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)
Showing posts with label PR 393 Curtin University- Bentley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PR 393 Curtin University- Bentley. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Last week at FAC!
I've had such an amazing time at Fremantle Arts Centre and in my last week I've felt a weird mixture of sadness and excitement about finishing my internship. It has been a crazy few weeks helping out with two sold out concerts and preparing for an Academy Award winner's upcoming exhibition but it's also been so much fun!
My first task of the week has been to help with the finishing touches of the Boy and Bear concert, from helping set up the sound system to organising catering for the band every aspect of the gig has to be perfected to ensure that it goes of without a hitch. One great thing about completing my internship at FAC is that I have gained experience in not only the traditional aspects of PR but also events and what goes into the preparation of a large event, from the behind the scenes promotion to setting up on the day of the event. After all this hard work seeing the band play was the icing on the cake, it was such an amazing night.
The next weekend there was yet another world class musician playing in the FAC grounds with Dallas Green from City and Colour and Alexisonfire fame performing to another packed out and excited crowd just a few days after his awesome Kimbra 'Settle Down' cover on Triple J. Although I didn't get a chance to stick around to see him perform, running into Dallas Green wandering around the FAC grounds was definitely a highlight of my internship, and probably my year!
As well as these awesome gigs FAC is in the midst of presenting Academy Award winner Shaun Tan's solo exhibition, 'Suburban Odyssey'. With a collection of never before seen, large scale paintings, small oil paintings and drawings that chart Tan's journey and experiences throughout his childhood in suburban Perth, the organisation and promotion of Suburban Odyssey was detailed and highly organised, with Kathryn taking reservations to opening night all the way back in February.
Over the past few weeks I have learnt a lot from Kathryn as she organised every aspect of Shaun's trip to Perth, from his media interviews to where he was staying and how he was getting to and from the interviews. She liaised with a national PR company that was overseeing Shaun's media appearance's across the country ensuring that he made each of the interviews and had an enjoyable experience along the way. I cant wait to come back to FAC over the next few weeks after install of the new exhibition is completed so I can see the wonderful exhibition that everyone has worked so hard on.
It's time for me to say bye to this blog, but first I just want to say thanks to everyone at FAC that made my experience there so enjoyable, I learnt so much and really am grateful for everything!
Katie x
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The end..
Well, it's the end of semester. For most of us our final report is due tomorrow (and considering that, I have left my final blog a little late but I still feel daunted by blogging!) and it will be the end of uni for many of us.
It's been a huge semester. Like many of you, I had to juggle 5 full time weeks of work experience along with trying to keep up with my other units at uni and find time to fit in my normal job so I would get paid! It has definitely been hard but also worth it.
The five weeks that I spent at PPR were incredible. I learnt so much and finally have some realistic ideas about what to expect when i enter the 'real world'. I also have developed some confidence in myself to implement the skills that I have gained throughout my time at university.
The most enjoyable part of my work placement was probably the work i did for Perth Fashion Festival - I found it to be both interesting and challenging while helping me to developed new and existing pr skills. Looking back, the other highlight of my time at PPR was the people. I came to have some quite good relationships with a number of the staff members and after finishing my placement I actually missed seeing these people every day!
The idea of work experience terrified me at the beginning of semester but now I know how important and beneficial it is for all of us to gain real experience and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do so at such a great consultancy with such great people :)
Good luck to everyone in completing your reports and best of luck for the future!
- Samantha
It's been a huge semester. Like many of you, I had to juggle 5 full time weeks of work experience along with trying to keep up with my other units at uni and find time to fit in my normal job so I would get paid! It has definitely been hard but also worth it.
The five weeks that I spent at PPR were incredible. I learnt so much and finally have some realistic ideas about what to expect when i enter the 'real world'. I also have developed some confidence in myself to implement the skills that I have gained throughout my time at university.
The most enjoyable part of my work placement was probably the work i did for Perth Fashion Festival - I found it to be both interesting and challenging while helping me to developed new and existing pr skills. Looking back, the other highlight of my time at PPR was the people. I came to have some quite good relationships with a number of the staff members and after finishing my placement I actually missed seeing these people every day!
The idea of work experience terrified me at the beginning of semester but now I know how important and beneficial it is for all of us to gain real experience and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do so at such a great consultancy with such great people :)
Good luck to everyone in completing your reports and best of luck for the future!
- Samantha
Monday, August 9, 2010
No Monkeying around!
This semester I am fortunate enough to be completing my placement at Perth Zoo, as part of the WA State Government Internship Program.
It has been about 4 weeks now since my initial meeting with my supervisor Ceri, and have since been working hard on getting my project; “Maximising the Community’s Understanding of the Role of Zoos in the 21st Century”, off the ground.
It has been extremely interesting to be so heavily involved with an organisation that I have previously only taken at face value, without realising the huge amounts of work that actually goes into keeping Perth Zoo an interesting and unique place. I have already learnt so much about how synergy between all Marketing and PR team members is so important, and just how much everyone’s roles vary.
I am really excited to delve deeper into my project and, although it does involve a lot of research, I am really interested to find out how different market segments and publics respond to different communication methods, especially now that there are so many different mediums available.
Not only have I been thrilled to meet the Marketing team at Perth Zoo, but I was also able to have a bit of a wander around the beautiful grounds when I was there a few weeks ago. It is amazing just how unique Perth Zoo is, in that there are so many other elements ‘behind the scenes’ (such as conservation projects) that make our Zoo much more than an entertainment venue, this is the focus of my project. I am hoping to help find out how Perth Zoo can successfully communicate that Zoo’s now play a much bigger role than simply entertaining the community.
So far I am loving my placement, and can’t wait to see where my project will take me!
It has been about 4 weeks now since my initial meeting with my supervisor Ceri, and have since been working hard on getting my project; “Maximising the Community’s Understanding of the Role of Zoos in the 21st Century”, off the ground.
It has been extremely interesting to be so heavily involved with an organisation that I have previously only taken at face value, without realising the huge amounts of work that actually goes into keeping Perth Zoo an interesting and unique place. I have already learnt so much about how synergy between all Marketing and PR team members is so important, and just how much everyone’s roles vary.
I am really excited to delve deeper into my project and, although it does involve a lot of research, I am really interested to find out how different market segments and publics respond to different communication methods, especially now that there are so many different mediums available.
Not only have I been thrilled to meet the Marketing team at Perth Zoo, but I was also able to have a bit of a wander around the beautiful grounds when I was there a few weeks ago. It is amazing just how unique Perth Zoo is, in that there are so many other elements ‘behind the scenes’ (such as conservation projects) that make our Zoo much more than an entertainment venue, this is the focus of my project. I am hoping to help find out how Perth Zoo can successfully communicate that Zoo’s now play a much bigger role than simply entertaining the community.
So far I am loving my placement, and can’t wait to see where my project will take me!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
A Farewell at the Association
Hello,
I'm am now into my last week of placement! Last week we all had a great end to the week. We had our American party on Thursday as the team director was celebrating her last day here. The party was great and all went as planned which I was very happy to see. It's great to see the finished product and people enjoying the work that goes into planning an event, even a small and casual one like this was. This is a big reason I really like event coordinating - you get to see the success and join in on some fun! And it was great to see that everyone really did enjoy themselves and Mary - the guest of honor - left the team with a bang!
The Community Relations Team
Table decorations
On Friday morning we had a meeting regarding a evening to be held here at the association for Bill Shorten - a federal politician. I have been placed in charge of organising this event, everything from catering to the running sheet. This is some great exeperience for coordinating a more formal event. I got onto my task quick and made phone calls and emails to order the food and drinks, liase with Kate Doust, the contact for the event from Bill's end. As this event is being organised by both parties, I need to liase with Kate a fair bit in order to combaine the running sheets and what they want out of the event. I am looking forward to this evening on Wednesday night!
Finally I completed an article for one of the Assocaiton employees who recently was involved in a confrence over in Canada. It was a small feature article about Phil Stanly, the senior guide dog instructor here, and about his time in Cananda and what he learnt. This was a fun task and I actually learnt a lot myself. The article is on the website (http://www.guidedogswa.com.wa/) and Phil was pleased with my work which is great feedback for me.
Looking forward to what my last few days have install for me, I hope everyone else is enjoying their placement as much as I am!
Emma
I'm am now into my last week of placement! Last week we all had a great end to the week. We had our American party on Thursday as the team director was celebrating her last day here. The party was great and all went as planned which I was very happy to see. It's great to see the finished product and people enjoying the work that goes into planning an event, even a small and casual one like this was. This is a big reason I really like event coordinating - you get to see the success and join in on some fun! And it was great to see that everyone really did enjoy themselves and Mary - the guest of honor - left the team with a bang!
The Community Relations Team
Table decorations
On Friday morning we had a meeting regarding a evening to be held here at the association for Bill Shorten - a federal politician. I have been placed in charge of organising this event, everything from catering to the running sheet. This is some great exeperience for coordinating a more formal event. I got onto my task quick and made phone calls and emails to order the food and drinks, liase with Kate Doust, the contact for the event from Bill's end. As this event is being organised by both parties, I need to liase with Kate a fair bit in order to combaine the running sheets and what they want out of the event. I am looking forward to this evening on Wednesday night!
Finally I completed an article for one of the Assocaiton employees who recently was involved in a confrence over in Canada. It was a small feature article about Phil Stanly, the senior guide dog instructor here, and about his time in Cananda and what he learnt. This was a fun task and I actually learnt a lot myself. The article is on the website (http://www.guidedogswa.com.wa/) and Phil was pleased with my work which is great feedback for me.
Looking forward to what my last few days have install for me, I hope everyone else is enjoying their placement as much as I am!
Emma
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Week 3- Guide Dogs and Events
Hi all,
I'm into week 3 now with the Guide Dogs and still loving it here! This week I have busily been brainstorming a number of events which is fun!
Firstly I am organising the farewell for a director of the Association, to be on Thursday afternoon! It's basically a small gathering of food and drinks, but we have decided to make it an American themed party so there has been a lot of research on American food and music and decorations! I'm definitely looking forward to Thursday afternoon, not only will it be a good afternoon, but I'll see all the work I've been doing come together and get to enjoy what I have done, actually seeing the results!
The next event is an Auction that is to be held at the Charity House for Association for the Blind. We have been working on a number of media releases to promote the event and not only are we hoping to gain attention from publications, but we are also targeting some online sites and radio shows. It is interesting to see the different angles you need to take when targeting the alternative media. For example a media release to the news papers involves a bit of creativity and grabbing the editors attention in some sort of quirky way so they will actually consider our story. This is quite fun where I am as we get to incorporate a lot of sound and touch gimmicks as we are the Association for the Blind! When looking at radio stations a different release is required as we are more looking at talk back stations, which require a spokes person to be available for interview live. I am currently working on the action sheet to prepare for the event!
The final event I have been looking at is the Variety Bash, as i mentioned in the last post. Not much more to report on this though, it looks like it will be a lot of fun when we get it going!
Week three is well underway and the placement is almost up, time flies!
Emma.
I'm into week 3 now with the Guide Dogs and still loving it here! This week I have busily been brainstorming a number of events which is fun!
Firstly I am organising the farewell for a director of the Association, to be on Thursday afternoon! It's basically a small gathering of food and drinks, but we have decided to make it an American themed party so there has been a lot of research on American food and music and decorations! I'm definitely looking forward to Thursday afternoon, not only will it be a good afternoon, but I'll see all the work I've been doing come together and get to enjoy what I have done, actually seeing the results!
The next event is an Auction that is to be held at the Charity House for Association for the Blind. We have been working on a number of media releases to promote the event and not only are we hoping to gain attention from publications, but we are also targeting some online sites and radio shows. It is interesting to see the different angles you need to take when targeting the alternative media. For example a media release to the news papers involves a bit of creativity and grabbing the editors attention in some sort of quirky way so they will actually consider our story. This is quite fun where I am as we get to incorporate a lot of sound and touch gimmicks as we are the Association for the Blind! When looking at radio stations a different release is required as we are more looking at talk back stations, which require a spokes person to be available for interview live. I am currently working on the action sheet to prepare for the event!
The final event I have been looking at is the Variety Bash, as i mentioned in the last post. Not much more to report on this though, it looks like it will be a lot of fun when we get it going!
Week three is well underway and the placement is almost up, time flies!
Emma.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
THE END OF THE DREAM
Dear PR people,
Last Friday was a very emotional day as it was the last day of my placement. I knew that a dream always ends but it was still hard to wake up and leave.
The last week of my placement was very interesting as the Graduate School of Business and Econommics was running their longest event of the year:
"the pre-semester program". All students commencing a 16-subject program are required to attend this exciting academic orientation program. The program has been designed around a case study, which enables students to work in teams, over the five-day duration of the program to solve a realistic business challenge. This event is very chalenging in terms of event management as it required lots of organisation and hard work. Our team has been working on the 2010 pre-semester program for the last 2 months. This year 200 students attended the program.
Last Friday was a very emotional day as it was the last day of my placement. I knew that a dream always ends but it was still hard to wake up and leave.
The last week of my placement was very interesting as the Graduate School of Business and Econommics was running their longest event of the year:
"the pre-semester program". All students commencing a 16-subject program are required to attend this exciting academic orientation program. The program has been designed around a case study, which enables students to work in teams, over the five-day duration of the program to solve a realistic business challenge. This event is very chalenging in terms of event management as it required lots of organisation and hard work. Our team has been working on the 2010 pre-semester program for the last 2 months. This year 200 students attended the program.
The 200 new postgraduate students for 2010
The team running the pre-semester program (left to right: myself, event coordinator, Aida, event coordinator and Rebecca, event manager).
Behind a such event there is a very important planning process. The key of our sucess for this event is all about planning and details. According to Shone and Parry (2004,95): "the planning, and planning process, plays a key role in the organisation and management of special events." I was one the students in PR Techniques wondering: "why it is so important to break down every single action of the event?" and if it is even useful to go that far into details. I can now with NO DOUBT claim that it is vital to plan an event with careful detail.
When started this event hundred of papers were giving to me and I asked: "why do we have so many tables and running schedules for the same event?". My colleagues told me that everything will be common sense once the event starts. Indeed, next Monday I could see how crucial it was to have those papers. When a such event happens we cannot supervise everyone due to a lack of time. Only the running schedules can make everybody stay on track. As Shone and Parry (2004,95) state: " the larger and more complex events become, the more detailed and systematic the planning will have to be". Papers are useful and can often determine the sucess of an event.
During this event I had the opportunity to show my range of skills concerning event management. I was responsible for managing catering orders for the whole week and the closing function which aims to officialy close the pre-semester program. I successfully achieved that task and I took a lot of pleasure in doing that. Moreover, I supervised groups of student hosts. In supervising those students, who were very essential in running this event, I discovered a strong leadership spirit which has helped me in improving my confidence.
A group of student hosts
This placement taught me a lot and it has been amazing. It has enriched my PR skills and built other important skills towards my future career. I have done my placement at the perfect time. The Graduate School of Managment changed to the Graduate School of Business and Economics during my placement which has required a lot of work to change all the communication materials. I was able to help and show the different range of skills I had as a PR professional. My managers had faith and trust in me and gave me a lot of opportunies to demonstrate my skills.
My dream is over, but I'm pleased to inform you that I might start a postgraduate degree in July in the Graduate School of Business and Economics. I can then join the student experience which is in charge of events, as a casual while doing my two years studies. I keep my fingers crossed...
In order to thank me, the organisation invited me for a good-bye party which was very thoughtful and I really appreciated it.
My good-bye party
If anyone wishes to apply for a placement to the University of Melbourne let me know and I will put you in contact with the director of the organisation. PR is all about networks :).
Thanks for reading my posts and good luck for your 2010 studies... and do not forget to dare to keep dreaming...
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
MY DREAM HAS BEEN INTERRUPTING BY MEDIA CLIPPINGS
I remember my excitement when doing my first media clipping for my PR media unit. At that stage I found it very interesting and important in term of PR tasks. I still think that it is very important to use a media clippings for any kind of organization as it is the only way to take control of managing media coverage and see how news affects the organization. Moreover as Van Der Meer states (2005, 1) “More than just clippings, PR research and evaluation provide insight into whether your message is received and understood”. Indeed media clippings give a view on how people receive and understand the different messages sent by the different organizations. However, I do not find it interesting and exciting anymore.
I have been collecting information from all kinds of media for two big media clippings for the Faculty of Business and Economics of University of Melbourne. These media clippings are an on-going activity for the Faculty of Business and Economics. They employ people who are called media monitors to focus only on this special task. They really rely on the outcomes of their monthly media clippings as
It was a very long and hard process. The way I had to process was the following: I had to go into a special platform in which all the information concerning Universities or education in Australia are localised and scanned to only keep information related to the Faculty of Business and Economics. I was in charge of December and January media clippings. Those two months represent a really heavy flow of information because of the annual big entry to university in February. Indeed, masters programs try to get as many students as they can during this period and for that they need media to talk about them frequently and in a good way.
Doing a media clipping for an organisation is much harder than doing one for University homework. In fact, when it comes to doing it for an organisation, the topic is already settled as well as the way to process and present the clippings. Within an organisation the task can turn out to be very repetitive, that has been the case for me.
Independently of the lack of interest I found in the task, I must admit that it has been of a great help in term of getting experience with the media. Moreover, I discovered a new set of publications and I had the opportunity to apply my knowledge to a practical way.
Van Der Meer, C. 2005. Communication World: Understanding Media Analysis. Vol. 22 (3):32-35. p://content.ebscohost.com/pdf9/pdf/2005/CMC/01May05/16947413 (accessed February 16, 2009).
Sunday, January 10, 2010
THE BEST DREAM EVER: COMpanion 2010
The COMpanion is designed for students from the Graduate School of Business and Economics. COMpanion lists useful services on and off campus, places to go, things to do and some tips and recommendations that allow new students to make the campus and city their own.
This brochure was originally created three years ago and needed to be updated. In fact it needed updates as the year changed, restaurants and coffee shops closed since the initial creation of the brochure and because of new constructions in Melbourne. Moreover, focus communication groups were running before Christmas break in order to improve various brochures used by the Graduate School of Business and Economics.
The COMpanion has received lots of feedback and suggestions. I have been working on the COMpanion project since December and it is now in the Melbourne University designer’s hands. I made all the last changes last week. I met with my team last Friday to introduce them the new version of the 2010 COMpanion. I received very good feedback and have been encouraged to introduce the new brochure to the designer myself. I finally met with the designer this morning and she was very impressed. I have to send all the details by Friday to be on time for the orientation week (week of distribution of the new COMpanion).
I divided my work into two parts: first part, with all the written information and the map. And second part, with the year planner. I cleared all the written information; I deleted old and not accurate information and added new and interesting ones. I changed some details on the map with the help of a supervisor as I only have a little knowledge concerning Melbourne. I made important changes on the back of the companion as I created a new planner more usable for our new students. I kept the brochure’s name in mind and thought that this planner should be like a companion to each student. It is a planner for an academic year without January, February and December as there is no class for the majority of the students. I chose two different colors (one for the teaching period and another one for the non-teaching period), and clarified all the important dates of the year. Moreover, I added week numbers on the side to clearly show in which week students are. The last idea was to put a little calendar of January, February and December in order to use only one calendar for the entire year and not being obligated to go to another one to have the whole year. All under the title “PLAN YOUR 2010 STUDIES”.
I have to say, that I have been very happy to be able to work on that project on my own. It has enabled me to show all my PR and communication skills. I’m now looking forward to see the print result. I wish a personal project similar to this one to everyone.
I would like you to have a look on the COMpanion brochure and tell me what you think. Please click on this link
http://www.melbournegsm.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/Student_Experience/COMpanion.pdf
Just for information it is 3MB, so it will take a while to load.
Thanks
This brochure was originally created three years ago and needed to be updated. In fact it needed updates as the year changed, restaurants and coffee shops closed since the initial creation of the brochure and because of new constructions in Melbourne. Moreover, focus communication groups were running before Christmas break in order to improve various brochures used by the Graduate School of Business and Economics.
The COMpanion has received lots of feedback and suggestions. I have been working on the COMpanion project since December and it is now in the Melbourne University designer’s hands. I made all the last changes last week. I met with my team last Friday to introduce them the new version of the 2010 COMpanion. I received very good feedback and have been encouraged to introduce the new brochure to the designer myself. I finally met with the designer this morning and she was very impressed. I have to send all the details by Friday to be on time for the orientation week (week of distribution of the new COMpanion).
I divided my work into two parts: first part, with all the written information and the map. And second part, with the year planner. I cleared all the written information; I deleted old and not accurate information and added new and interesting ones. I changed some details on the map with the help of a supervisor as I only have a little knowledge concerning Melbourne. I made important changes on the back of the companion as I created a new planner more usable for our new students. I kept the brochure’s name in mind and thought that this planner should be like a companion to each student. It is a planner for an academic year without January, February and December as there is no class for the majority of the students. I chose two different colors (one for the teaching period and another one for the non-teaching period), and clarified all the important dates of the year. Moreover, I added week numbers on the side to clearly show in which week students are. The last idea was to put a little calendar of January, February and December in order to use only one calendar for the entire year and not being obligated to go to another one to have the whole year. All under the title “PLAN YOUR 2010 STUDIES”.
I have to say, that I have been very happy to be able to work on that project on my own. It has enabled me to show all my PR and communication skills. I’m now looking forward to see the print result. I wish a personal project similar to this one to everyone.
I would like you to have a look on the COMpanion brochure and tell me what you think. Please click on this link
http://www.melbournegsm.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/Student_Experience/COMpanion.pdf
Just for information it is 3MB, so it will take a while to load.
Thanks
Thursday, December 24, 2009
DREAMS COME TRUE
Hello,
I'm currently in France for the Christmas break and I have finished the first month of my placement. This first month has been amazing. Indeed, I have accomplished several big projects.
First, last Friday was the graduation night for our 250 postgraduate students. The night went very well. I had several important tasks during the event and was the responsible for the welcome area and the DJ.
I really liked this event as I have been involved since the beginning; "before, during and after". Indeed, before this event I thought that an event was a story of “before” and “during”, but in reality the “after” is as important as the previous steps. We had to check everything before leaving. The 3 days following the event were also focused on writing a report of the event. This step is very important as it is the only trace of what happened. Moreover, it is the only way to improve an event because reporting on an event helps to evaluate the success of the event.
I'm currently in France for the Christmas break and I have finished the first month of my placement. This first month has been amazing. Indeed, I have accomplished several big projects.
First, last Friday was the graduation night for our 250 postgraduate students. The night went very well. I had several important tasks during the event and was the responsible for the welcome area and the DJ.
I really liked this event as I have been involved since the beginning; "before, during and after". Indeed, before this event I thought that an event was a story of “before” and “during”, but in reality the “after” is as important as the previous steps. We had to check everything before leaving. The 3 days following the event were also focused on writing a report of the event. This step is very important as it is the only trace of what happened. Moreover, it is the only way to improve an event because reporting on an event helps to evaluate the success of the event.
The Student Experience Team, the event team for the graduation night.
Myself: Event coordinator, Rebecca: Project Manager, Aida: Assistant Project Manager
Venue for the Graduation night
Venue for the Graduation night
The Business Associate Dean delivering a diploma to a student
The two last weeks have also been full of important decisions as we had to find the venue for my big project “The Welcome Function”. Good news, we have found the place- after several visits, discussions and meetings - we have booked the Crown Casino in Melbourne City. This has probably been the best experience within the first month.
The front of the venue for the welcome function (the Crown Casino)
The venue view from inside (studio 3)
The venue view from the right side (studio 3)
Now that we have found the venue we need to work on the event itself.
I have also finished updating a brochure called "the Companion". This brochure was created 3 years ago to help new students to settle down in Melbourne. At the beginning of January I'm going to meet with the Melbourne University designer in order to introduce the new Companion for 2010. The designer will have one month to produce the new brochure with my help. This project is very exciting.
Finally, during the last week I have started to work with the marketing department on a massive media clipping. This task is less exciting but makes me practice what I learnt in my PR media unit.
I'm going back to Melbourne on the 3rd of January and will be working on the 4th of January. The focus of the first week will be to proofread the brochure "Companion", to check all the orders for the welcome pack, to keep going with the preparation of the Welcome party and to start the preparation for the orientation weeks.
I wish a Merry Christmas to everyone.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
THE DREAM KEEPS GOING
I'm now in my third week and the placement is still very interesting.
I am still working on my important project “The Welcome Function". Indeed I have almost decided on the venue. I should know the name of the final venue next week, as I'm going to visit the top three venues chosen from a long list and a lot of research. I have been in contact with lots of different places in Melbourne for the last two weeks and have now chosen three from this list. I will meet with my supervisor tomorrow to introduce to her the top three venues. I worked on Excel to have a clear overview and I have been reading a lot of quotes, so now I'm very familiar with a venue contract.
I am still working on my important project “The Welcome Function". Indeed I have almost decided on the venue. I should know the name of the final venue next week, as I'm going to visit the top three venues chosen from a long list and a lot of research. I have been in contact with lots of different places in Melbourne for the last two weeks and have now chosen three from this list. I will meet with my supervisor tomorrow to introduce to her the top three venues. I worked on Excel to have a clear overview and I have been reading a lot of quotes, so now I'm very familiar with a venue contract.
The top3 venues, chosen from a long list
Studio 3
The University house
R.A.C.V Club I also have worked on my other projects. My part of the new brochure "Enrich Your Degree" for 2010 is now done. I have been very efficient and fast. In fact, I really enjoy creating brochures and so really enjoyed this task.
I also meet a PR professional who I'm going to work with for the launch of a new scholarship in the Graduate School of Management (I really hope we are going to make it).
The big highlight of the week is the Graduation night on Friday. We have very busy since Monday preparing this event as we are expecting 250 people. I have worked on the running schedule with the project manager and it was very useful to see how fast we have to think about every single detail.
Next week is going to be shared between the Marketing department and the department in which I'm currently working. I have started to really settle into my placement. People are now starting to work with me as a real professional part of their team and not as the new intern anymore. My days are very long, I do more hours than expected and guess what... it does not matter because I love what I do. I will try to post my feeling towards the Graduation Night this weekend.
Thanks
I also meet a PR professional who I'm going to work with for the launch of a new scholarship in the Graduate School of Management (I really hope we are going to make it).
The big highlight of the week is the Graduation night on Friday. We have very busy since Monday preparing this event as we are expecting 250 people. I have worked on the running schedule with the project manager and it was very useful to see how fast we have to think about every single detail.
Next week is going to be shared between the Marketing department and the department in which I'm currently working. I have started to really settle into my placement. People are now starting to work with me as a real professional part of their team and not as the new intern anymore. My days are very long, I do more hours than expected and guess what... it does not matter because I love what I do. I will try to post my feeling towards the Graduation Night this weekend.
Thanks
Monday, December 7, 2009
The beginning- Volunteer crisis
Hi everyone,
It's so good how interesting these internships are turning out to be, my internship was so much better than I had imagined. It was challenging, forced me out of my comfort zone and in the end I actually had fun.
I started at Princess Margaret Hospital July 10th and did my internship 2 - 3 days a week there. Everyone was so friendly and I felt instantly welcomed.
It is a small team but so much went on there so it has been really interesting. The Public Relation Manager, Melissa has so much experience in her field and has a really hands on approach with her colleagues which is great because she is very approachable and passes on great advice as she works. She is the PR manage and Kim, the PR officer works in conjunction with her. They consult one another about everything they do and often bantered and vented their concerns to one another openly which was entertaining and very informative. It was really exciting to observe the relationship between journalists and Public Relations Practitioners hands on.
I began by writing a news release about a Health Expo at Mindarie Senior College. We sent it to the local papers in the Mindarie area.
The Executive Director stepped in on one of the days that week to discuss internal communications with the PR manager and I noticed that limited email access is an issue for employee relations here and they discussed setting up more publication displays and notice boards.
The hospital was celebrating its 100th year and there were a few exciting events planned under the theme Centenary. There was a meeting in preparation for the Open Day on July 4, 2009. It would be a day where the hospital would be open to the public and invited guests, exhibitions and activities would be made available and it would be a celebratory event to commemorate the many years of success of the prehistoric hospital.
The main issues raised in the meeting were that there may not be enough volunteers to perform tasks like directing parking and blowing up balloons, hospital volunteers had already been recruited. Fire and Police departments had already provided volunteers as well. It was particularly worrying that it was raining all week and we were all worried about the weather on the day because it would affect the turnout.
Advertising on tertiary institutions websites would have been a good way to get volunteers on board. As we all know, Uni students sometimes just need to complete volunteer work of any kind just to add to their repertoire of skills.
Later that day, the Centenary Coordinator stopped in to confirm that she’d be distributing promotional flyers and balloons in Bunbury that week, she also advised that there was media coverage of Open Day in Bunbury that week and asked if the PR department can liaise with them to confirm what information was being published. It amazed me how everything that went on had to be approved by the PR practitioners first, it's a huge responsibity and emphasizes how much a PR person has to be alert and aware of everything that goes on in the business at all times.
Other tasks I started that week were re-writing the standard template for the thank you letter that the Child Adolescent Health Service issues to those who donate gifts to the hospital, I also had had to send them out to a list of donors and learnt to use the mail merging system on word to send out letters to multiple recipients, which will be very useful in future PR events management! Alot of people gave toys, books and clothing to the children and families at the hospital. It was wonderful to witness that kind of patronage and the many positive letters people sent with their gifts.
I also worked on a couple of stories in Kite Tales, the CAHS staff bi-monthly news letter and carried out adminstrative tasks like scanning and filing news clippings found in key local newspapers relating to the hospital; and scanning and filing photographic consent forms for any photographs were taken at the hospital.
While other people were initially assigned challenging tasks I found that at first there were gaps where I was not assigned any tasks and I sometimes had to drag out a task to keep myself busy, it was awquard and slightly frustrating but this taught me that in this field one has to be assertive and work independently. Although it was daunting joining such a small team because they worked quite closely yet independently and knew each other very well. I wasn't sure whether being assertive would be percieved as being inappropriately forward so I asserted myself quitely and looked for tasks that needed doing that no one had asked me to do. This was the right move because when Melissa or Kim asked for me for something I was prepared and could handle the task, for example I asked questions about where we were and what certain places were so that if I was asked to go down to supplies to pick up something, I knew where to go without needing escorting, this built their confidence in my ability and I soon got assigned more tasks.
The next few weeks were to be exciting and enlightening and although I had no idea how much media I was to be exposed to, I looked forward to the rest of my time at PMH!
Jamira Thekiso
It's so good how interesting these internships are turning out to be, my internship was so much better than I had imagined. It was challenging, forced me out of my comfort zone and in the end I actually had fun.
I started at Princess Margaret Hospital July 10th and did my internship 2 - 3 days a week there. Everyone was so friendly and I felt instantly welcomed.
It is a small team but so much went on there so it has been really interesting. The Public Relation Manager, Melissa has so much experience in her field and has a really hands on approach with her colleagues which is great because she is very approachable and passes on great advice as she works. She is the PR manage and Kim, the PR officer works in conjunction with her. They consult one another about everything they do and often bantered and vented their concerns to one another openly which was entertaining and very informative. It was really exciting to observe the relationship between journalists and Public Relations Practitioners hands on.
I began by writing a news release about a Health Expo at Mindarie Senior College. We sent it to the local papers in the Mindarie area.
The Executive Director stepped in on one of the days that week to discuss internal communications with the PR manager and I noticed that limited email access is an issue for employee relations here and they discussed setting up more publication displays and notice boards.
The hospital was celebrating its 100th year and there were a few exciting events planned under the theme Centenary. There was a meeting in preparation for the Open Day on July 4, 2009. It would be a day where the hospital would be open to the public and invited guests, exhibitions and activities would be made available and it would be a celebratory event to commemorate the many years of success of the prehistoric hospital.
The main issues raised in the meeting were that there may not be enough volunteers to perform tasks like directing parking and blowing up balloons, hospital volunteers had already been recruited. Fire and Police departments had already provided volunteers as well. It was particularly worrying that it was raining all week and we were all worried about the weather on the day because it would affect the turnout.
Advertising on tertiary institutions websites would have been a good way to get volunteers on board. As we all know, Uni students sometimes just need to complete volunteer work of any kind just to add to their repertoire of skills.
Later that day, the Centenary Coordinator stopped in to confirm that she’d be distributing promotional flyers and balloons in Bunbury that week, she also advised that there was media coverage of Open Day in Bunbury that week and asked if the PR department can liaise with them to confirm what information was being published. It amazed me how everything that went on had to be approved by the PR practitioners first, it's a huge responsibity and emphasizes how much a PR person has to be alert and aware of everything that goes on in the business at all times.
Other tasks I started that week were re-writing the standard template for the thank you letter that the Child Adolescent Health Service issues to those who donate gifts to the hospital, I also had had to send them out to a list of donors and learnt to use the mail merging system on word to send out letters to multiple recipients, which will be very useful in future PR events management! Alot of people gave toys, books and clothing to the children and families at the hospital. It was wonderful to witness that kind of patronage and the many positive letters people sent with their gifts.
I also worked on a couple of stories in Kite Tales, the CAHS staff bi-monthly news letter and carried out adminstrative tasks like scanning and filing news clippings found in key local newspapers relating to the hospital; and scanning and filing photographic consent forms for any photographs were taken at the hospital.
While other people were initially assigned challenging tasks I found that at first there were gaps where I was not assigned any tasks and I sometimes had to drag out a task to keep myself busy, it was awquard and slightly frustrating but this taught me that in this field one has to be assertive and work independently. Although it was daunting joining such a small team because they worked quite closely yet independently and knew each other very well. I wasn't sure whether being assertive would be percieved as being inappropriately forward so I asserted myself quitely and looked for tasks that needed doing that no one had asked me to do. This was the right move because when Melissa or Kim asked for me for something I was prepared and could handle the task, for example I asked questions about where we were and what certain places were so that if I was asked to go down to supplies to pick up something, I knew where to go without needing escorting, this built their confidence in my ability and I soon got assigned more tasks.
The next few weeks were to be exciting and enlightening and although I had no idea how much media I was to be exposed to, I looked forward to the rest of my time at PMH!
Jamira Thekiso
Sunday, November 29, 2009
WELCOME IN MY DREAM
Hello everyone!
First of all, I want to explain the choice of my placement. I decided to use my public relation (PR) skills within an organization and not a PR firm in order to be as close as possible to my career plan. I am currently doing my placement in the Melbourne Graduate School of Management. I started one week ago and will finish at the end of February. It is a long placement but the longer it is, the better in terms of experience.
This first week has provoked my thoughts and affected my actions towards my PR skills. To understand my process of revelation, I welcome you to join me on a journey through an amazing week in my life.
It is eight o’clock and my alarm rings and at that moment I understand that my life is going to change: "The first day in the real world". I was scared, because as an international student my English is not perfect and I knew that in the real world people will not be sorry for me, they will just expect the best from me. I was scared, but exited to start this adventure. Being a PR person in an organization is something very interesting, as you can help everyone to improve their job. At the end of my placement I would like my organisation to understand that corporations need proper PR to be successful. According to Fraser (2007,34) most companies today do recognize the importance of proper PR in the conduct of their business.
My first day has consisted of meeting people and settling down in a new environment. People have been very nice to me and have helped me a lot in the process of discovering this new place. The Graduate School of Management at the University of Melbourne has four very important departments: the Admissions, the Student Experience, the Graduate Careers Centre and the Marketing departments. I am going to help these four departments with my PR skills. For the moment I have been working with the Student Experience and the Graduate Careers Centre teams. I have worked on two different events for my first week.
This first week has provoked my thoughts and affected my actions towards my PR skills. To understand my process of revelation, I welcome you to join me on a journey through an amazing week in my life.
It is eight o’clock and my alarm rings and at that moment I understand that my life is going to change: "The first day in the real world". I was scared, because as an international student my English is not perfect and I knew that in the real world people will not be sorry for me, they will just expect the best from me. I was scared, but exited to start this adventure. Being a PR person in an organization is something very interesting, as you can help everyone to improve their job. At the end of my placement I would like my organisation to understand that corporations need proper PR to be successful. According to Fraser (2007,34) most companies today do recognize the importance of proper PR in the conduct of their business.
My first day has consisted of meeting people and settling down in a new environment. People have been very nice to me and have helped me a lot in the process of discovering this new place. The Graduate School of Management at the University of Melbourne has four very important departments: the Admissions, the Student Experience, the Graduate Careers Centre and the Marketing departments. I am going to help these four departments with my PR skills. For the moment I have been working with the Student Experience and the Graduate Careers Centre teams. I have worked on two different events for my first week.
The student experience team
The first one was "Doing well by doing good": A seminar about sustainable and community-friendly business practices. The guest speakers for this event were Ben and Jerry from Ben and Jerry Ice Cream.
Ben and Jerry during their presentation
The second event was an event to wrap up a program for graduate students called Career Mentoring, which aims to help students move forward in life through the use of professional mentors. I have applied all the tools I learnt in my PR techniques unit into a real workplace.
The mentoree students
My speech during the end of the mentor program
Within this week my supervisors have given me different projects that I will have to achieve before the end of my placement. In fact they have given me five projects: one personal big project, three major and one minor project.
The first big one is the Welcome function for the new 400 postgraduates students, which I am going to manage by my own with the monitoring of a manager. The three major projects are graduation night, the creation of new brochures and the orientation week. For these three projects I will be working with different teams. The minor project is profiling students who are going to graduate for the University of Melbourne website.
I am very excited but very conscious about the importance of doing well. This is why I am very careful and always ask for feedback. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new week, in which I have to find different quotes for the venue of my BIG project and start to contact the students that I am going to profile. This first week has given me a taste of my future career. I really enjoy managing events and I will probably work in this area. Managing events is like being pregnant: you prepare the event with all your energy, you look at it taking shape and then you give the birth and that the most beautiful day of your life when you see the result of all your passionate work. I was born to manage events...
Let the dream keep going...
Fraser P, S. 2007. The Practice of Public Relations. New Jersey: Pearson Education
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The end and other bits and bobs
The end of my placement was unfortunately when I felt I was beginning to gain the most from the experience. I was more confident and had a lot more to learn, but all I had now was the report to look forward to, a daunting task at that time.
I formatted some promotional posters for a hospital campaign called the FOur Hour rule which was an initiative being run te improve the experience of Emergency patients by reducing the amount of timethey had to wait for treatment.
I also formatted some medical brochures to put them into electronic format so that all staff could access them whenever they needed to, this took up two whole days but I also got to write another media release.
Nothing more really happened before my placement ended so I will now proceed to round up some hints and tips that I have for those looking to pursue their work placements in the future:
1. Seize the opportunity right from the beginning, 20 days is a short time and there is no point being timid or shy. It can be hard to do but start out confident and outgoing whilst remaining profesisonal
2. Be initiative to avoid feeling excluded or useless within your organization, it differs from each organization but you may find that if you just ask, you'll be given more tasks to do.
3. Read up on the organisation before you start the placement, this will put you two steps ahead and you will be able to get into the eciting jobs straight away instead of spending the whole of your first day reading the company's policies on their intranet like I had to.
4. Begin your final report while you are at the placement, I can't tell how much I wish I had, trying to remmber the exact thoughts you had at the time of the occurence is hard even with a journal.
5. Make your journal as detailed as possible so that it is easier to remember when referring back to events
6. Wirte your blog during the placement to make it more interesting.
7. Most of all ditch the nerves and enjoy your opportunity because essentially that is what work placement is about, the opportunity to observe Public Relations as it really happens
Well done all and I hope everyone enjoyed their work experience or atleast gained valuable insight from theirs. Being my last PR unit I feel this experience has greatly benefitted me, I am undoubtedly more aware of the attributes required in the real world of PR.
I look forward to my final semester next year but before then I will utilise the skills gained from this semester to pursue other work experience opportunities during the holidays, one can never have too much experience!
Good luck to those who pursue this sort of experience in the future.
Jamira
I formatted some promotional posters for a hospital campaign called the FOur Hour rule which was an initiative being run te improve the experience of Emergency patients by reducing the amount of timethey had to wait for treatment.
I also formatted some medical brochures to put them into electronic format so that all staff could access them whenever they needed to, this took up two whole days but I also got to write another media release.
Nothing more really happened before my placement ended so I will now proceed to round up some hints and tips that I have for those looking to pursue their work placements in the future:
1. Seize the opportunity right from the beginning, 20 days is a short time and there is no point being timid or shy. It can be hard to do but start out confident and outgoing whilst remaining profesisonal
2. Be initiative to avoid feeling excluded or useless within your organization, it differs from each organization but you may find that if you just ask, you'll be given more tasks to do.
3. Read up on the organisation before you start the placement, this will put you two steps ahead and you will be able to get into the eciting jobs straight away instead of spending the whole of your first day reading the company's policies on their intranet like I had to.
4. Begin your final report while you are at the placement, I can't tell how much I wish I had, trying to remmber the exact thoughts you had at the time of the occurence is hard even with a journal.
5. Make your journal as detailed as possible so that it is easier to remember when referring back to events
6. Wirte your blog during the placement to make it more interesting.
7. Most of all ditch the nerves and enjoy your opportunity because essentially that is what work placement is about, the opportunity to observe Public Relations as it really happens
Well done all and I hope everyone enjoyed their work experience or atleast gained valuable insight from theirs. Being my last PR unit I feel this experience has greatly benefitted me, I am undoubtedly more aware of the attributes required in the real world of PR.
I look forward to my final semester next year but before then I will utilise the skills gained from this semester to pursue other work experience opportunities during the holidays, one can never have too much experience!
Good luck to those who pursue this sort of experience in the future.
Jamira
Open Day, balloon dilemma, Fremantle Dockers and more tasks
In preparation for Open Day I was assigned the task of creating a diplay of media clippings from PMH's history. I had to gather the news clippings which entailed getting files of clippings from the storeroom and bringing them up using the Public relations department's trolley. I had to go through them selecting the most interesting ones and mount them, which involved cutting and pasting and labelling them. I had to bring up the display board from the storeroom and assemble it. I also had to make up a theme and decide on some colours and make decorative kites to fill the empty spaces on the display board. All this is to illustrate that PR is a very hands on career and is not all important phone calls and meetings with executives, it can involve mundane things like cutting out paper kites for decoration at an event, which is what I was doing.
It was slow and repetitive but I was just grateful for something to keep me occupied. And passers by began to admire the display days before the event, older staff memebers recognizing memories they had been involved in or children they had met in the pictures I was tacking up on the display board.
It was interesting to see the many successes that the hospital had behind it.
The day itselg f was another affirmation of the legacy of PMH, guests were many and the highlights were a speech from the Premier of WA and the cutting of a huge cake. I was mostly in one of the side rooms with other volunteers blowing iup balloons which were being handed out to the public. My fingers were chaffed from tying balloons by the end of the day but those are the trials of a PR intern.
One interesting thing though was that some of the balloons we were blowing up had Princess Margaret Hospital's 100th anniversary and some had Leighton written on them cause Leighton was a sponsor of the event but we were being told to blow up more of the PMH ones by the PR manager, some of the volunteers were from Leighton though and declined to follow PMH's PR officer's order , continuing instead to blow up Leigton balloons.
I found it interesting that the PR officer has to know every single detail about their event, including the details that are printed on the balloons!
Monday after the event the office was a-buzz with feedback but not all was pleasant. In the thank you speeches the Executive Director in charge of Nursing Facilities was disgruntled that she was not acknowledged. She stopped by the office and asked who had drafted the speech, promptly expressing her dissatisfaction when the PR Manager admitted to writing it. It was awquard to be in the office at that moment and it was upsetting for Melissa as well but she discussed her options with Kim and decided to send out a thank you email to all staff expressly acknowledging the Executive Director's contributions and also send her a personal thank you and apology for the mistake.
It became clear how important it is to note down everyone's roles in a campaign or event. That is something I hope I never fail to do.
On another day the Fremantle Dockers visited the Leukaemia ward handing out balloons to kids and signing posters. Their charity red kite was filming the visit and PR Officer Kim was finding it difficult to keep up woth their cameras. The issue was consent of the parents for their children to be on camera. PMH has a strict policy that everyone filmed or photographed must sign a consent form so this needed to be done, preferably prior to filming, however red kite's film crew was beginnign the filming before Kim could ask the families in the wards. She resorted to running ahead of the camera crew asking permission first and stopping the crew where the families had declined. It was heartwarming to see the happiness the Dockers brought to these sick children though, what a treat it was for them.
I was working on some more articles for Kite tales and needed to interview the Aboriginal Liaison officers for one of them, it was difficult to get an answer from one of the ladies and it took a few follow up emails to finally set up a time to come down to their office. Persistence is something one has to be skilled in apparently, I also had to take a photo of them for the article.
Getting there and meeting the ladies I was nervous and wondering if I seemed professional but they didn't even know I was an intern and the eliviated my nerves, I just acted friendly and confident and they seemed to believe I was a real live PR person, and because they had to talk about themselves and knew they'd be in a magazine they weren't really focussed on e anyway, which helped.
I was feeling more like a member of the team and more tasks were coming my way, which made time towards the end of my placement fly by quickly.
Jamira
It was slow and repetitive but I was just grateful for something to keep me occupied. And passers by began to admire the display days before the event, older staff memebers recognizing memories they had been involved in or children they had met in the pictures I was tacking up on the display board.
It was interesting to see the many successes that the hospital had behind it.
The day itselg f was another affirmation of the legacy of PMH, guests were many and the highlights were a speech from the Premier of WA and the cutting of a huge cake. I was mostly in one of the side rooms with other volunteers blowing iup balloons which were being handed out to the public. My fingers were chaffed from tying balloons by the end of the day but those are the trials of a PR intern.
One interesting thing though was that some of the balloons we were blowing up had Princess Margaret Hospital's 100th anniversary and some had Leighton written on them cause Leighton was a sponsor of the event but we were being told to blow up more of the PMH ones by the PR manager, some of the volunteers were from Leighton though and declined to follow PMH's PR officer's order , continuing instead to blow up Leigton balloons.
I found it interesting that the PR officer has to know every single detail about their event, including the details that are printed on the balloons!
Monday after the event the office was a-buzz with feedback but not all was pleasant. In the thank you speeches the Executive Director in charge of Nursing Facilities was disgruntled that she was not acknowledged. She stopped by the office and asked who had drafted the speech, promptly expressing her dissatisfaction when the PR Manager admitted to writing it. It was awquard to be in the office at that moment and it was upsetting for Melissa as well but she discussed her options with Kim and decided to send out a thank you email to all staff expressly acknowledging the Executive Director's contributions and also send her a personal thank you and apology for the mistake.
It became clear how important it is to note down everyone's roles in a campaign or event. That is something I hope I never fail to do.
On another day the Fremantle Dockers visited the Leukaemia ward handing out balloons to kids and signing posters. Their charity red kite was filming the visit and PR Officer Kim was finding it difficult to keep up woth their cameras. The issue was consent of the parents for their children to be on camera. PMH has a strict policy that everyone filmed or photographed must sign a consent form so this needed to be done, preferably prior to filming, however red kite's film crew was beginnign the filming before Kim could ask the families in the wards. She resorted to running ahead of the camera crew asking permission first and stopping the crew where the families had declined. It was heartwarming to see the happiness the Dockers brought to these sick children though, what a treat it was for them.
I was working on some more articles for Kite tales and needed to interview the Aboriginal Liaison officers for one of them, it was difficult to get an answer from one of the ladies and it took a few follow up emails to finally set up a time to come down to their office. Persistence is something one has to be skilled in apparently, I also had to take a photo of them for the article.
Getting there and meeting the ladies I was nervous and wondering if I seemed professional but they didn't even know I was an intern and the eliviated my nerves, I just acted friendly and confident and they seemed to believe I was a real live PR person, and because they had to talk about themselves and knew they'd be in a magazine they weren't really focussed on e anyway, which helped.
I was feeling more like a member of the team and more tasks were coming my way, which made time towards the end of my placement fly by quickly.
Jamira
Friday, October 16, 2009
Last week
Hi everyone,
My work experience is unfortunately coming to the end… People usually tell me that company often take student for work experience in order to update their data.
To be honest, I was really scared that the company where I have done my work experience would do the same but I was prepared for it just in case.
However, I was really lucky as my work experience at Concept Marketing was absolutely fantastic. The manager completely understands the purpose of my work experience and gave me the chance to prove what I am able to do. Moreover, what I really enjoyed there was the fact that all the staff respects and trusts me, and is willing to train me.
This experience opened my mind on many different things, and I realised that working in a small company is a lot better than working in a big one, as everyone know everyone and help each other. However, I am sure that there is more work to do in a small company as there is less staff and overlapping work.
To conclude, I had an awesome time working for Concept Marketing as I learned lots of new things and felt at ease in the working environment.
After talking to the manager, I took the decision to extend my work experience in the company and hopefully stay for future collaboration.
Krissy
My work experience is unfortunately coming to the end… People usually tell me that company often take student for work experience in order to update their data.
To be honest, I was really scared that the company where I have done my work experience would do the same but I was prepared for it just in case.
However, I was really lucky as my work experience at Concept Marketing was absolutely fantastic. The manager completely understands the purpose of my work experience and gave me the chance to prove what I am able to do. Moreover, what I really enjoyed there was the fact that all the staff respects and trusts me, and is willing to train me.
This experience opened my mind on many different things, and I realised that working in a small company is a lot better than working in a big one, as everyone know everyone and help each other. However, I am sure that there is more work to do in a small company as there is less staff and overlapping work.
To conclude, I had an awesome time working for Concept Marketing as I learned lots of new things and felt at ease in the working environment.
After talking to the manager, I took the decision to extend my work experience in the company and hopefully stay for future collaboration.
Krissy
3rd week
Hi,
Time goes by so fast, I already finished my third week. I’m a bit sad because its nearly the end and I’m not looking forward to leave the company and the people who work there. I know that a few of you would say she is crazy but I have so much fun working there that I do not want to stop now.
My third week was as good as my two first weeks. I had more and more responsibilities to deal with and I liked it. One of my main responsibilities was to create a strategic plan for one of their client. What I really like from this experience is that before I did not know what the company was doing with all the researches I have done during my first weeks, but now, because I followed all the process I realised that the work I have done before was useful for the staff and didn’t go to waste.
At the beginning, I was really shy to show my work to the manager and to the client during meetings because I known that lots of the things I had done would have to be checked and modified by the staff.
Moreover, I needed to learn how to use new software and programs to be able to do the work I was ask to do such as Monkey Survey or Client storm.
To conclude, my third week was one of the best one as I learned new programs and worked closely with one of the staff members to create a good strategic plan for the client.
Krissy
Time goes by so fast, I already finished my third week. I’m a bit sad because its nearly the end and I’m not looking forward to leave the company and the people who work there. I know that a few of you would say she is crazy but I have so much fun working there that I do not want to stop now.
My third week was as good as my two first weeks. I had more and more responsibilities to deal with and I liked it. One of my main responsibilities was to create a strategic plan for one of their client. What I really like from this experience is that before I did not know what the company was doing with all the researches I have done during my first weeks, but now, because I followed all the process I realised that the work I have done before was useful for the staff and didn’t go to waste.
At the beginning, I was really shy to show my work to the manager and to the client during meetings because I known that lots of the things I had done would have to be checked and modified by the staff.
Moreover, I needed to learn how to use new software and programs to be able to do the work I was ask to do such as Monkey Survey or Client storm.
To conclude, my third week was one of the best one as I learned new programs and worked closely with one of the staff members to create a good strategic plan for the client.
Krissy
2st week
Hi everyone,
Last time I forgot to mention that I am working 4 days a week for my job practice. I know it sounds crazy and tiring but I wanted to do the most days I could to be able to follow the company activities. I took this decision of working more days because I read and heard a few people from uni saying that their work practice would be so much better if they were able to work more days a week at the company because they feel that they are not part of the company and they have boring tasks to do.
As I am working a few days there, I was able to follow the company activities and so I started to have a better understanding about the company process and structure.
The best part of my second week was when the manager offered me the opportunity to attempt to a meeting with one of their client. I was very excited because I had done some research about this client during my first week and was able to follow and understand the meeting and what is was about. Moreover, the manager gave me the opportunity to attempt to the weekly staff meeting to have a better understanding of what they will do during the week.
Furthermore, because I had a better knowledge about their weekly plan and time management, the staff started to give me more activities and responsibilities. I was very happy to see that the company started to trust me and give me a place in he company . I felt like I have been working there for ages. However, I was really stressed because I had a deadline to follow so I needed to have a good time management.
To conclude, my second week was as much exciting as the first one because I learn new things and started to build a good relationship with the staff. I’m looking forward to my third week at work for more challenging things.
Krissy
Last time I forgot to mention that I am working 4 days a week for my job practice. I know it sounds crazy and tiring but I wanted to do the most days I could to be able to follow the company activities. I took this decision of working more days because I read and heard a few people from uni saying that their work practice would be so much better if they were able to work more days a week at the company because they feel that they are not part of the company and they have boring tasks to do.
As I am working a few days there, I was able to follow the company activities and so I started to have a better understanding about the company process and structure.
The best part of my second week was when the manager offered me the opportunity to attempt to a meeting with one of their client. I was very excited because I had done some research about this client during my first week and was able to follow and understand the meeting and what is was about. Moreover, the manager gave me the opportunity to attempt to the weekly staff meeting to have a better understanding of what they will do during the week.
Furthermore, because I had a better knowledge about their weekly plan and time management, the staff started to give me more activities and responsibilities. I was very happy to see that the company started to trust me and give me a place in he company . I felt like I have been working there for ages. However, I was really stressed because I had a deadline to follow so I needed to have a good time management.
To conclude, my second week was as much exciting as the first one because I learn new things and started to build a good relationship with the staff. I’m looking forward to my third week at work for more challenging things.
Krissy
1st week
Hi,
My name is Kristelle and I am doing my pr practice in a small marketing firm. It was really hard to find a work experience in pr firm at the moment because of the recession so I decided to focus on marketing firms in hopping that the company would have a PR department. However, the company that offer me the opportunity to do my work experience did not have any PR department as it is a small company but the company has a communication department.
I was really excited about working in a company as I never done any work practice before and I though that it would be a good way to learn more about the real life outside uni.
My first week was the most stressful one as I did not know anyone in the company and I needed to find a way to create a relationship with them. Hopefully, because it is a small company and because everyone works in the same room, it was easy for me to communicate and learn how the company works. Thus, during my first week I learned how the company work, what they do and how they proceed.
The staff is very friendly and considerate, so my integration in the company went very easily. Moreover, what I really like from the beginning is that all the staff was caring about me and was helping me when I needed.
What I really like during my first week is that the staff gave me work to do such as surveys to create and research to do for their new client that helped me to understand who their clients are and what they do.
To conclude, I learned how the company works, who are their clients, how they proceed with their clients, how the staff work as a team, the policy of the company as well as how to stay effective and productive everyday from 8.30 to 5.30 for my first week.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Last day, but not the end of intern
Good day everyone!
Before my internship commences, I have always think that 20 days of internship is very long. But upon reaching the end of this journey, I realize that it is actually quite short as time really flies!
Monday was my last day of work, but I will not be leaving the organization any time soon. The reason is that I am too heavily involved in the event, Golden Spokes Bike Ride, and I am also really excited about this event! The Golden Spokes Bike Ride will give me an insight of how event management really works as well as seeing all the things coming together after all the hard work done by my organization. Besides that, I felt that being assigned to contribute something to the event is a form of responsibility and I cannot just leave the job half way through, especially when the event will be held in approximately a month's time.
With the end of internship, it has been a very fruitful phase of my education and provided me with invaluable experience as well as insight of how a non-profit organization operate. Through this period, I realize that working in a non-profit organization may be tough as the financial position is weak and has limited man power. Non-profit organization rely heavily on volunteers to operate and sponsors as well as organizing events to raise funds. However, by understanding that when the organization will be able to help the people in need is a form of satisfaction. This internship program also allows me to meet different peoples from different way of life. This allows me to learn a lot about them as well as getting my 'face' to the public and network. As everyone here knows that networking is very important!
In addition, this internship also gives me a rough idea of what it would be like working in the real world and that public relations involves doing a variety of stuff from helping out with events to writing media releases to printing and photocopying. Last but not least, I would also like to thank my supervisors for guiding me through this period of internship and being so ever friendly and helpful.
That's about it from me and hope everyone had a good time like I did!
Before my internship commences, I have always think that 20 days of internship is very long. But upon reaching the end of this journey, I realize that it is actually quite short as time really flies!
Monday was my last day of work, but I will not be leaving the organization any time soon. The reason is that I am too heavily involved in the event, Golden Spokes Bike Ride, and I am also really excited about this event! The Golden Spokes Bike Ride will give me an insight of how event management really works as well as seeing all the things coming together after all the hard work done by my organization. Besides that, I felt that being assigned to contribute something to the event is a form of responsibility and I cannot just leave the job half way through, especially when the event will be held in approximately a month's time.
With the end of internship, it has been a very fruitful phase of my education and provided me with invaluable experience as well as insight of how a non-profit organization operate. Through this period, I realize that working in a non-profit organization may be tough as the financial position is weak and has limited man power. Non-profit organization rely heavily on volunteers to operate and sponsors as well as organizing events to raise funds. However, by understanding that when the organization will be able to help the people in need is a form of satisfaction. This internship program also allows me to meet different peoples from different way of life. This allows me to learn a lot about them as well as getting my 'face' to the public and network. As everyone here knows that networking is very important!
In addition, this internship also gives me a rough idea of what it would be like working in the real world and that public relations involves doing a variety of stuff from helping out with events to writing media releases to printing and photocopying. Last but not least, I would also like to thank my supervisors for guiding me through this period of internship and being so ever friendly and helpful.
That's about it from me and hope everyone had a good time like I did!
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