It begins. Nervous but oh so excited!

Professional Public Relations (PPR), I could gladly stay working here past my work experience. I would of course have to give up my paid job I’m currently working 9 to 5.30 Saturday and Sunday. Oh the joys of a seven day working week, these 6am starts don’t sit too well with me to begin with but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. My days are already so busy they fly by and I find myself being told to go home as I lose track of time, there aren’t enough hours in my day for everything I need to do.

But of course it doesn’t stop there as I get home from PPR and dive into my university work, sleep is so far away. Again the grueling task of my 6am wake up, bumper to bumper traffic and rude drivers; it’s all forgotten as soon as I get inside the office, make some tea and sit back down at my desk ready to face the new tasks that have been emailed to me. I enjoy it, the constant thrill, the insight into what a PR consultancy is all about, the friendly staff, the office chats (the water cooler doesn’t work so it’s mainly around the coffee machine). PPR is kind enough to provide the team with black tea, coffee, Milo, green tea, a coffee machine, and a fruit bowl replenished daily.

So far I’ve been working on some items for Bunnings Warehouse; a few forward features. I have an overview of what the magazine is going to be about and then draft questions and answers on the topic that the Bunnings representative could be asked by the journalist, just like PR Media last semester. This is right up my alley due to the fact that I work at Bunnings so I get this done in record time, barely having to research the answers; I’m quite impressed with how much I actually know.

Next I’ve been given the task of tackling an A3 20 page contact database for every publication and media outlet I’ve ever heard of, and plenty I haven’t. My task…determine whether these people are still in the roles listed under the publication. I’m given a time frame; by the end of my internship. I start straight away and go through searching on the internet for verification. I find that there are a large number that are not available through the internet and I will have to call and harass the receptionist. I begin the dreaded task of calling, it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be, although there are a few people I come across who have woken up on the wrong side of the bed and aren’t in any mood to help me. Just keep smiling.

The clock ticks past 5.30pm and my co-worker, Bianca, tells me it’s home time. Thank goodness, I’m sick of the sound of my own voice through all the phone calls. Time to go home, eat dinner, do my university work, and head to bed ready for my 6am wakeup. I’ve decided it’s a good idea to put my alarm clock on the other side of the room; I’ve never been a morning person.

"Life is a journey. Enjoy the ride."

Hi everyone! As this is my first blog entry I thought it would be best to introduce myself. My name is Bianca and I am a 4^th year  Public Relations and Professional Writing student at Curtin University in Bentley, Perth.  

 

Now you’re probably wondering why I chose the title above for this post. Well, on my way to my very first day at Professional Public Relations (PPR), nerves running wild and stuck in the usual heinous morning traffic of the Mitchell Freeway, I found myself behind a car with those very words plastered to its rear window.  Now I’m not usually one to subscribe to bumper-sticker words of wisdom but that day I took a leap of faith and I did.

 

This past week at PPR has certainly been a ride to say the least, as from my very first day I was thrown straight into the hustle and bustle of the busy PR consultancy by driving around Perth dropping off Valentines Day cupcakes to the media on behalf of a client.  Instead of spending the whole task stressing about a) completing the drop in a reasonable timeframe and b) making sure each cupcake did not melt in transit – I made the conscious decision to embrace and actually enjoy the opportunity that I was given which thankfully turned out to be a great success. Besides giving me a much needed confidence boost on my first day, I also found the task to be as informative as it was exciting which has since given me a good sense of where the media is located across our city. In my opinion, this knowledge of who’s who and where in the Perth media is invaluable and something which will continue to benefit me throughout the duration of my internship as well as my career.  

 

Back in the office, I spent the rest of the week undertaking a combination of administrational and public relations related activities.  Some of these activities included media monitoring – a task that is done everyday, where local and state papers are scanned and any coverage of clients is documented in what are known as ‘media clippings.’ I was surprised to find that the layout of these media clippings actually resemble the layout which we used in a journaling assignment for PR Media 250. This familiarity was really welcoming and certainly helped take the edge off what was otherwise a new and unfamiliar task.

 

Finally one of my major tasks this week was to conduct phone interviews with successful recipients of a grant given by one of PPR’s clients.  The aim of these interviews is to source as many potential news stories (or leads as they are called) as possible. As I am a student from a professional writing background, I have had very little experience with interviewing throughout my degree apart from a Q&A assignment in PR Media 250.  As you can therefore imagine, I was absolutely terrified at the prospect of putting on my journalist’s cap and digging for a good community-news story! However despite starting off a bit shaky and unsure, I now feel very confident conducting phone interviews and have already managed to uncover some very poignant and potential news stories. Amongst the skills of interviewing and transcribing which I have learnt from this task, another very valuable insight I have taken away with me is the overlap that I can now see exists between the Public Relations and Journalism profession. Though my classes at Uni have touched on this in the past, it is definitely one thing to learn about this overlap theoretically and another to experience it in a real working environment. Needless to say, I have enjoyed the challenge that these interviews have presented and will continue to embrace the opportunity to grow and refine these new skills throughout remainder of my time at PPR.

 

I apologize for the very long entry but as you can see I have had a very busy week and can’t wait to see what my second week holds in store for me!

 

Until next time…