Being a PR Consultant: Would I?

My final two weeks at Clarity were both hectic and saddening; I truly couldn’t imagine leaving the team and clearly, they hadn’t thought about it either. In fact, no-one realised it was my last day so I left the office on a Friday as per normal, with no more fanfare then is typically exerted during the afternoon wind up.

How could this happen you may ask? Well after completing my required 20 days, I continued to come into Clarity as per normal on Thursday and Friday’s. Why? Mostly because I wanted to continue learning; but also because being annoying perfectionist that I am, the thought of leaving a number of projects unfinished really irked me. Ergo, I continued to intern until the very last week possible (last Friday) when I realised that my final week of university was soon here and with it the ugly deadline for about 80% of my potential pass marks across all 3 of my units.

Image Courtesy of  Clarity Communications.

Despite my farewell being a little anti-climactic, missing out on it didn’t particularly bother me; I'd already offered to come back and present a short review of my internship to the  Clarity team, so I knew  I’d see them all again; and I’d also promised to making a special Swedish salad for the PR Team’s ‘Summer Salad Club’ so really, there was no way they’d avoid another visit.

Sitting in the City of Subiaco carpark across from office, I let everything I’d just learnt over the past three months settle in; I felt like I’d made genuine connections with these people, and learnt so much about PR, myself and the working world.  I came into Clarity not knowing if I’d be ready for that level of professionalism and work standard. I left not being that much more reassured, but definitely feeling a lot more confident that I’d be able to figure things out.

The other thing I left with was a job offer; with Clarity, in a yet to be establish role but under full-time conditions and commencing next year. I haven't discussed with my supervisor anything further regarding the offer, but I'm pretty sure I will accept it regardless. 

I truly can't thank all the teaching staff at Curtin enough for helping me become the PR practitioner that I am today. And I look forward to engaging with those in the future who will continue to aid my development. Best of luck to all my peers in their own journeys, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading these blogs and am confident you will all go far in the career path you choose.

Internship Golden Rule No. 4 – Give it your all; remain optimistic in times of stress; and never forget, that your next opportunity may be just around the corner.

Being a PR Consultant: Should I?

Having just past the half way mark of my internship, it started to occur to me that whilst both challenging and fast paced, consultancy work can lack the familiarity of an in-house PR department. Having worked in such a capacity previously, I had some idea of what to benchmark it against – yet I couldn't quiet decide which I enjoyed better.

It’s an old argument when it comes to choosing between in-house or external (i.e. agency) when building your PR career. There are definite pros and cons for each; check out this article from Ragan PR which explores the “5 Major differences between Agency and inhouse PR” http://bit.ly/UW9Jmj – is a worthwhile read. In my mind however, I looked to see which type of PR helped me grow more as a practitioner.

In this regard, consultancy was the clear winner  you’re surrounded by a team of experienced workers, most of whom are willing and able to share with you insights based on their own working history. You really can’t beat that type of on-the-job education.

However.

Consultancy means that you’ll often need to work with clients who’s products or industries are far removed from your own interests, knowledge or even care-factor; I am by no means suggesting that these companies are not worthy of your consideration, however they would unlikely be your first pick (when it came to looking for an internal PR role).

Choosing a career in the PR department of an organisation generally means you have the ability to select any industry or business in which you enjoy work or have a significant level of interest. If you are someone who benefits from a constant working environment, a tired and tested set of processes and a more in-depth knowledge of ‘the client,’ then I wager a guess that consultancy is not your best pick.

When pondering these options, I realised that part of the beauty of consultancy work in dealing with the unkown; whilst I may not be an expert oin dust, dirt or debris, if the client required me to be one – I’d soon find a way. Plus I’d likely leave the project more aware and educated them when I first started. 

Internship Golden Rule No. 3 – Don't turn a job down just because you're not interested in the subject matter. You never know until you've tried it!

Being a PR Consultant: How do I?

Following the first 3 weeks of my strenuous work placement, things soon became easier to juggle. Names were matching the right faces, my Apple iMac was becoming less frustrating (I’m a PC girl through & through) and the Friday afternoon office ‘wind-down’ was not nearly as intimidating as it first seemed.

I was in the Clarity office every Thursday & Friday, working cross-department; Thursday was spent in Digital and Friday on the PR team. I slowly developed a routine of arriving at the office by 8.30am and checking my emails, before asking the relevant supervisor about my projects for the day. On weeks when a deadline loomed, I often found jobs to keep myself busy –  ticking the box next to ‘using my initiative’ on my mental checklist.

My role in digital was heavily focused on online development, content creation and website maintenance; whilst not strictly ‘PR’ these are jobs I found extremely informative. Creating content calendars for Clarity and client Celebrate WA, has consumed approximately 15% of my time over the duration of my placement. For those unfamiliar with it, a ‘content calendar’ is essentially a document that social media strategists use to map out posts for a period of time (typically on a month by month schedule). Whilst it might seem like an easy concept, coming up with 25 targeted posts that pertain to the client and their audience is no mean feat. Here is an example of the document I created for Celebrate WA.

As for the PR side of things, Clarity maintains a standout record. Handling the media relations for big names around Perth means they know their way around a press release. Within those first few weeks, I was asked to write a first draft release for an exciting partnership expansion to be announce in a few months time – it was a project I would be able to see through from start to finish during my placement. As for the processes of the PR team, every Friday morning starts with a brief 15 minute team huddle, where the week’s progress is reviewed and next weeks’ direction determined. As an intern I was asked to partake, to summarize what work I needed to carry on from digital and what jobs had already been scheduled for my day in the PR department.

Image Courtesy of  Cornerstone Advisory Partners.

This post is intended to highlight the accountability/productivity that is expected at consultancy level. As an intern I had it fairly easy, but even I stressed out about being timely in my work ethic. When your clients are paying a fair penny for your services (per hour!) you need to make sure you're giving them the most bang for their buck.

Internship Golden Rule No. 2 – just because you’re an intern, doesn't mean your work will be any less appreciated by the client; make sure you do their investment justice.

Being a PR Consultant: Could I?

PR393 Internship is a unit I've spent most of my time at university looking forward to doing. Feedback from past students has always suggested it to be the most beneficial unit a PR student will undertake during their degree.

I knew my PR393 placement had to take place at a Consultancy - as the only ‘genre’ of PR work that I hadn’t previously experimented with (as opposed to internal, project-based and freelance) consultancy both intrigued and scared me. The thought of having multiple clients and never-ending deadlines made me question “would I be capable?” Quite different from the laissez faire workload that we enjoy as students, consultancy work requires high accountability, full transparency & well documented working days - along with a vivacious ability to tackle new challenges. As one who has never been deterred by the prospect of hard work, I couldn’t wait to throw myself into the world of PR consulting.

As it were, I was fortunate enough to have previously dealt with a leading Perth consultancy who agreed to take me on as an intern. Before I knew it, I was rocking up to Rokeby Rd in Subiaco, ready for my first day as a Digital/PR intern at Clarity Communications.  

Not too sure who I’m talking about? Even if you’re not familiar with Clarity, chances are you’ll know their work, with clients including BHP Billiton, Woodside, Grant Thorton, CBH and the Shire of Broome… the list goes on.

All Images Courtesy of Clarity Communications.

My first few weeks at Clarity were a blur. Those two days a week I spent in the office were insightful, educational and demoralizing – I quickly came to the conclusion that I wasn’t even close to the standard of these professionals (even the office juniors!). This reality check was beneficial in two respects, first by forcing me to accept that my skill set is still that of an undergraduate (meaning I have a lot to learn) and secondly motivating me to continually aspire for more.

After the first two turbulent weeks, I began to find my feet. Drawing on my strengths (being social media and creative thinking), I tackled daily tasks to the best of my ability. When a situation arose were I couldn’t complete a particular job as well as I thought it needed to be done, I asked for the help. My supervisors Christie and Andrew were extremely helpful in this regard. 

When reflecting on those first three weeks, I returned to my original question of capability. Could I actually make it as a PR consultant? At that stage my answer was an optimistic 'no'. Why optimistic? Because in recognising that my existing skills don't meet the demands of such a position, I can comprehend areas I'd need to improve in order to realise this 'ideal'.

Internship Golden Rule No. 1 – think smart, work harder and when in doubt, ask for assistance; this helps develop our skills further.