Hello real world (better known as full-time work)

 I’m excited to announce that I was offered a full-time position at Magenta as my internship came to an end. When I think back to April when I begun my internship, it almost feels like a lifetime away when I was only a PR baby. I remember at the start of my internship my supervisor asked me how I would describe public relations. I rattled off what I had learnt in my past couple of years: PR is communication, managing relationships with stakeholders. I think I received a long pause from my supervisor.

It’s now been about six months into real PR work experience, and I still believe in my prior definition, but after gaining experience in consumer PR I would have to also include that it is a lot of selling. Selling ideas to managers, selling stories to journalists, selling a proposal to potential partners, selling a brand to consumers.

Justine Schofield Press Release for Thermomix 

In our public relations techniques unit I learnt how to write the perfect, concise, inverted pyramid of a media release. I’ve found in practice that I’ve been allowed a little leeway in terms of how bare bones and structured a media release can be. In our media relations unit I also learnt about what is put into a press kit, and I think I was naïve in thinking that would be enough. It is also a lot of picking up the phone - which in a world of digital communication is probably still the best way to get in contact. It’s been bridging this gap between the foundation of skills I built at university to real PR practice that has been priceless.

It seems from reading through everyone’s posts on the blog that we’ve all followed similar trajectories. At first scared and nervous but hoping to do our best and learn. In the midst of our internships we face challenges and learn to put forward solutions and what we’ve learnt at uni. And finally, coming to an end, we reflect on how far we’ve come, how invaluable real experience is to our education. Also having a greater idea of what we like and don’t like, whether to stay in PR, or what areas we’d like to work in.

Channel Nine Live Weather Cross at Garden City Booragoon

At the end of the day, I feel fulfilled and invigorated to keep on going with my work in PR and finally get to do what I studied all these years for. Where my future is concerned, I know I want to stay in an agency to push myself and learn as much as possible. I love that no two days are the same. That it ranges from research, copywriting and events. My days at Magenta have gone from preparing hundreds of media kits to standing by at an event where we’ve secured a live weather news cross - which is pretty exciting!

Coming out of my past few months of work experience, I can’t recommend internships enough to future public relations professionals. It’s been a great, often tough, and fun learning curve for me. So it’s finally time to bid farewell to university and enter that real world we’ve heard so much about. Wishing everyone good luck for all the firsts they’re about to come across.