6 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Internship

During my two internships there are things I did that worked to my advantage and things I wish I had done differently. Below are my tips to ensuring you get the most out of your internship.

1.   Triple check your work

No matter how small or insignificant the task may seem, always take the time to ensure you have completed the task correctly. Check your grammar is correct and that you have finalized the task to the standard requested.

When you are doing the same task over and over it is easy to slip up and make a typo. It might not seem like a big deal. However if you pass this work to your boss who picks up the mistake (or worse, the client) you are unlikely to be trusted with jobs with bigger tasks.

At the end of the day the work you output is a reflection of you and your professional standards.

2.   Complete the small tasks with a good attitude

I am not going to lie, there were times during my internships where I was completing a task thinking ‘three years of my life and $30,000 on a degree has lead to me spending half a day scanning documents’. It is frustrating, but at the end of the day you are an intern. You are going to be given the tasks that no one else wants to do.

My advice is to try and learn as much as you can from that task. Even if it is just scanning, get to know the documents you’re scanning, learn from them. Do these tasks fast and to a high standard. Only then will you be trusted to take on jobs that require more responsibility. No one is going to let the intern who can’t even scan a document strait write a media release.

3.   The answer is yes

You might just be lucky enough to be given a task that is challenging or even scary, that think you are incapable of completing. Never decline such an offer. You have been allocated the task because your supervisor believes in you. You should too. 

Don’t think about the worst that could happen. It is more than likely that you will do a fantastic job and impress everyone, including yourself.

4.   Dress for the job you want not the job you have

You might be surprised at the opportunities that can present them self if you are dressed like a corporate professional. If you have read my previous blogs you will know I attended a press conference during my internship. My job was media registration. With the knowledge that I would be meeting the client I dressed as professionally as my wardrobe would allow me. 

I ended up being asked to MC the press conference. I spoke to 30 media from Malaysia’s most successful media outlets. I have no doubt that I would not have been asked to MC if I was not dressed corporate.

See my blog post ‘From intern to press conference MC’ for more information on this story.

5.   It’s not what you know, it’s who you know

Networking has been absolutely hammered into us throughout university. Yet still I just cannot stress how important simply knowing the right person can be. Meeting one individual can change the way your career progresses.

When I start a new job, particularly an internship, I do my best to talk to everyone. Better yet, make a good impression on them. Chat to the person in front of you in the down stairs café, strike up a conversation with the lady heating up her lunch in the kitchen, pick up the pen the guy dropped because his hands were full of files. You just never know where that conversation might lead you.

6.   Talk to your supervisor about what you want to experience

A simple conversation might be the difference between you getting little out of your internship and getting the rewarding experience you want. Tell your supervisor what you want to be exposed to during the internship. Whether it is writing a media release, a story for the intranet, organising an event or interviewing people. At the end of the day if you don’t tell them they won’t know. 

Communication with your supervisor is just an important as any other form of communication, and I know you are great at communication, after all you are about to get a degree in it.

My internships at GO Communications and the Public Transport Authority have taught me a lot about Public Relations in the real word. I even learnt a thing or two about myself. 

Good luck to you all.

Whitney

8 TIPS ABOUT FILMING AT EVENTS

Since I am doing Public Relations and Film at Curtin University. My workplace have taken that into account and have decided to use my creative side. I have been filming their events from a charity walk, to a river cruise and even a soiree at Linneys surrounded by jewellery and champagne. It is so awesome to have extra skills such as the ability to film as they would make you do all these creative things and here are some tips I have learnt along the way. 

1.       Having the right gear

One of the most important aspects of filming an event is having the right cameras and lens to get the look that you want. I personally use the Nikon D5100 DSLR with a 35mm lens. Using a handheld camera or your phone camera will not only produce low quality video, but will seem unprofessional and make your event management look cheap.

2.       Understanding the venue

Before the event starts, make sure you have an understanding of the venue. Understanding the venue will allow you to know where and what shots to take. For example, I had a great knowledge of the Perth CBD when filming for the homeless walk event. I filmed interesting shots from the bridge, from inside the mall and could travel from one end to the other faster because I knew shortcuts.

3.       Plan your filming style

Filming style refers to the way your film will look. Will it have saturated colours? Will it have people acting? Will it be a series of candid shots? Will it look like a film or a documentary? Ask yourself these questions because when you are shooting, you would want a clear idea of what the final product will look like and to have a certain consistency between the shots.

4.       Find your subjects of interest

One of the things that made films interesting is the people or things that you show that catch people attention. When filming the homeless walk, I noticed that there were little kids attending the event. I decided to shoot them and when the video was put together, it enhanced the emotion of the video. It makes people think about ‘what if they were on the streets?’ or ‘These kids should not go ever go through something like homelessness in their life’. Find your subject of interest!

5.       Weather conscious

If you are shooting outside, you are bound to face some difficulties with the weather. Knowing the weather forecast for the event day will help you plan the gear and even the settings on the camera. Bring an umbrella! Bring a jacket! Look at the weather channel!

6.       Having enough battery and memory

The camera’s battery life and memory space must always be in mind throughout filming an event. Make sure you plan your shots and not film too much at the beginning of the event because you will most likely run out battery/memory towards the end.

7.       Can you hear it right?

Recording the sound will always be as important as filming the video. People will not like the video no matter how good the filming was if the sound is not very good. Make sure you test out the sound before filming. Understand its limitations and how far the subject should be from the microphone before filming them.

8.       Having enough footages

The worst thing that could possibly happen in putting together a film is not having enough footage. Your videos will be short and the clips wouldn’t be long enough. Always shoot 30 or 1 minute more than you are supposed to. Never hurts to have more than having nothing to edit with!

Five tips on how to 'survive' your placement

Hi Everyone!

A few weeks ago I finished my placement at PPR and as I am due to make another post, I thought I would give you all a few tips for your placements, as many of you are probably due to start your placements this week, or have just begun them.


So here is:

Dominique's 5 Top Tips on how to 'survive' your placement

Number 1: Say yes to everything! Well, almost everything...
Show that you are keen to help with anything that gets past your way. Even if it is a task such as following up phone calls for a particular client or colleague or doing a bit of Google research for someone else, show that you want to help out and learn. The main thing to remember is that if you have a huge work load with urgent deadlines and someone else asks you to help out with a task, make sure you let them know your schedule. There is nothing worse that stressing out because you are overloaded with jobs and can't finish them all!

Number 2: Ask questions and use your initiative!
If you are asked to do something and are still unsure, make sure you clarify the task with the person who has instructed you on it. There is no such thing as a stupid question, rather, it is stupid not to ask a question. While you may feel a bit embarrassed to ask something simple, you are not expected to know everything and your colleagues will be happy to help you. Using your initiative is another key - if you can show that you can do tasks without being asked, this will really impress the people you are working with!

Number 3: Keep a diary/log and copies of your work so that you have samples to provide in your final report.
Make sure to check with your supervisor/the people you are working with, on which documents you can copy - such as if you write a comment piece for a particular publication, make sure you check you can take a copy of this. You will most likely not be able to take home with you confidential information, such as information you may work on regarding an upcoming client pitch, but check anyway. If this is the case, make sure you keep a daily diary/log of everything you do so you can still write about it in your final report, as well as for your own reference in the future.

Number 4: The people you work with could be future business contacts - utilise these contacts!
Get to know your work colleagues during your placement and gain their business cards/contact details at the end of your placement, so you can contact them if need be in the future. Also give them your contact details as well, so if something ever pops up (i.e. opportunity for more work experience/a vacant paid position) they will be able to contact you!

Finally, Number 5: Remember to have fun!
The 20 days you undertake at an organisation will drag on if you don't enjoy your time there, so put on a happy face, interact with your colleagues, be prepared to take on the work load and before you know it your placement will be finished and you will be sad to go (I know I was!).

I hope my tips assist you all in some way during your placements and thank you to those people who have participated in my posts over the last few months.

Good luck with your work experience placements for Semester 2!

Over and Out,

Dominique,

Bentley Campus