When you’re not looking, you will find something.

I’ll start by introducing myself  - I’m Katie and have just commenced my final semester of a Bachelor of Commerce (Public Relations) degree.  When considering places to intern I wasn’t quite sure where to start, but knew I wanted to gain experience in corporate communications. 

I had completed work experience in a boutique consultancy during my first year and felt consultancy just wasn’t for me. Whilst most of my PR peers are interested in consultancy I have to say I would definitely prefer to work in-house!

So, knowing that I wanted to gain experience in corporate comms provided me with some sort of direction.  I was starting to stress as I wanted to secure a placement over the semester break so I did not have to worry about fitting a placement around studies and work during Semester Two. 

About three quarters of the way through Semester One this year I noticed on Blackboard that University Marketing at Curtin was looking for an intern to assist with Open Day. I had not even started looking for an internship but the perfect opportunity had just surfaced so I applied straight away. Within a few days I was contacted by the Open Day Project & Brand Consultant and was asked to meet for an informal interview. 

I met with Asha, the Open Day Project & Brand Consultant, she explained the main role of the Open Day intern would be coordinating family/ children’s activities for the ‘Fun Zone,’ and helping with signage and the central volunteer briefings. 

I also work in a paid position at the Curtin Careers Centre which has taught me a few things about how to interview (alongside what I learned in PR classes!). I made sure that I dressed professionally and went over-prepared with copies of my resume and samples of my work, even though this was not requested by Asha. In the end, Asha did look at a communications strategy I had completed in my role at the Careers Centre and was impressed ideas that I had come up with. It's definitely better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. 

After the meeting Asha told me that I would hear back in a few days as to whether I had been successful or not, and right on time she emailed me to let me know she would like to have me on board as Open Day intern! This was extremely exciting as I had heard so many stories about students’ difficulty in finding a placement and I had successfully landed an internship in my preferred field on my very first try.

I am extremely excited to update you on my experience working in corporate communications and project management, I hope to learn a lot about during my time at University Marketing and I look forward to hearing about other placements that people are undertaking this semester. 

(Written on May 18, 2013)