This week was my last week at WACOSS and I couldn’t be any
more grateful for my time here. 10 weeks has flown by and I’m happy to say that
although at times I have felt overwhelmed by my workload, I have enjoyed every
minute of my time here.
Completing my internship at a not-for-profit has been a very
rewarding experience for me. Not only have I had the opportunity to work with
people who have extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector, but I have
also met many government ministers and directors of not-for-profits in WA. This
networking has provided me with numerous contacts who generously offered I contact
them if I am looking for any similar work in the future. This networking came directly from my work in
event management at WACOSS and has helped me gain my first contacts within the
industry.
I have also gained an understanding of the role Public
Relations plays in an organization. Particularly the role of PR at WACOSS is
substantially different to the role of PR in a consultancy, or multimillion
dollar company such as Woodside. The PR work I have completed at my placement
is also very different to any strategies I have worked on at Uni. At WACOSS the
main form of PR is that of stakeholder engagement, managing the internal
communications of the organization, and building relationships with both
members, and others in the Social Service industry. This work in stakeholder
engagement is in turned linked to the funding WACOSS receives from the
government. Having a strong, well perceived organization with a large support
base creates favorable circumstances when applying for government funding. This idea of funding is one that is not an
issue in other organisations; however, it is a strong factor when considering
PR efforts in a not-for-profit. Taking this Angle into consideration when approaching my PR work here has proved to be challenging, yet also a great learning experience.
At WACOSS PR is not the core function of the organisation,
it works as a supporting role to the policy teams who work on social issues in
WA. I found this to be a good learning experience in the way of me gaining
knowledge across a range of areas. As well as understanding the PR dept of
WACOSS, I have also gained knowledge into the sector as a whole and how PR can
help the individual departments to achieve their own objectives, despite the
fact they were not directly PR related.
My student placement at WACOSS has cemented my love of
public relations and proved to me that the industry is definitely something I want
to pursue once graduating. More importantly it has taught me that the
relationships I form now will be with me throughout my career and making a good
first impression can be an invaluable starting point. I have learnt a range of
new skills from my time at WACOSS and can’t wait to get in to the industry and
learn even more. Although I have loved working in a not-for-profit , the next
area I wish to pursue is consultancy.
I hope everyone has enjoyed their placements
Good luck!
Bri
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