Thrown in the deep end!

Before commencing my internship, I wasn’t really sure what to expect and whether or not my expectations would meet reality. Finally I had the opportunity to put my public relations knowledge into practice, something I initially felt very daunted by.

I have now been at my internship for just over a month and WOW what an experience I have had. My expectations of photocopying and coffee runs definitely weren’t a reality. From day one I had been exposed to what it was really like to work in public relations- the ups, the downs, the good jobs and the bad.

My internship opportunity at Curtin University’s Corporate Events and Media Department has been a wonderful experience so far and very hands on. Thus far I have constructed media releases and pitches, events plans, attended photo shoots and client briefings.  Some would say, I was thrown into the deep end, but honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way. It has been an exciting learning experience I will never forget. Curtin has given me the skills and experience to pursue all future PR endeavors with confidence.

As my experience continues I’m hoping to become more confident in writing media releases and dealing with journalists directly. I also hope to become more profficient in all aspects of events management. 

Everyday is a new challenge but I have enjoyed every moment of it. Stepping out of my comfort zone was definitely like throwing myself into the deep end- challenging but rewarding. I can’t wait to see what the rest of my internship experience has to offer. 

Bring on the next couple of months! How is everyone else's internship experience?

After all the stress trying to find a placement... It ends so quickly

Hello there,

I cannot believe it but I have now finished formal work at West Australian Ballet for the Curtin University's PR internship unit! I feel I have accomplished a lot over the past 11 weeks.

I had such a fantastic time with this company and I highly recommend interning with WAB. The staff are professional, passionate, focused and hard working yet friendly and extremely helpful.

Although I have officially finished my 20 days I am still in contact with the pr marketing team and I have been asked to help at some ballet events in the near future.

I was apprehensive to commence the internship unit but having overcome this first step into the professional world I have become more confident in my abilities. I  now know which techniques and skills I am competent in and understand which areas require work.  I displayed professionalism, organisational qualities, timeliness, a strong work ethic and an enthusiasm for knowledge of public relations and communications. An area I am sure that I need to focus on is research. I felt at times I was unsure of facts when I was writing which limited my creative thinking. Ballet is an art form with a great deal of technical and historical content. Although I believe I wrote well and my media releases, website copy, Ballet News articles and other content were succinct and sufficient, I believe with more knowledge of the subject matter I could have been more creative and more confident in my writing.

Is PR for me?
Yes I think so. The internship unit has inspired me and has encouraged me to take a more proactive approach to graduation and to think about the next steps I have to take to begin my career as a public relations professional. I have started looking for full time work as a result of the internship unit and feel more confident moving into industry.

Where will my journey lead now?
A public relations degree can lead to infinite possibilities.  Who knows where we will be or what we will be doing in ten years, but I am sure that the skills learned from this course will be extremely useful.


Good luck to everyone starting their internship! Enjoy the wonderful experience.

:)

Thanks for reading,

Eve Milner

Half way to somewhere

Hello there,

My internship experience at West Australian Ballet has been fantastic so far! I can not believe how the time has flown. I am more than half way through and it seems like I just began my journey yesterday! The office environment is friendly and inviting, and I believe this is the reason why I am enjoying my experience so much. 

The Ballet has closed  over the Christmas period however I will start up again on the 6th of January. 

I have learned a lot about the industry despite the short time I have been interning. I was unsure of what exactly the role would entail. I assumed public relations practitioners to have strict deadlines similar to that of a journalistic career. I thought I would find myself in situations that were just as hectic. But having entered this industry I have realised that it is actually a quite laid back career pathway. I thought deadlines for media releases, newsletters, clippings and  social media plans would be tight. From West Australian Ballet I have learned that organisational skills and a strategic plan are key to success. Once the PR department is organised (like WAB), staff can spend a week working on a brilliant media release and pass it around to ensure perfection. I found this style of a collaborative approach suits me. I can understand the value of having multiple practitioners overlooking multiple project.

It is interesting to enter an organisation as a young person who had never worked in an office before. I felt as if I had gone back in time after my first  few days within the office. Although systems work reasonably well, I feel that West Australian Ballet could develop more contemporary and efficient business information systems within the office to eliminate menial tasks and clerk errors. This would help to produce more effective services for customers and enable staff to attend to more important tasks. Although the staff ranges from a span of young to elderly people I feel that the systems in place do not cover all aspects of the business and that the systems lack a modern approach. Excel spread sheets are used alongside a computer information system known as ACT. Paper is still used as a primary medium within the office and I believe this should be eliminated. On the other hand, the company has a customer base of mainly elderly people and I understand that paper systems are important for the majority of customer. There is a divide within the business industry. Some offices are embracing change whilst others hold on to older methods. As a young person entering the workforce in 2014 I assumed that more than 90% of offices are paperless and that technology is embraced. This is not the case. To me, this was quite a shock.