Surrounded by nature & animals- Post 4

Hi Everyone

My internship with the zoo has ended. It has been more than a week since the new intern came and I had to teach her the various duties she will need to do.

While teaching her, I was surprised that I was able to give very clear instructions and that I knew my work so well.

It has been a wonderful experience, both good and bad times that I have been through.

After having a chat with my manager, I am glad that I did leave a good impression behind and am excited when she mentioned about keeping me informed whenever there is a job opening.

I am sad to leave and do hope that there will be other opportunities for me to work with the big family at the zoo once again.

Cheers!

Surrounded by nature & animals- Post 3

Hi all

During my time with the zoo, I realised that the importance of public relations varies in different organisations. In mine, I felt that public relations only plays a supporting role and my duties covered more than what a public relations office should do.

Looking at the situation, I started to ponder whether or not a person really needs to be equipped with public relations skills and knowledge or can any Tom, Dick or Harry do the job since it is not as important as your Finance or Human Resource department. But then again, in the working world, can anyone divide your job so clearly? What will colleagues think of you?

 Another thing I found out about public relations is the importance of networking. For instance in the zoo, when special arrangements are needed to be taken care by different curators, it is important for me to know who to direct my emails to and to follow up with the right people in the zoo. This is to ensure that on the day of the media visit, everything goes as planned and I am able to get my job done well.

Initially it was quite a struggle as I would turn into a snail or become an introvert when being thrown into an unfamiliar environment. However I am glad I made some improvements and was also willing to get out of my comfort zone to mingle and get to know the people in the office and in the park.

In conclusion, I finally realised why our lecturer in Curtin Singapore, Robert has been encouraging the class to attend the various networking events held by Institute of Public Relations Singapore (IPRS).  We can learn through these events and hone our skills. Perhaps if I had attended a few more of such events I could have done better at the zoo.

This is an area i will have to work on. :)

Cheers!

Surrounded by nature & animals- Post 2

Hi everyone!

Been busy for a couple of weeks in Singapore Zoo. Whenever I am out in the park facilitating a media visit, my emails will start accumulating. It has been tiring but a very rich experience.

I mentioned in my first entry about a photo shoot I was involved in, it was for Night Safari’s new maps and collaterals which will probably be out next year. The shoot lasted from 10am to 10pm, which was physically very tiring as I was assisting the director/producer. I had to constantly do time checks to make sure we follow the running sheet, ‘chase’ the people involved if we are behind time and ferry the models and camera crew from one location to another.

It was a adrenaline rushing experience and I enjoyed myself. After this photo shoot, I realised that models only played a small role. (And they have their faces on the maps) Behind the scenes, from the makeup artiste, person in charge of wardrobe to the people assisting as different locations, without them the photo shoot would not have been possible. That includes me! Haha. Without me, they probably had to get around the Night Safari on foot.

Apart from photo shoots and media visits from various countries, there were the mundane things like media tracking, updating all the different media log and coverage folders. Preparing power point slides for monthly report and also constantly check our website to make sure it is always up to date.

These are just the daily routine and sometimes there are more responsibilities. For instant crafting a reply to negative feedback or drafting a winning letter for media tie-ins.

Sometimes it gets so overwhelming, i have to stop myself from wanting to tear. But I am glad I got to experience something like that. At least I know that this internship has prepared me to step into the real working world,  and I will survive! =)

Surrounded by nature & animals

Hello!

 

I'm two weeks into my internship and I have finally settled down, getting the hang of things. I found a placement at Singapore Zoological Gardens, corporate communications department and have been quite busy learning and absorbing as much information as possible. This is why i am only writing my first post now. 

 

This past two weeks has been challenging yet fun at the same time. I remembered on the first day it was tough trying to squeeze every process into my brains and learning how to media track, how to reply to both positive and negative feedback, organizing media visits and interview sessions. And i even had my first buggy lesson!

 

The next few days i had to help facilitate media visits from Philippines and also from Vasatham Central, an Indian channel in Singapore.  What I have learnt from these two experiences is that even though media visits may seem like an easy task, it is actually not. We have to be alert and careful with what they film and say and also stop them if anything they do or say should not be on film. This is especially so if the crew is filming for a children’s programme and they are seen holding or playing around with the animals or reptiles being featured. If these acts are caught on camera, it may give the viewers the wrong idea about these creatures which can be dangerous if found in the wild.

Other than media visits and filming, I also had to translate a Chinese article into English. I decided to challenge myself and see how it would turn out. It’s has been four years since I read an article in Chinese, so I was quite surprised and satisfied when I was able to translate and summarize the article. I also felt good that I start this internship with an open mind and was willing to learn as much as possible. Even though I found my daily task quite dry, I have learnt that frequent media tracking and accepting feedback is necessary to stay informed about what is being reported about your organization, be it positive or negative. This enables us to reflect back, learn from our mistakes and improve as we work towards to being the foremost wildlife institution in the world.

This entry has a lot of words as I have many things to share. There is more, which I will update in my next entry. I was given an opportunity to be involved in a photo shoot. I was not the model of course but I had a fantabulous time and learnt a lot. For more information, tune in next time! =)

Hello!

 I'm two weeks into my internship and I have finally settled down, getting the hang of things. I found a placement at Singapore Zoological Gardens, corporate communications department and have been quite busy learning and absorbing as much information as possible. This is why i am only writing my first post now. 

 

This past two weeks has been challenging yet fun at the same time. I remembered on the first day it was tough trying to squeeze every process into my brains and learning how to media track, how to reply to both positive and negative feedback, organizing media visits and interview sessions. And i even had my first buggy lesson!

 

The next few days i had to help facilitate media visits from Philippines and also from Vasatham Central, an Indian channel in Singapore. What I have learnt from these two experiences is that even though media visits may seem like an easy task, it is actually not. We have to be alert and careful with what they film and say and also stop them if anything they do or say should not be on film. This is especially so if the crew is filming for a children’s programme and they are seen holding or playing around with the animals or reptiles being featured. If these acts are caught on camera, it may give the viewers the wrong idea about these creatures which can be dangerous if found out in the wild.

Other than media visits and filming, I also had to translate a Chinese article into English. I decided to challenge myself and see how it would turn out. It’s has been four years since I read an article in Chinese, so I was quite surprised and satisfied when I was able to translate and summarize the article. I also felt good that I start this internship with an open mind and was willing to learn as much as possible. Even though I found my daily task quite dry, I have learnt that frequent media tracking and accepting feedback is necessary to stay informed about what is being reported about your organization, be it positive or negative. This enables us to reflect back, learn from our mistakes and improve as we work towards to being the foremost wildlife institution in the world.

This entry has a lot of words as I have many things to share. There is more, which I will update in my next entry. I was given an opportunity to be involved in a photo shoot. I was not the model of course but I had a fantabulous time and learnt a lot. For more information, tune in next time! =)