My internship turned into a paid position!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my fourth and final blog post about my internship at Professional Public Relations (PPR) in Subiaco.

I have to admit I’ve been a little absent from the blogging scene, but this is my most significant post of them all – I get to share with you all what I’ve learnt over the course of my internship and how I came to be offered an entry level position at PPR.

Throughout my internship I carried out a variety of tasks for a range client accounts. Some of which included:

• ·      Landcorp - stakeholder engagement, Claremont on the Park event preparation, stakeholder information mail outs
• ·      Perth Fashion Festival – media monitoring and media launch
• ·      Wesfarmers Chemical Energy and Fertilisers- Human Resource interviews
• ·      Decmil Group Limited – annual report meetings
• ·      Australand – work in progress meeting, desktop research
• ·      Yarra Valley Caviar – media kit drop
• ·      Shell – stakeholder validation
• ·      McDonalds – Serious lamb burger lunch
• ·      Muzz Buzz – Media list creation and validation
• ·      PTTEP Australasia – media validations
• ·      Dampier Port Authority – crisis contingency planning
• ·      Administration support – credential planning,

As a soon to be Curtin Graduate I believe I have been adequately prepared for the ‘real world’. Throughout our degree we have consistently applied theory to real life situations, whether that be an industry renowned case study or an actual not-for-profit organisation such as United Way WA or Friends of the Environment. PR 393 Professional Practice has allowed me to fine tune my skills and get me one step closer to a paid position.

Although I didn’t get to draft media releases or write a lot of content I was fortunate enough to professionally develop and expand my skill set. The main things I have come away with from my internship include:

• The art of networking and developing mutual relations;
• Time is money – effective management is essential;
• Quality control – double checking, even triple checking your work for errors;
• The flexibility to work as an individual and a team member; 
• The ability to liaise with multiple stakeholders.

From an employer’s perspective, hosting interns is a great way to ‘try before you buy’. Employers are able to gauge weather the intern suits the work environment and the intern gets an understanding of what they do and don’t like before being committed to the role. PPR only hires PR graduates into their entry-level positions (admin assistant, receptionist, PA and database assistant) which gives them the chance to learn about the organisation from the ground up. Because of my internship I was granted the opportunity to be consider for a position at PPR. I have now completed two weeks of full time work!! I view my role as a stepping-stone – I’m just a hop, skip and a jump away from becoming a public relations consultant.

I hope each and every one of you have thoroughly enjoyed your internships and feel ready for the real world :) 

See you at GRADUATION.

Gemma x