So the end has come

Hi all,


It has finally come to an end to my internship and a wonderful 4 months it has been. I was allowed to stay on until the end of May as some of the projects i was allowed to handle myself took months to prepare and execute and therefore i needed to be back and forth from Perth and Malaysia in order to complete the tasks assigned to me. I was definitely impressed by the way PR practioners worked in Malaysia and the way they manouvere through the strict policies the Government has in place opened up my eyes to the barriers a PR practioner has to overcome sometimes.

I definitely was able to utilise my writing skills such as speech writing, essay and propsal writing skills as well as producing multiple media releases that has been and will be used for the upcoming events the company will hold later this year. Although the media releases are all prood-read and edited by my supervisor before being handed out, i know that i have done my part and produced work that my supervisor and my lecturers would be proud of.

The frantic pace i had to work at in such a different cultural environment taught me to adapt and change quickly to keep up and prove my worthness in this industry.

I would just like to thank my company and to Curtin for granting me this opportunity to enhance and improve myself for the future and i would hope that i will be able to gain a full time job in the PR industry anywhere around the world.

Regards,
Jun
14041624

YOU WILL NEVER KNOW IT ALL

As I finish up and finalise the end of my internship, I pack away all my new tools into my PR tool kits and realise how much the last 6 months alone have taught me. After 3 years of university you would think you would know the bulk of it and that there really could not be that much more to learn.

We get degrees at uni, doesn’t that mean we should know it all? (Or at least most of it?)

Of course not, the Curtin Public Relations degree most definitely has played its role in my education into the field of PR and even if I were to spend another three years here I would still walk out into the real world with so much more to learn.

Public Relations is an ever-expanding profession, one that is viewed so differently by many people and plays such a different role in each industry and each individual business. No public relations job will be the same as the next and every new position will require a whole new skill set on top of the foundations we take away from uni.

This internship has showed me that we will forever have new ideas to come up with, new challenges to face, but the key is to never stop learning and actively taking any steps to further your education whether it be in the industry you work in or specifically about the work you do.

It is a big scary place out there in the big wide world but I finally am ready to take my degree and my industry experience and face the world with my head held high, ready to tackle any challenge it decides to throw my way.

Good luck to all Graduating PR students, I am sure many of us will cross paths in this little place of Perth.

Now I've had the time of my life...

I feel like I’m about to enter into THAT scene from Dirty Dancing...but with a lot less Patrick Swaze and a lot less dirty dancing and also zero sexual tension. But I have however, had the time of my life. I had the last day of my internship on Friday and I was sad to finish.

I had been drafting up my report over the 5 weeks of my placement and whilst it felt like I had minimal responsibility within the company, it has actually been surprising how much I’ve learned in such a short amount of time.

During my time at Metro City I have:

• Written Media Releases
• Updated social media
• Compiled sponsorship packages
• Learnt about crisis management
• Established contacts within WA’s event industry 
•  Helped co-ordinate events
• Liased with promoters 

When we first started the unit, we were told that we may not necessarily get a placement in something we have a passion for, but after completing my internship within an event based business, it has really shown me that I have a keen interest in this field.

I had always acknowledged the importance of business relationships before, but had never truly been able to comprehend how important they are in Western Australia. You know that saying “You’ve been Perth’d”? Well it is even more prevalent when you’re working in a professional environment. Everyone knows everyone and if you get someone offside, who knows who they know and what kind of influence they could have on your future. I’m not saying you should kiss ass and suck up to as many people as you can but you need to be able to exercise caution without losing sight of your own morals and ethics. That said, if you’re in the position when you don’t feel comfortable doing something your boss has asked you to do you are well within your rights to say so. Though I never had a situation like this come up, I always felt like I could approach my boss about anything.

This relationship has been really handy when it had come to editing and writing up my report. I STRONGLY encourage you all to go through your reports with your supervisor, even if you’re only up to the drafting stage. They have crazy amounts of advice to dish out (as you have no doubt found) and are willing to share that knowledge – USE IT.

I can’t wait to graduate and apply some of these skills in the real world, but for now – time to finish that report!

Hope you’ve all enjoyed/are enjoying your placements!

Nicole

"Its not over till the fat lady sings"

Hi Everyone!

I have just completed my placement at 32 Degrees South Group and I cant help but feel sad. It has been such an amazing experience especially being part of such a new company. When I finished, my supervisor took the team out for celebratory/goodbye drinks and she asked us what we have learnt from this experience. My immediate answer was ‘confidence’. I said that in University your tutors see potential and they mark you accordingly however you never truly know whether you were just having a good day or whether the caliber of work would be accepted in the real world. Working with people who truly rely on you to do a good job because it involves money and business reputation, and then getting good feed back on your work, just gives you more and more confidence to be able to enter the workforce. No one could every replace that.  I also said it was so incredible to see my work go up online- knowing that it was good enough to be up for everyone to see it and represent the companies work. I was extremely lucky to have a supervisor who gave constructive criticism and compliments that I started to feel were deserved.  My supervisor also asked me whether I felt disadvantaged for working in a small boutique firm rather then a big one. I answered that I could see that each has its positives and negatives attributes. For example, being part of a boutique firm means that you are given many jobs to do and get one on one contact with your supervisor who can mentor you through your internship. However, it also means that you cannot hide behind someone else when you make a mistake, you stand out, every task given to you is something that will be used in one way or another and be a representation of the companies work. When you work for a big firm you can hide behind other people, if you make a mistake it can be easily covered, your work is not always the be all and end all of company and you get the opportunity to work with some big names. However some negatives may be that you do not get as many chances to produce work, your supervisor has little time to communicate with you and you could potentially be given unexciting and repetitive tasks. I have not worked in a big firm so I do not take my word that these negative characteristics are true- they are only assumptions. I would however be very open to working in a big firm because I have realised that you do not have to be a part of every daily task that goes on in the office, merely observing can be very educational. You also have a lot of opportunity to make an impression, stand out and potentially score yourself a paid position.

Over all this was an incredible experience- a lot of work on top of other university studies but every day was worth it. I feel proud to have obtained and completed this internship myself. It is a huge achievement. I think Curtin is incredible to provide us with this opportunity. The workforce doesn’t look so scary after all.

I have learnt that even though your internship has finished, the lessons you have learnt in this unit will stay with you throughout your working career- it is never over, it’s only just begun- and I’m excited!!

            

Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed your placement as much as I did!!

Martine

Xxxx