16 years straight of formal education has boiled down to this moment.

When you're going through your degree, you spend a lot of time procrastinating, a lot of time juggling work, study, volunteer work and work experience, and a lot of time trying to imagine what it will be like once you finally have that piece of paper which formally boasts your ability to communicate effectively with a chosen audience (Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Journalism and Public Relations anyone?)

You run and rush and race to get through your degree and then you hit:

                                          the end. 

The only thing left is a void; a giant leap between the stability of the somewhat solid ground (University) and the next closest stable surface (Employment).

Well, that's how I felt before beginning my Internship this year.

Completing an Internship with JumpClimb - Music Management and Events has taught me so much in such a little space of time. I no longer feel like the jump into full-time employment in the Public Relations industry is a large one. In fact, I can't wait to start full time work.

These are the two fantastic individuals who have been such wonderful mentors to me:

I began this degree with my sights set on Journalism. However, with each semester that passed, I learned more about the PR profession and the ability and the PR practitioners have to influence opinion, develop relationships, write creatively and think broadly on a daily basis, and I have certainly come to the dark side.

There is so much Public Relations has to offer within a company, from Crisis Management to dealing with all Stakeholders in an effective and engaging way, to dealing with the press and helping to effectively run major events like The Beaufort Street Festival.

So what did I learn during my time with the small, but incredibly effective JumpClimb team?

1. Offer a smile and the opportunity for others to talk and you will go far
I think this goes without saying in the PR field, but nevertheless. Sometimes all people need is a chance to communicate their ideas first and get things off their chest before you come storming in with big ideas and a corporate mindset. A smile can make someone's day, too. It's one of the most welcoming tools you have at your disposal.

2. Approach EVERYTHING with a can-do attitude, or not at all
No one wants to work with someone who constantly doubts their abilities or their suitability for a particular job. If you give everything your best and you fail, you can at least say that you gave it a go. Everyone makes mistakes and everything is a learning opportunity.

3. Things can go wrong at any second, so issues and crisis management plans are VITAL
Re: The floor collapse at Beaufort Street Festival launch.
Need I say more?

4. The "one in, all in" approach
In a small company, every event requires all hands on deck. Whether you are directly working on an event or not, once it comes to event day, everyone ends up pitching in - not because they are just expected to, but everyone is working for the greater good of the company.


5. Love what you do and things will come naturally
Learn to love what you do. We are in Public Relations because we like writing and being creative, because we are innovative and because we love a challenge. If you learn to love all of these things and love the process, doing things on a day to day business is a breeze.


So as I sit here on the last day of my University degree and the last formal day of my Internship, I can't help but be thankful for the experience JumpClimb has provided me and the opportunity Curtin has provided all PR students by forcing us to undertake Internships as part of our degree.

I have met so many amazing, passionate, committed individuals during my Internship. It really is hard to not be inspired by all the hard work that not only JumpClimb, but everyone involved has put into the amazing events that have occurred over the past four months. From PRIDE to The Aviary Rooftop Sessions to Rottofest and now The Beaufort Street Festival.

I'm going to keep working with the JumpClimb team until The Beaufort Street Festival, which is 8 days away. After that, the team are looking at doing a big debrief and chatting about the future of the Company, which will probably involve the implementation of a formal PR plan! Woohooo.

Also, feel free to pop by The Beaufort Street Festival and poke your head into the JumpClimb office, where I, among some other great people, will be running all the Comms for the day.

Take care and kick butt in the 'real world',
Renee

Countdown, Communication, Community and Celebrations.

COUNTDOWN
18 days, 40 minutes until the Beaufort Street Festival
4 days, 1 hour, 40 minutes until Pride Celebration
It's safe to say orchestrated chaos is imminent.

COMMUNICATION
Our office is small, so any problems or worries that arise are an office problem and something we tackle together, rather than on our own. Despite all having our own roles within the office - Festival Directors, Marketing/PR Coordinator, Project Manager, Business Liaisons etc, we all work to ensure that everyone else in the office is aware of what is going on in our own roles.

As we are such a small team (10 of us max at any given time), most internal communication happens verbally, rather than via new technology methods. I love the idea of sitting around our office table just discussing any updates, rather than being told via an impersonal email. I suppose one thing this has taught me is that any internal communication I may send out in my future PR roles needs to have a personal feel to it, rather than a mass email or communication that feels more like spam than something worth reading.

However, our external communications as part of the Beaufort Street Festival occur across a wide range of mediums, depending on the Stakeholder. We send out weekly newsletters to our Volunteers and friends of the Beaufort Street Network/Festival - including our businesses on the street, letters to residents in the area, Facebook posts to attendees of the event, as well as a dedicated Business Liaison (yours truly) to disseminate information.

COMMUNITY
As part of my journey with JumpClimb, I have also come to realise the importance of Community to Festivals such as the Beaufort Street Festival. Keeping the Community involved and ensuring they are engaged/able to activate spaces on the day and in the lead up is key to success. This has lead me to understanding different creative ways that this can be done, through flash mob organising to stages dedicated to community performance, from decorating windows to trees on the street.

CELEBRATIONS
To finish off, I thought I would leave you with some photos from a JumpClimb event over the weekend. Another aspect of the JumpClimb clientele is booking acts at The Aviary and the Aviary Rooftop Sessions on a Sunday. As part of this, JumpClimb organised for Triple J honey ASTA to play her first EVER Perth show, supported by JumpClimb band PUMBA, local artist Rachel Gorman and DJ Charlie Bucket. As this is one of our events, I thought I would head along and enjoy the warm, sunny Sunday afternoon at The Aviary with my workmates.

After a long week of work for the JumpClimb team, it is really rewarding to see an event like the Aviary Rooftop Sessions come together and make so many people happy. It is another reason I have come to love working in PR and events - a dedicated team works hard to create something wonderful, something that seems to so effortlessly come together but has really been crafted for a particular client.








Until next time,
Renee