And there goes my weekend.

What is public relations? From what I read from the results shown in Google, public relations is the professional maintenance of a favourable public image by a company, other organization or an individual in the eyes of the public. And to sustain a positive image of the company is to uphold a constructive relationship with one of its key target audiences, which is the media.

And so, here comes what has happened in the past two days. It was Curtin Sarawak’s Awards & Scholarship Ceremony on Friday (25th April) and Graduation Ceremony on Saturday (26th April) so I was asked to deal with the press together with one of my colleague, Lillian. As a PR practitioner, being in contact with the media is one of the most important part of the job. Without the media, what are we PR practitioners to do? So, my task for the night was to lead the press to their table and pass them each a hand out of the speeches and fact sheets. Before the event, my supervisor had me go all the way to the HR department to photocopy a few copies of these hand outs and all I thought was “Why do I have to do such trifling tasks?” Where is the public relations stuff that I am supposed to be doing?”.

But as I was standing there, I realize that this was more than just a petty chore. While waiting for the hand outs to be done copying, I got to read through them and understand how a fact sheet is prepared in the correct way as well as how speeches are drafted for the speakers. In fact, what I am doing is actually preparing a media kit for the press! And how could I have not realized that right from the beginning? Guess I was a little too nervous about doing this as this was my first time being present at an event not as a guest, but as a committee member.

Apart from that, I have also learnt an important lesson which is to present ourselves in the best image of our company as this will instill positive awareness among the public towards the organization. Because the way I present myself in front of the press indirectly shows how the company represents itself. Also, preparing fact sheets and writing speeches for people are certainly not some simple tasks. Imagine getting the facts on the fact sheet wrong and drafting a speech with lots of grammatical error. Mistakes like these cannot happen as everything done has to be pretty precise. Public relations do not recognize such minor liability and blunders as they may end up becoming huge faults.


Until my next post,
Vivian Lee
15442668
Curtin Miri

Another step forward; Internship!

Hey everyone!

I am Vivian from Curtin Sarawak Campus and this is my very first blog post. The company I am working with now is Curtin University, and I am in the Corporate Communications department. It has been four days since I started working here, and guess what? My placement started just at the right time. This is due to the graduation ceremony that will take place on the 26th April, which is this coming Saturday and I am glad to say that I will be involved in it. One week into work, and I already have tasks allocated to me in such an event. More updates on that will be coming your way, right after the event ends. But for now, I will be talking about my first few days at work.

Curtin University, a place I can call my second home because I spend about the same amount of time in campus and home. And I am indeed very glad and fortunate to be able to do my internship in campus. From what I heard from my seniors, it is difficult to apply for a placement in the Corporate Communications department as they have quite a number of students waiting in line for their turn to do their placement there.

Well, I am lucky enough to be accepted by the management. I remember walking into the office to see my supervisor, Ms. Marcella Gider, Senior Corporate Communications Officer sitting at her desk at 8.00AM sharp. She was the only person in the office. So I took a seat and discussed some of the things I have to do throughout the internship, then subsequently she introduced me to all my colleagues when they arrived at work.

And starting from the first day, I have been asked to read newspapers, eight different newspapers in three languages to be exact. So, there is the English, Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia version of the newspapers. Funny thing is, I hardly read Chinese and I have to read it with squinted eyes (like the image below) just to read those seemingly unfamiliar Chinese characters.

But, I made it through day by day, reading articles after articles, looking for Curtin-related news as well as exciting local and worldwide news. Reading newspapers may only be fun to a handful of people, and I admit, that I am certainly not one of them but somehow, I am starting to like going through these papers in search of any intriguing and eye-catching news. Well basically, the main purpose of doing this is to compile all the advertisement clippings, feature articles as well as press clippings and put them in separate folders. Media clipping may just be my thing - or maybe not. Shown below are some of the things that I have done, including the cutting of the name tags for committee members at the graduation ceremony this weekend.

Look at the amount of newspaper I had to read on my first day of work!

Oh, and I even found a tiny mistake in one of the articles I read regarding the lunar eclipse in Washington. Can you spot the error?

By the way, here are some local news for you to read - not PR related but just to cure your boredom:

1. Idris: Improvements on PBS accepted by educators
2. Marine turtles lure foreign tourists
3. Ninth Borneo Jazz Festival 2014 expects 9,000 visitors
4. The Obama double in Malaysia
5. Have a break, Malaysia

Well, that is all for now. Until my next post, cheers!

Vivian Lee
15442668
Curtin Miri

A pocket full of dreams...

The End.

My placement at Sunsets has had it its ups and downs. Days where there was not much to do but office duties where I asked myself what is the point of this, this isn't helping me with my public relations ? or days where there was not enough time to fit in all the tasks asked of me. But of all the days I have experienced the varying change from office duties to public relations has prepared me for the real world as it is probably the best lesson that showing enthusiasm and initiative for any task given to you shows your employers the type of worker you are.

The experience has been challenging, with the juggling of work experience, a casual job, university work and on top of that a lack lusting social life. Looking back upon the experience it would be unrealistic to think that the multi tasking involved throughout the semesters has also prepared me for the 'real world'. I have also been given a set of skills that are going to help me in the future and that is invaluable to a graduating student.

Overall, my experiences at Sunset Events were invaluable to the knowledge that I can take on to future work places. However, for me personally I will not be looking for work specifically in just events for the foremost. I would ultimately love to work in fashion doing  public relations and marketing in that context is really more where my passion lies. And yes your probably all thinking won't fashion involves events? It does but it is also a mix of other things which is what keeps me interested and motivated. I enjoy multi tasking, and fast paced environments is where I need to be to kept busy and from the sounds of it thats what the fashion industry is all about.

So for everyone else finishing up their placements and looking towards their futures, hopefully you follow your dreams and enjoy every step of the way after graduation!

Good luck

So many "lasts"!!!

This will be my last post onto the walls of PR 393 Reflective Blog, and that I am proud! This blog will also be apart of the last assignment I submit for my degree! And, today, was my last ever day at Curtin university, where I completed my last presentation and tute! HOORAY!

On that note, I just wanted to wind up my experience at Bowls WA and really thank my supervisor and the team for welcoming me into their world. They gave me an insight into the public relations industry and for that I am extremely greatful! I was given the opportunity to full-fill a wide variety of communication activities, from e-newsletters, magazine articles to event coordination. The theory practice I learnt at university have definitely shrined through within my internship experience.

I have learn some new skills too! I learnt about Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop and website maintenance! These skills I hope to further even more once I step out into my industry.

So on that note, I hope you all had as enjoyable internship experience as myself, and that your final reports have come together smoothly! Good luck with all of your exams, and I'll see you at GRADUATION! HOORAY!

Kind regards,


Lauren Hannah
(14863239)

My internship turned into a paid position!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my fourth and final blog post about my internship at Professional Public Relations (PPR) in Subiaco.

I have to admit I’ve been a little absent from the blogging scene, but this is my most significant post of them all – I get to share with you all what I’ve learnt over the course of my internship and how I came to be offered an entry level position at PPR.

Throughout my internship I carried out a variety of tasks for a range client accounts. Some of which included:

• ·      Landcorp - stakeholder engagement, Claremont on the Park event preparation, stakeholder information mail outs
• ·      Perth Fashion Festival – media monitoring and media launch
• ·      Wesfarmers Chemical Energy and Fertilisers- Human Resource interviews
• ·      Decmil Group Limited – annual report meetings
• ·      Australand – work in progress meeting, desktop research
• ·      Yarra Valley Caviar – media kit drop
• ·      Shell – stakeholder validation
• ·      McDonalds – Serious lamb burger lunch
• ·      Muzz Buzz – Media list creation and validation
• ·      PTTEP Australasia – media validations
• ·      Dampier Port Authority – crisis contingency planning
• ·      Administration support – credential planning,

As a soon to be Curtin Graduate I believe I have been adequately prepared for the ‘real world’. Throughout our degree we have consistently applied theory to real life situations, whether that be an industry renowned case study or an actual not-for-profit organisation such as United Way WA or Friends of the Environment. PR 393 Professional Practice has allowed me to fine tune my skills and get me one step closer to a paid position.

Although I didn’t get to draft media releases or write a lot of content I was fortunate enough to professionally develop and expand my skill set. The main things I have come away with from my internship include:

• The art of networking and developing mutual relations;
• Time is money – effective management is essential;
• Quality control – double checking, even triple checking your work for errors;
• The flexibility to work as an individual and a team member; 
• The ability to liaise with multiple stakeholders.

From an employer’s perspective, hosting interns is a great way to ‘try before you buy’. Employers are able to gauge weather the intern suits the work environment and the intern gets an understanding of what they do and don’t like before being committed to the role. PPR only hires PR graduates into their entry-level positions (admin assistant, receptionist, PA and database assistant) which gives them the chance to learn about the organisation from the ground up. Because of my internship I was granted the opportunity to be consider for a position at PPR. I have now completed two weeks of full time work!! I view my role as a stepping-stone – I’m just a hop, skip and a jump away from becoming a public relations consultant.

I hope each and every one of you have thoroughly enjoyed your internships and feel ready for the real world :) 

See you at GRADUATION.

Gemma x

Jazzed About the Outcome!

After working with WAYJO for the past three months, my time has come to a sad end.

Throughout my time I was able to undertake a wide variety of tasks, and experience the daily workings of a public relations employee in the not for profit industry. This provided me with a true understanding of the importance of the public relations role and enabled me to develop my PR skills. Some of the main tasks I undertook included: compiling media and other stakeholder contact lists; event organisation, planning and promoting; updating and proofing of the website; supplying an e-newsletter, communicating and liaising with school contacts; and sourcing relevant information regarding possible sponsors and past alumni.

All of the tasks I have completed, even if tedious, have proved to be very beneficial to my studies as I've been able to put all my classroom knowledge into practice. I have also been very lucky to have gained a placement at WAYJO as I've been able to contribute to their inspiring cause and meet an array of people dedicated to the arts. 

After completing my placement what I feel I will miss the most is the staff. The ladies in the office have been there throughout my placement and have each shared with me their experiences and advice about the industry. This has provided me with invaluable information about what the future can hold. I was astounded with how friendly and available they made themselves to me and how they were always there to inspire, listen, and guide me throughout the process. I am internally grateful for their patience and dedication.

Reflecting on my placement I've been able to grow both professionally and personally. I cannot stress how rewarding this experience has been as it has taught me about the PR profession and prepared me for the workplace after graduation. I know I still have a lot to learn and experience but I now feel confident with attacking any task and role given to me head on. I can't wait to see what next year brings for me!

I hope everyone has enjoyed and learnt as much as I have from their placements!

Christina