Done and dusted

Good afternoon fellow PR393 students,

I have now finished my internship in equipment manufacturing. It has been a bit of a whirlwind to say the least. I have learnt a number of valuable lessons and have confirmed my desire to pursue a career in communications.

This week, I was involved in putting together a story to be included in an internally published quarterly newsletter. This involved contacting one of the key clients and setting up a meeting with them. In the meeting, we discussed their involvement and overall impressions of the company. This was an interesting experience as it gave me the opportunity to ask questions pertaining to the organisation and get an outsider perspective. This different perspective helped me to produce an honest piece for the newsletter, but has also assisted me in forming my key recommendations for the final report. In all of my PR units, lecturers and tutors have discussed the fact that PR professionals are boundary spanners and this is an important role, particularly for in-house PR teams. This meeting helped me to gain insight into the manner in which PR professionals are expected to communicate and interact with both internal staff (ie my supervisor) and external stakeholders (in this case, the customer) and how the interaction needs to be mutually beneficial for all parties involved. I can see this as being quite a difficult role in some cases, where the customer needs and wants may not necessarily be in line with the company vision or values. I have therefore learned the importance of PR people to communicate effectively both with internal and external stakeholders and always ensure the lines of communication are open.

My key take-away from my internship experience is the obvious need for public relations professionals in each major business hub. Not only as boundary spanners, but for crisis communications, internal communications and just to be present in meetings and important discussions, to ensure the company reputation is not going to be damaged; but also as a way to be prepared for any media or public backlash as a result of business decisions.

I enjoyed my internship and can now see the clear need for practical experience for PR students. I hope you have all enjoyed reading my journey as much as I have enjoyed sharing my experiences.

Kind regards,

Rebecca