If I have any chance of making it big, I need to get out of here

“How am I supposed to reach my full potential in the most isolated capital city in the world? I need more challenges, greater opportunities and rewarding experiences that go beyond what lies in front of me here.”

-          Marli, a once naïve public relations student living in Perth
 

I began my placement at Perth based communications consultancy 32 Degrees South (32dsg) with a skewed outlook of the public relations profession in Western Australia. Not once did I consider Perth as a destination that would enable me to work on a national or international scale. To my delight, I was wrong.

With no previous experience in a professional workplace, my first day was far from what I expected. Slightly overdressed, and eager to put my best foot forward, I entered the contemporary office of 32dsg – a small consultancy firm focused primarily on innovation and strategic thinking. I was welcomed by a team of three consultants, each with over 10 years’ experience in the international field of public relations and events.   

 

 

During my first week, the knowledge I had accumulated during my years of study was quickly thrown in to practice. With no more than a short brief and a website address, I was responsible for drafting a media release that would be disseminated on a national scale. Not to mention, the release was for the Omnivore World Tour, an international food festival that has visited cities such as New York, Paris, Shanghai, Moscow and Montreal and was set to be arriving in Sydney.

Reflecting on the media release I produced during my first week, I was shocked to learn that what I had exercised during university was not necessarily practical in reality. One sentence paragraphs, with a seven to 10 maximum and straight forward language was not the style of media release my supervisor sought. She desired detail. I quickly found myself adapting the media release style to which I had become accustomed and was obliged to demonstrate creativeness and depth.

A media release was however only the beginning. During the week I produced several news articles for an array of clients including Omnivore, Mai Tai, D&AD, the Department of Commerce and the OZAPP Awards. As the week progressed I was given more complex tasks including producing a media strategy and newsletter, as well as various social media activites. In one week I had accomplished more than I thought was possible during my entire placement.

My time so far has been demanding, engaging and above all gratifying. I no longer consider Perth as a stepping stone, but instead an opportunity to fulfil my passion close to family and friends.

To find out more about my placement organisation 32 Degrees South, please visit their website www.32dsg.com.

If anyone is curious to discover more about the clients I came in contact with during my first week, below is a list of websites:

http://www.omnivore.com

http://www.maitaiglobal.org

http://www.dandad.org

http://innovation.wa.gov.au/programs-resources/273-2/

http://ozapp.com.au/

PR for a Services Agency

Dear all,

I am Gilbert. This is my first blog post after 5 days into my PR internship.

I have found a placement in a travel agency, with a number of services related to tourism: events and strategy, finance, business travel, business consulting, and paint marketing.

It is an opportunity to feel how the PR practitioner fits into the business paradigm. The main characteristics of this universe are pro-activity and re-activity.

The PR in a travel and tourism business is expected to understand the local and the international contexts within which it operates.

Moreover, the enterprise is in a process of expansion and diversification. The challenges are many: human resources, finance and time management. The communication professional needs to listen, understand and respond to a long and sometimes fragmented task list.

Each day is different: no place for monotony or repetition. Thus, creative thinking skills are employed to the full, to organise events and respond to urgencies with appropriate solutions.

Interactivity is also another feature of my internship experience, since no project can succeed without coordination, collaboration and communication.

My first wedding!!!

Events can be exhausting!!!!

I can’t believe that time goes so by fast, I am almost done with my internship and also my degree at Curtin university! Although most of my time has been spent in the office and completing tasks that would be done within the organisation on a daily basis, I got the opportunity to help run a wedding recently and I jumped at the opportunity.

When I arrived at the venue I felt the anticipation in the air, staff were busy fixing last minute details and the events manager was ensuring everything looked perfect before the guests arrived. The venue looked amazing, there were flowers everywhere and candles that lit the room beautifully. The Breakwater is an award winning venue that is renowned for their weddings, the room over looks the harbour and you can see the sun setting which really sets the mood for the evening.

The event ran smoothly without any major problems, I really learnt the importance of keeping on top of what was going on through out the night especially being informed and aware of any problems in order to make sensible decisions before they escalate. Other important things to remember when organising and planning an event, especially in my organisation I completed my internship were:

• Agree the purpose- this will help inform everyone who is involved and give everyone clear objectives.
• Know your audience- be aware of who will be attending the event, any dietary requirements, underage guest and so on. This will help you target and meet your objectives.
• Plan- having a clear and concise plan of the event, everything leading up to the day will be well thought through and organised. On the specific night have a print out of the plan, which should include timings and the event lay out, this is essential to keep the event running smoothly.
• Consider timings- allow for time changes, sometimes certain aspects of the night such as speeches might run overtime. It is important to prepare for these and act accordingly such as informing the kitchen on any delays and change the plan if necessary.
• Co-ordinate- give staff specific roles, ensure everyone is briefed and ensure everyone who is involved is well informed and are given specific responsibilities and tasks. The event manager is the main member who is responsible for the overall event and therefore must remain professional and make any necessary arrangements and actions.

I really enjoyed participating in the wedding, I got to have a real hands on approach to organising an event and the type of requirements necessary for the PR professional who co-ordinates an event.

I think the main key I took away from this experience was not to expect the event to go perfectly and be open to changes to the plan, instead of worry about the problem it is better to act accordingly and work on fixing the issue being presented. Organisation is such an important element in being prepared as much as possible and hopefully create an event that is successful and beneficial to the organisation.

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

The Jazz Event of the Year!

Hello Again,

So after weeks of preparing for the Mike Stewart and Sarah McKenzie Concert with WAYJO it had finally arrived!

Since I've been at WAYJO I've been set tasks focused on the Mike Stewart and Sarah McKenzie concert. There are three events in which we had to prepare for: a schools excursion concert during the day, the big concert at night and the VIP's event before the show.

One of the major roles I was given was in regards to the Mike and Sarah for Schools Excursion. For this concert I spent my days liaising with teachers across the metropolitan Perth area. This was a very scary task for me as I was not yet use to calling up people I didn't know. It was soon after the first few phone calls that my confidence had sky rocketed as I found the most efficient ways to communicate with teachers. What I learnt was that teachers are very informal in communications, preferring a more relaxed environment. I also noticed that they’re not always on top of things, so they really appreciate reminders and direct communications such as phone calls. Many hadn’t even gotten round to checking their emails from the previous month!

Finding out about my audience was really helpful as I discovered what they wanted to hear and how they wanted to hear it. Talking to the teachers was actually quiet rewarding as they were very receptive to an open two way communication flow about the event. Now I understand the value in what my tutors and lecturers have taught me throughout my degree; that getting to know your audience in every aspect allows you to maintain and create a strong positive relationship with your stakeholders.

It was such a shame that I was unable to see the Mike and Sarah for Schools Concert and appreciate the results of my communications but the main concert needed all hands on deck! The day of the big concert was very manic, I spent most of the day updating the final guest list and creating the seating plan for the VIP’s. This was very exhilaration as my job was to make sure that every guest was accounted for, and I was still receiving new names up until the last minute! You could imagine my stress.

After the list was finally finalized I rushed to get ready and headed to the theatre where I was to give out name badges and tickets to the VIP's. If I thought handling the guest list was stressful then I was very much mistaken. Many tickets had not yet been put into each guest’s envelope, therefore tickets had to be manually found and accounted for in front of the guest which was not ideal. From this experience I realized that no amount of theory in the class room can prepare you for the stress and pressures of running an event.

I spent many days focusing on; sending out event information to websites, writing an editorial about Sarah McKenzie, designing flyers and other related tasks. Therefore, it was such a thrill to see the event come together and be a massive hit! I specifically remember hearing the words sold out at the box office whilst attending to our full VIP guest list. It was such an amazing feeling to know that all our hard work had paid off! Take a look at the following link for more information regarding the main event: http://wayjo.com/event/mike-stewart-sarah-mckenzie-with-wayjo/.

I now look forward to getting back into the office and gaining more experience in PR at WAYJO.

Goodbye for now!

Christina

A Toe Tapping Start to Work Experience

Hello!

So I've finally decided to write my first blog about my internship at the one and only Western Australia Jazz Youth Orchestra (WAYJO). WAYJO is a not-for-profit organisation that provides unique opportunities for the top jazz musicians in WA. It's a very tough organisation to get into but once accepted students are rewarded with career-defining experiences including touring, training, recording and performing with world-class guest artists.

As this is my first work experience position I had no idea what to expect! As soon as I walked in I felt very comfortable and ready to get to work! I work in a small office with about four other ladies all of whom are very kind and facilitating.

WAYJO at the moment is very busy as its due to celebrate its 40th anniversary next year! This means gaining sponsor and alumni support is even more important as they plan for the numerous events and programs in the next coming months. This is wonderful for me as there's a lot for me to do!

Due to WAYJO being a not-for-profit organisation I've been given a variety of tasks. These tasks include; creating a media contact list, updating and adding to sponsor and school contact lists, written an editorial on an upcoming jazz artist, designed event flyer's, contributed to the format of the new website, created a list of free web event listing sites, published WAYJO event details to event listing websites, and resolved returned emails.

I'm very much appreciative of my unit coordinators as they've always covered material that is associated with non-for-profit organisations. It is only now I understand the true differences of PR roles in profit and non-for-profit organisations that I've been taught throughout my degree. The skills I've learnt from my PR units have been vital in my role at WAYJO and additionally give me the confidence to attack the new tasks assigned.

So far I have learnt so much and have really enjoyed my placement! I'm looking forward to learning and experiencing more at WAYJO! 

Bye for now,

Christina