Done and Dusted

Hi everyone!

Congratulations to all of the PR393 students who have finished their internships and finished/finishing their internship reports (nothing like leaving it to the last minute!)

I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the amazing experience I had whilst working at my placement. The opportunity I was provided with was invaluable and the skills I have learned and the knowledge I have gained will, I am sure, serve me well throughout the entireity of my Public Relations career. I cannot reinforce how lucky I feel to have had this experience.

At Fremantle Press I had responsibilities including, media relations, author management, stakeholder engagement and event management. I was entrusted to some extremely challenging tasks and surpassed even my own expectations of what I could acheive.

The most valuable experience for me was learning how to pitch to the media and also how to coordinate events.

In my time at Fremantle Press I ran (entirely by myself) three book launch events, from these I learned how much I can juggle at one time, how to effectively plan for anything and everything, and also, that no matter how much you have planned for an event, things can still go wrong!

I would like to thank Curtin University, PR393 staff, and Fremantle Press for allowing me this work experience opportunity. I believe it will prove invaluable on my resume and to be honest, I think I have learned more in the last five months at Fremantle Press then I have learned throughout my entire PR degree.


Good luck to all graduating students in your future careers.

Kate

Saying Goodbye

Well today was my last day at the Starlight Children's foundation, and what a roller-coaster it has been the last four months. There was never a dull moment in the office and never a second wasted. This week alone I have assisted in the organisation of and running of the Peruginos "Lunch with friends" Fundraising event on Sunday, A Melbourne Cup Lunch on Tuesday, A Volunteer Appreciation event last night, A CEO Corporate Breakfast this morning and supported two pitches to NIB Bank and The WA Police respectively in the hope of achieving a Corporate Partnership relationship with Starlight this afternoon.

It has been a fun few months and the amount I have learnt has been astronomical. I have learnt there is a huge deal of time and attention that goes into planning events, how to churn out press releases at the drop of a hat, contact making, media management, how to ask companies for donations and support and primarily exactly how the worlds of Non Government Organisations and the corporate sector intertwine.

Now this seems like an entry of lists, so let me go into a little more detail. Throughout my time at Starlight I have learnt so much about Public relations yes, but also about the human spirit. Both through my own experiences and through the eyes of others. During my time at Starlight I have been fortunate to witness exactly what the fundraising of the charity goes towards and to meet with people that's lives have been transformed through what Starlight does every single day. One of Starlight's major Partners in WA is KFC and they had their leadership training day about four weeks ago. As a part of this day staff from around the state were divided into teams and were required to build a children's bike as a competition. My Supervisor Karen, one of our team Members Kelly and myself attended this event as representatives of Starlight along with Ten Starlight families. Each bike that was made was given to a Starlight Child as a gift, the gratitude and excitement of these children and their parents is something i will never forget.  The parents that I had the opportunity to meet were all inspiring with some never thinking the day would come where they would see their children ride a bike. The day I met them one particular family was getting ready to go on their "Wish Holiday" granted by Starlight - an all expenses paid holiday to the Goldcoast. This particular family had spent virtually the whole life of their six year old daughter in Princess Margaret Hospital and had never left perth little own gone on a real family holiday. To see the excitement and gratitude of the children and the parents was enough to make all the time and hard work that has gone into this internship worth it, one hundred times over.

My time at Starlight truly has been a wonderful experience and one I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I hope everyone reading has had an equally fulfilling Internship Journey.

You are all Stars!

Shine On!

Experienced the real world!

My final days

As my internship now comes to a close, it’s sad to think I will no longer get to spend my Mondays and Fridays with the people from the office.

I like to think that I have really settled into the work place and become a lot more confortable than my first few days. From the range of jobs and challenges I have been faced with, it has truly given me a real insight into what PR is all about. Although not having to always deal with ‘typical’ public relations work, by doing my placement in a small organisation, it has given me the opportunity to see all things you may have to deal with. Ranging from photocopying, media contact list updates, spreadsheets, editing, photo shoots and agricultural shows, I believe I have been exposed to a lot more areas than you would have to undertake in a larger organisation’s public relations field.

My final day with Bauxite Alumina Joint Venture was just tying up the loose ends, we finished facebook to a manageable level for rest of the staff and I handed over notes about what to do regarding it. We also had a meeting with Clarity Communication to sort out and start planning what social media tools to use. All in all it was a wonderful last day and it’s been fantastic working with BAJV to gain some real world experience!

Here are some photos from the Ag shows and my day as a photographer!

 

Every end is a new beginning.....

My internship at Momentum Forum Events is coming to a close but ended on a high note as I ran my final event, The Melbourne Cup Luncheon.  The time frame between the Pink Ribbon Ball and The Melbourne Cup Luncheon was extremely short putting pressure on the organisation to promote and sell all the tickets to the event. Unfortunately this year we experienced a lower level of ticket sales as there was a huge amount of Melbourne Cup events vying for the public's attention. While this didn't affect the standard of the event it did reduce the amount of funds that could have been raised for Radio Lollipop and The Indigenous Hygiene Initiative. This was disappointing but I still learnt a valuable PR lesson from this experience, which was PR should involve a planned, long term approach to ensure there is enough time to make improvements if a communication plan is not producing results. Completing my final event at Momentum has also caused me to to reflect back on my experiences and the lessons I learnt throughout my time at the organisation.

During my time at Momentum I worked on a number of public relations activities in the process of organising the Pink Ribbon Ball and The Melbourne Cup Luncheon. I am extremely grateful for receiving this opportunity with the not-for-profit organisation as I don't believe I would have received as much responsibility at any other organisation. At times I was overwhelmed by the amount of work to be done but it also gave me confidence in my PR skills. I am currently collating all the work I did at Momentum for my final report and I am amazed that I practiced so many public relations techniques in a 20 day period. However,  I believe the knowledge I have obtained from organising these events is invaluable and will assist me in my future career as a public relations practitioner.

Before working at Momentum I was determined that I was going to work in journalism and not public relations. But Momentum has not only made me consider a career in public relations but also consider working for a not-for-profit organisation. Therefore I can't thank Momentum enough for the amazing opportunity and helping me get my foot in the door of the PR industry.

Thank you everyone for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed their placement as much as I did.

Ashleigh
14843011

Saying Thank You Doesn’t Begin to Cover It!

Before I began my placement at the City of Perth I was unsure about whether I wanted a career in public relations or whether I would use my degree to work within a different field. Sometimes University work can become monotonous and the idea of a career in that certain area can become increasingly less desirable. Being able to undertake a public relations placement unit demonstrated to me the difference between a University environment and a practical working environment within an organisation. I am sure I’m not alone in saying that this placement unit has been an eye opener and provided invaluable experience.

The best thing about working for a local government organisation like the City of Perth is the diversity of work that comes across your desk. One day you can be writing a speech for the Deputy Lord Major and the next organising stilt walkers as an advertising tool for Carnival Macabre. By the way, if you have some spare time (what spare time!) then head down to Northbridge Piazza to enjoy Carnival Macabre 25 October – 3 November. Carnival Macabre is a week-long festival to celebrate Halloween and Mexican Day of the Dead. There are a variety of ghoulish, spooky and interesting events and activities planned.

Leaving the City of Perth is one of the hardest things I have had to do, cue the tears. Everyone I have had the pleasure of working with in my role as a Communications & PR Intern have been welcoming, supportive and above all, friendly. I constantly looked forward to my Thursdays and Fridays at the City of Perth and its true what they say, if you love what you do then you will never work a day in your life.

On my last day the Marketing, Communication and Events Unit put on a morning tea to say goodbye and thank you. I managed to say a few words without crying, which is a big thing for me. I hope the entire unit and especially Natasha, Sonya, Adam, Di and Kate understand how grateful I am for the opportunity and how much they have helped me develop into a capable and confident public relations practitioner. Oh and the chocolate cupcakes I brought in for the morning tea were a great success!

Below is a picture of the beautiful flowers I was given by the Marketing, Communication and Events Unit.

 

 

On my first day at the City of Perth I was given an access keycard (picture below) which is required to be used in the lift, to get into the office areas of each level and also to get into the levels if you use the stairs. I cannot tell you how many times I forgot my keycard and just as I was getting the hang of taking it with me everywhere I had to go, I had to hand it back!

 

 

By now I am sure most of you will have finished your placements. I hope they have been enjoyable and provided you with excellent experience.

This is my final blog and I would like to wish you all the best for your future career, whether in the field of public relations or wherever your degree takes you.

Good luck, I am sure I will cross paths again with some of you in the future!

Rachel.