There are positives and there are negatives

There was one thing I was certain I didn’t want in an internship. I didn’t want to be sitting down in an office all day doing computer related tasks. I wanted balance and I wanted to make sure I would enjoy my internship which is why I searched for so long, until I found Jett Fashion Agency.

Lucky for me my internship gave me that balance and I am doing both computer tasks as well as physical tasks. However there are still positives and negatives to this, of course the positive to having a balance is I’m never bored and there’s always something different for me to do. However the main struggle I found was it was often challenging to stay public relations focused. This is an issue I knew I would encounter from the beginning, I mean it’s a fashion agency not a public relations agency and there is a significant difference between the two. Its always very crazy at Jett and as they say time really is of the essence. I often wouldn’t have time to do many pr related tasks because there were so many other jobs that were placed much higher on the list of priorities.

Now despite the challenge I face in terms of applying my degree to my internship there are days when I am able to incorporate what I have learnt with ease. Producing flyers, managing social media and communicating with publics were my main public relations related tasks. I was able to use my creativity and put together flyers which would be sent to boutiques and retailers around Perth. Aside from this, managing their social media gave me the experience I needed in terms of managing a company instagram which we all know is very different from managing a personal account. There are procedures to follow, you must ensure the photo original source is noted, the range worn in the photo needs to be mentioned as well, the model/blogger in the photo also needs to be tagged and so on. Then finally communicating with publics, the task I learnt the most from. I think this has really helped me develop an understanding of what is and isn’t acceptable in terms of communication. It has also given me the confidence to communicate efficiently and effectively in the workplace, which is something I knew I had to personally work on.

Ultimately although there are always going to be positives ad negatives in an internship, the positives always outweigh the negatives! Has anyone else struggled to apply their public relations degree to their internship?