Final Reflections- Next Stop:The real World

This week was my last week at WACOSS and I couldn’t be any more grateful for my time here. 10 weeks has flown by and I’m happy to say that although at times I have felt overwhelmed by my workload, I have enjoyed every minute of my time here.

Completing my internship at a not-for-profit has been a very rewarding experience for me. Not only have I had the opportunity to work with people who have extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector, but I have also met many government ministers and directors of not-for-profits in WA. This networking has provided me with numerous contacts who generously offered I contact them if I am looking for any similar work in the future.  This networking came directly from my work in event management at WACOSS and has helped me gain my first contacts within the industry. 

I have also gained an understanding of the role Public Relations plays in an organization. Particularly the role of PR at WACOSS is substantially different to the role of PR in a consultancy, or multimillion dollar company such as Woodside. The PR work I have completed at my placement is also very different to any strategies I have worked on at Uni. At WACOSS the main form of PR is that of stakeholder engagement, managing the internal communications of the organization, and building relationships with both members, and others in the Social Service industry. This work in stakeholder engagement is in turned linked to the funding WACOSS receives from the government. Having a strong, well perceived organization with a large support base creates favorable circumstances when applying for government funding.  This idea of funding is one that is not an issue in other organisations; however, it is a strong factor when considering PR efforts in a not-for-profit. Taking this Angle into consideration when approaching my PR work here has proved to be challenging, yet also a great learning experience.

At WACOSS PR is not the core function of the organisation, it works as a supporting role to the policy teams who work on social issues in WA. I found this to be a good learning experience in the way of me gaining knowledge across a range of areas. As well as understanding the PR dept of WACOSS, I have also gained knowledge into the sector as a whole and how PR can help the individual departments to achieve their own objectives, despite the fact they were not directly PR related.

My student placement at WACOSS has cemented my love of public relations and proved to me that the industry is definitely something I want to pursue once graduating. More importantly it has taught me that the relationships I form now will be with me throughout my career and making a good first impression can be an invaluable starting point. I have learnt a range of new skills from my time at WACOSS and can’t wait to get in to the industry and learn even more. Although I have loved working in a not-for-profit , the next area I wish to pursue is consultancy.

I hope everyone has enjoyed their placements

Good luck!

Bri

Leaving but with Happy Memories

Leaving is always hard when your colleagues have welcomed you into their team so warmly. I fully enjoyed my time at Baptistcare and I have learned so much from all these experienced people. They were all really good at what they did and they shared that knowledge with me so generously. I could not have asked for a better placement.

I spent my last day in a tiny town Southeast of Perth - Brookton. Visiting the last aged care facility on the list and talking to the last couple of residents.

While there, I met the manager of the facility - a young man in his 20s. It was then I really started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. He is only a few years older but he's already got so much experience under his belt. Obviously I do not intend to manage an aged care facility someday because I do not think that is anything I ever want to do but he has gotten this far in just a matter of years. If I can decide on something and actually commit to it, who knows where I can go in a few years? Meeting him has definitely got me thinking and deciding. 

During my time at Baptistcare, I definitely learned the finer points of writing from my colleague who majored in PR and Journalism. I have improved my photography and definitely my videography and I learned what makes a good interview. I learned what makes for a good feature piece and what photos make for a good editorial.

While the internship involved quite a fair bit of writing, writing is an incredibly important aspect of PR. From press releases to byline articles, I got to experience it all during this internship and my portfolio is definitely not lacking now.

Thank you Baptistcare for this amazing opportunity!