Ready, set, go!

In my last post, I spoke about my first impressions and experiences with my internship company Programmed. This blog post will begin where my last post finished, speaking about the expectations I had of my placement position prior to commencing, and the actual reality of the situation, which were so completely different. 

As an intern, I expected my position in the company to be one of little importance. I expected to be watching, learning and completing small tasks that applied some of the skills and theory I had developed in my PR classes. How wrong I was! I was treated as a professional and given responsibilities, quickly becoming a functioning member of the Programmed team. 

A large part of my job as Marketing and Communications Assistant, is writing stories and managing the company intranet. I enjoy that Im more working within internal communications and corporate PR, than in media relations - I already know this is an area I enjoy more and is more suited to my personality. As Programmed is such a large company, they have to maintain an internal company website, that all employees can access, no matter where they are in Australia or New Zealand, or what industry they work in. It is the most efficient way to communicate with all employees and keep them informed, as well as relay any important information and reinforce company culture. Part of my job is writing up and editing the stories that people send in and then uploading them onto both the intranet and another website. On an average, on the two days I am there, I will write anything between 6 to 14 stories for the intranet. This involves communicating with people and chasing up information, as well as organising any interviews or photos to accompany these stories. I communicate with so many different people on a daily basis, which is such a great experience in developing my professional and personal skills. 

Another aspect of my job is running the internal ticket registry and allocation for the company initiative called 'The Locker Room.' As one of the major sponsors of the Fremantle Dockers and the Western Force, Programmed employees can enter to win tickets to the events. Part of my job is to maintain this program, draw the winners, send out the fortnightly email announcing the winners and then organise the tickets for these people. 

My other duties include general office duties and assisting Kate (Group Communications Manager) in any other tasks. In the future I will most likely be assisting in the organisation of events as well. The two days I spend at Programmed are incredibly busy and the days just fly by. I work independently, although Kate assists me and teaches me everything I need to know, as well as answering any questions I may have. 

I'm loving my experience so much, I couldn't have landed a more amazing placement, at a more amazing company. Im learning so much and I already feel myself growing and becoming more confident. I feel like after three weeks Im finally settled in my position and I'm genuinely doing a really great job. 

Thanks for reading, hope everyone is enjoying their placements just as much!

Chloe