fisheries, I guess I will have to wait and see if there is a more PR directed
role in my current area.
I hope everyone who is still on placement is having a good
time and if you have finished your internship let me know how and where it was.
J
2 comments:
Hi Rob!
Your placement sounds a lot like mine! I was in the Department of Sport and Recreation and I too was left to my own devices for tasks and felt it wasn't very PR related at the start. My office however was not always quiet, particular on Mondays when the discussion was about AFL for the morning.
Towards the end of my placement I was given my more PR orientated roles which was great, I was wondering if the same thing happened with you?
Did you enjoy government work? I realised it isn't for me but I still enjoyed my intership regardless.
All the best,
Lucy Morrison
Thanks for the reply Lucy,
In terms of office interaction each region in the department was fairly quiet and I feel that everyone could discuss things like TV shows and sporting results in their own areas but not really to staff in another area 5 metres away.
One of the people in my immediate surroundings described it to me as “zooming out to the other conversations happening around the department”, it was also mentioned that there were various ways to socialise at events/meetings however because I was only there a limited amount of time per week I didn’t think this applied for me.
As for the PR roles I think because I was given a report to check and write over a long period of time, public relations kind of “took a backseat” to the main task. There were many media releases circulating though, which was great.
I’m very keen to hear what the other government department placements were like because I found Fisheries to be very exciting and I enjoyed the experience quite a lot (perhaps I’m biased though because I am an ardent fisherman).
What kinds of “PR orientated roles” were you given?
Oh really? Sorry to hear that it wasn’t what you expected, what factors about the government placement didn’t fit?
Thanks,
Rob Dougherty
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