Bring on the next chapter

This week my internship placement has come to an end and I can’t help but to feel sad but also excited as I prepare to enter the ‘real world’. Entering the real world has always seemed so far away, but now its here and to be honest I’m nervous. Very nervous in fact! Finishing university after four years is like the end of a new chapter but the start of a new one!

Being apart of this internship experience has been much more beneficial than I first anticipated. I was finally given the opportunity to put all my theoretical knowledge into practice. I feel so privileged that I had the opportunity to intern at such a wonderful organisation (Curtin), in a team that has been so friendly and supportive right the way through. The past three months has flown by and I feel so much more confident in my ability to successfully carry out public relations practices in a professional environment. I now have the confidence to pitch to journalists and clients, write captivating media releases and confidently organise a successful event. Some of the other tasks and activities I have been involved in during my time at Curtin include;

•        Media monitoring and media enquires
•         Social media management
•         Loud shirt day
•         John Curtin Medals
•          The Agency launch
•          The medical school celebration

Curtin has given me the opportunity to be apart of some amazing events and activities and I have loved every minute of it. Within the last three months I have learnt more than I thought were possible, and I’m so thankful for my opportunity. I went into my internship not knowing where I wanted to take my career, now I feel passionate about pursuing a career in events management.

Bring on 2016!

I look forward to doing business with you!

April 4^th 2014 was monumental. I found that I entered into a weird focused, tunnel vision state that powered me through the day. After all the planning for the STYLE AND THE CITY exhibition we finally reached the day where everything came into play – in a sense it was do or die.

I arrived at the office in the early hours of the morning. I met with the first group of volunteers that I had organised to hand out flyers at scheduled times throughout the day – between 7.30-9 when everyone was heading to work, lunchtime and 4.30-6pm when everyone was going home. I checked the volunteers off my spreadsheet (mind you, half were no shows) and sent them off to spread the word. I tried to be as inspirational as possible, we had thousands of flyers left and we needed them distributed TODAY or else they would just be wasted (recycled).

The flyers explained that today, April 4^th not only explained that today launched the exhibition, but that it was launching with a bang! We had our notorious shopping party to drive the atmosphere and the traffic. Like our ‘Inspire’ shopping party that we hosted in December, each of our retailers, at enex100 and Forrest Chase had an individual one day offer, combined with activations like food sampling, live music, beauty bars and of course the exhibition – it was a great atmosphere.

To further promote the event we had a media launch – with select media, bloggers and competition winners invited for the first look at the exhibition. It began at Myer, Forrest Chase where the iconic Sex and the City wedding set was held. Patricia Field, (the series and motion picture stylist and exhibition curator) gave her spiel about how the exhibition was created and her experience working on Sex and the City. Myer VIP Customers had a chance at a happy snap and then we were off to enex100 where she further explained the other 20 key pieces on show. People went crazy on social media – utilising our hashtag #styleandthecity. It felt really good seeing people really appreciate something you’ve worked really hard on. It definitely justifies all those late nights at the office.

As the remaining weeks of the semester have trickled into just one, it’s time to reflect on what a semester it’s been. For most people this means finishing their last semester and beginning the inevitable search for their first job, but for me it’s already the beginning. Having proved my worth over the time I’ve interned for Jones Lang LaSalle I was recently offered the position of Marketing Coordinator. I’m finally entering the ‘real world’. I wish you all the same luck, and hope to do business with you soon!

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!