PR Internship Complete: That's All Folks

I have to be honest, there were times when I wasn't sure I was going to make it to this point. Sitting here a week away from completing my internship with Rent the Runway, my blogs up to date and my report is nearly done (and by "nearly" I mean no where near where I want it to be - I am hoping someone out there can relate!) I must say I am pretty proud of how far I have come and the rather long journey its taken to get here.

A bit of back story on me. I began studying my Public Relations degree in semester one 2009. Yes if you do the maths, you are correct - its taken me six years to do a three year degree! As a "mature age" student I entered university after working for several years. With a house, bills and a full time day job part time study is what worked for me. While at times it has felt doing it this way has taken forever I am really happy with the growth and development I have experienced through the process.

Completing this internship is a big milestone. There were times when I worried about even being able to have the time between my work commitments to find and complete one. So to have had such a great experience at Rent the Runway has been really rewarding. Somehow everything aligned and I have been able to spend the last semester getting as taste of what its like to work in the real life PR world. And I must say its definitely all its cracked up to be!

My final days at Rent the Runway have been pretty busy. While the launch event is taking place after I have finished I have been helping Lisa prepare some of the small details to ensure its a success. I have finalised my list of potential media contacts to target and also developed a draft media release that Lisa can use as a template. I brainstormed some ideas on what information or small gifts could be done for the guests at the party - these included a small gift bag with a labelled water bottle, discount and refer a friend vouchers to Rent the Runway. I also suggested contacting some other local businesses that might like to offer a discount voucher or a free service for a selected guest - this selected guess could win this as a prize by submitting their details on the night. I thought this could also be a good way to start getting some contact details for clients to follow up after the event. I also spent an afternoon tagging dresses, a little mundane but still important and at least I got to be close to all the pretty clothes!

I have also made further progress on the social media side of things. Lisa was happy with the mock ups and brief overviews I provided to her for the Facebook and Instagram pages. A few changes were discussed but overall we were on the same page with the positioning of the business as a one stop, fashion destination for men and women of all ages, sizes and budgets. A focus on fashion, trends, styling and the international fashion industry will be used to show that Rent the Runway aims to be considered an expert in fashion. Still yet to be completed is the final set up of the two accounts and the scheduling of future posts. While my internship officially ends next Thursday Lisa has asked if I would be happy to continue helping her with the social media activities up to the event. I have of course accepted and look forward to seeing the work I have done so far through to completion.

Reading through some other blogs and again over our assignment brief the idea of applying what I have learnt at uni to the real world and my placement comes to mind. I haven't really covered this in my past posts so I guess now is a good time to give it some thought. I think for me, the number one lesson I can take away from all the classes, units and lecturers over the years is to be proactive in PR. Nothing is going to come and find you. Whether its finding the perfect placement, your dream job or getting that key media contact to your event, its up to you to do everything you can to make it happen. PR is not an industry for those who want to sit back and hope that things turn out okay. You have to be driven and push for those results and ultimately success. A journalist has no obligation to print your story. A employer doesn't owe you a fantastic job.  It will be your ability to network; act professionally and ethically; to write an interesting and perfectly edited media release; and all the other skills we have learnt across our degree that will give you the best chance of getting that story published or getting that sought after job.

Good luck to everyone and thanks for sharing your placements - its been a fun and interesting read.

Jessica