Work/Experience: the chicken and egg argument

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been frustrated by job vacancy ads that demand "experience in the field" as a requirement. How would I ever have the experience if no one gives me the work? I need experience to get work, but I need to do the work to have the experience. Which one comes first? It's the classic chicken and egg argument, isn't it?

That's why I think we need to show appreciation to organisations that give the chance for people to gain some work experience. I'm very thankful to Baptistcare for giving me a go under the wonderful PR & Marketing team. I just finished my 20-day placement and I have gained invaluable experience during that time.

I have had the chance to use and sharpen my writing skills by writing for its quarterly magazine Reaching Out. It has taught me confidence and resilience in communicating with different kinds of people. I have learnt to look at the bigger picture of public relations and communications, both internal and external of an organisation. I have gained some insights into the aged care and disability services industry. Overall, it has given me a taste of working in the real world of professional PR. 

Now at the end of my internship, I'm happy to say that the work experience I've gained has resulted in some job offers. I will be working as a freelance writer for Reaching Out magazine and as a casual Human Resources/Marketing officer. The HR/Marketing officer is a newly created role that, as the name suggests, integrates HR and marketing. My tasks will include writing creative job ads that fit with the overall PR theme of Baptistcare, promoting programs/initiatives of the HR department to Baptistcare employees, re-writing procedures/policies in layman language, and bridging communication between the HR team and the PR & Marketing team. 

I am excited to assume these roles and see where they would lead me. Hats off to Baptistcare for giving me work experience that opens doors to employment.

THE END OF THE BEGINNING...

Work experience and the pressure to attain it has always seemed like a head ache. There is not denying it, Public Relations is a interesting role... even after almost three years of studying 'PR' I didn't know what to expect in the real working world. 

PR Professional Practice has been a daunting concept since the commencement of my PR degree, I knew it was coming from the very beginning and admittedly I thought it was going to be impossible. Finding and approaching an organisation all on my own!? I have to say, looking back at the last semester and my twenty days at zero2hero, I have learnt more about the world, business,the not-for-profit industry, event coordination, Public Relations and people than in my time at University. 

This truly feels like the start of something good, as I set to graduate this year I will venture out into the big bad world and attempt to find myself a real public relations role and take all my amazing experience with me! 

The Momentum Isn't Over!

The night of the Pink Ribbon Ball

I can't believe the Pink Ribbon Ball has been and gone! After months of hard work, blood, sweat and tears the night has finally arrived and what a success it was!

An overview of the night...

I arrived at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre at 4pm on Saturday the 6th of October and was delighted to see the Bellevue Ballroom was coming along very nicely and was starting to look like a romantic, Parisian backdrop for a magical night. The volunteers met with Douglas (Barbara's husband) and starting setting up the tables of ten. Each table needed to have 3 menus, 4 auction catalogues, 10 raffle tickets, one envelope for raffle ticket money and one envelope for raffle ticket stubbs and 4 National Breast Cancer Foundation booklets.

The tables looked very pink and romantic on the night

I then went through with Barbara the table sating and made sure she was happy with the room and how everything looked. We firstly went through her table and organised the table seating and put down name cards for the important guests attending. This including the opposition leader Mark McGowan, the U.S. Consult Aleisha Woodward and the Hon Helen McSweeney. We then organised the table next to Barbara's which included the MC's, the auctioneers, the testimonial guest speaker and Kate Simpson representative from the NBCF. I made sure to put the MC's as close to Barbara as possible so they could liaise throughout the evening without having to move around.

I then introduced myself to the floor manager of the Bellevue Ballroom for the night who was called Oma and to the head staff of the kitchen whose name was Peter. I was going to be liaising with these two men throughout the evening about extra chairs and seating problems, the entertainment requirements, opening of the ballroom, extra meals and drinks, refreshments for the band and any other problems throughout the night. It was essential to make my self known to them as I would be the first port of call for any problems on the night as I tried to minimise contact with Barbara so not to distract or stress her out. I also made contact with the AV team as I would also be liaising with them throughout the night. They would be in charge of the microphone volume, audio visual screens and video clips and music played in the ballroom.

I quickly did a last scan of the ballroom at around 6:15pm to check that everything was in place, all the VIP Corporate tables had the company logos and that every table had the correct materials.

Guests started to arrive at 6:30pm in the foyer for drinks and photographs on the red carpet. The first problem of the night I encountered was that the tables of ten print out on a board outside the ballroom was too small in font for the guests to read properly. As there was 57 tables guests had to sort through hundreds of names and with the small font this made it extremely difficult.

We had a few problems on the night with the guest list. Firstly, one couple couldn't find their names on the list but we then realised that their names had been put on the list under another couples name. There was also a spelling error where one of the tables names were printed out for two different tables. The major problem on the night was with two ladies who couldn't find their names on the guest list and I just couldn't figure out where they were supposed to be. Their tickets had been passed on to them through the Sunday Times as one of the ladies worked for Cupcakes for Cancer. I felt extremely worried but we sat them at a spare table for the entree and then located a Scoopon table with two spare seats and eventually moved them to that table. I felt extremely embarrassed for not knowing where they were sitting as I had dealt with the guest list from the get go!

We then had a problem with the entertainment for the night! We were very lucky to have secured Soul Mystique for the night, a ballroom dancing couple with a twist, previously on Australia's Got Talent. As the night was running in front of schedule, by almost half an hour, when we went down to let Soul Mystique know they were on stage soon, they were no where to be found! We were looking all around the convention centre for them, the green room, the meeting rooms down stairs, back stage but we just could not find them. When I was back in the Bellevue ballroom I then heard the MC's announce Soul Mystique and play their opening clip. This was extremely embarrassing as I knew that they were not going to be performing. Someone passed on the message to the MC's so they quickly went back on stage, apologised and said Soul Mystique were not here yet. They then moved straight on into the testimonial speech. We still couldn't find Soul Mystique and were starting to stress as we couldn't get in contact with them and had no idea where they could be! Myself and another volunteer then went up to the MC's to tell them to try and stall by talking about the raffle and auction items as we still couldn't find the talent. The MC's then went on stage and introduced Soul Mystique once again... This was now even more embarrassing and Barbara was starting to get very upset. We then finally found Soul Mystique and they went on and wowed the audience. Although it wasn't a good look most people agreed that there performance was worth the wait!

Myself (6th in from the left) with the Pink Ribbon Ball volunteers, the two auctioneers, Barbara McNaught and guests

Overall the ball was a great success having raised almost $40 000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Although the fundraising target was lower then previous years we think this may have been due to the large amount of Scoopon ticket holders in the room. However the night was still a magical event, raising awareness for an important cause and celebrating victories in the battle against breast cancer. I still cannot believe that I was a part of something so big and powerful and was able to help organise and plan the event from beginning to end!

As part of post-event production, selected professional photographs from the night are uploaded to the MFE website for the attendees to view and also purchase. I chose quite a few of the Kelvin Chong photographs to upload to show off the glitz and glamour of the ball. I chose quite a few of the ballroom setup including the tables and table centre pieces, dance floor and auction prizes. I then mostly chose photographs of guests posing for photos, guests dancing and mingling to ensure the event looks attractive so people viewing the photographs will want to attend next years ball.

As one event finishes, another is just beginning. MFE's next event the Melbourne Cup for CanTeen luncheon is just around the corner and preparations have already begun!

It was been an incredible journey at MFE and even though it is not over my blogging journey is! Thank you for reading my blog entries and I hope you have enjoyed reading about my experiences at MFE as I most certainly have thoroughly enjoyed my time here :)

Thank you again!

Elizabeth Thomas
14848799

An end to a terrific few months

Today I completed my final day of work experience at City of Joondalup and the time has really flown by, I can’t believe it has already come to an end. It feels like the time I’ve spent here has been so brief yet so valuable in teaching me about the industry I’m about to enter in the following year.

I have left City of Joondalup with a sound knowledge of how to write goals and strategies for a public relations plan, a social media strategy, media releases and columns for City publications.

The highlights of my placement were;

-       Researching potential names for one of the City of Joondalup staff meeting rooms and having one of my own suggestions be submitted to the Mayor for consideration.

-       Researching how other local governments and businesses celebrate NAIDOC Week and making suggestions for what the City can do to increase attendance and get the Joondalup community more involved in next years events.

-       Putting years of writing media releases and advertising material into practise by writing to promote Joondalup events and the city itself for City of Joondalup publications and paid newspaper advertisements

-       Learning about the City’s social media strategies and what they are doing to develop their online presence and become more interactive.

-       Performing competitor analysis’s for the City to see how other governments brand themselves and how effective this is, to determine whether any improvements could be made to Joondalups branding to better communicate key messages to the public.

I learnt a great deal over the past months and what I learnt in the workplace I will take with me when I get my first job in public relations. This experience has given me the confidence I could never get from the classroom.

Not only did I learn a lot when I was working on my own, I also learnt that there are many days in the world of PR where things do not go according to plan! On my last day the City’s Rates Draw was being held that night, where the City gives out prizes to residents that have paid their rates ahead of time as a way to reward ratepayers and encourage people to make their payments early. This saw many of us in the office come together in a rush to ensure everything was ready for the night, right down to decorations for the venue and nametags!

It’s been a great experience and I’m a little sad to leave, but now I’m more excited than ever to begin my own journey in the world of PR! Thanks for reading everybody.

The countdown is on!

SCOOPON OFFER

Due to extremely low ticket sales to the ball the Momentum team decided to run a Scoopon voucher for half price tickets to the Pink Ribbon Ball 2012. Scoopon members could purchase one ticket to the ball for $125 or two tickets for $250, usually the cost for one ticket to the ball.

This was a hard decision for Barbara to make as the cheap tickets meant they were selling for cost price and therefore she would not be making any money from the sales. As I do not use Scoopon I was unsure as to how well received the half price tickets would do on the discount website. Over the five days the deal ran for, Monday 24th of September to Friday 28th of September we were flooded with emails and phone calls with people wanting to redeem their vouchers! 136 people claimed the Scoopon voucher which brought the total guest attendance over 500 which was very exciting!

The Scoopon Voucher for the Pink Ribbon Ball 2012 on the Scoopon website

However, the only concern with the Scoopon vouchers was that once they bought the Scoopon voucher they were not guaranteed a place at the ball. They had to ring or email MFE with the voucher code to redeem the offer. There was then the concern that people would turn up to the ball without redeeming their voucher and therefore would not be on the guest list as they had not confirmed their voucher with MFE.

To resolve this problem we received a list from Scoopon with all the names of people who purchased Scoopon tickets so we were able to check who had not yet redeemed their vouchers. Once sorting through the list we were relieved to find that only one person who had purchased two tickets had not redeemed her voucher. Scoopon then contacted this lady and found out that she would not be attending the ball.

This meant that everybody who purchased a Scoopon voucher for the Pink Ribbon Ball had been accounted for and were included on the guest list.

TABLES of 10

Once the bookings were closed for the ball on Thursday the 4th of October it was time to start making up the tables of ten in the Bellevue Ballroom at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. This could only be done after the final guest list count which leading up to the week of the ball was constantly changing. There a few last minute people pulling out due to other commitments and illness and there were also a few last minute people purchasing tickets for friends. Once the total guest count was confirmed for 567 guests we then emailed PCEC with the total guest count and total number of tables we would be requiring which was 57 tables. PCEC then sent us through the floor plan with the correct amount of tables and it was time to start creating the tables!

We first started by placing the MFE table which included Barbara McNaught the CEO of MFE and her distinguished guests including the opposition leader the Hon Mark McGowan, the Hon Helen McSweeney and her husband representing the State Government, the U.S. General Consulat and the National Breast Cancer Foundation representative Kate Simpson. 

The MFE table was placed in the third row in a great position right next to the dance floor. We then placed the table with the MC's Alexa Coetsee from the Sunday Times and Mike Hopkins from Sky News, the two Auctioneers, the testimonial speaker and other important guests on the table next to MFE so Barbara could liaise with them directly. We then placed all the VIP tables which included sponsor tables and companies who had purchased a VIP Diamond table in good positions in the first few rows around the dance floor. Next to follow behind the VIP tables was the standard tables of ten and single tickets purchased. We made sure to put tables with breast cancer survivors in good positions as well.

We then placed the Scoopon ticket holders in the tables around the edges and at the back of the room. This is because they purchased the tickets at half price and were therefore not going to get prime positions. There were 16 tables of Scoopon ticket holders. The last table was the volunteers table which was placed in the corner of the room because we would not be sitting down a great deal!

This took a whole day just to organise who sat with who and where they would sit! Once the list of tables were complete, we sent the list to PCEC as they needed to print a copy to be used at the Ballroom entrance so people could see where they would be seated. However the list was never really final as during the days leading up to the ball there were constantly changes being made to the guest list. We also had to send PCEC a list of the guests including any dietary requirements they may have. There were many dietary requirements including Vegetarians, Gluten Free, No Soy, allergies etc. which had to be made clear to the venue. However as we did not receive all dietary requirements it was difficult to give an exact number.

MENUS, AUCTION CATALOGUES & RAFFLE TICKETS

We then had to confirm the Menus, the Live Auction catalogues and the Raffle Tickets so they could be printed as they would be displayed on every table on the night. The Menus were very similar to the ones used last year which made it easy. We had to confirm the blurb used for Brian Gardner Motors with John Gardner as they are the naming sponsors as well as confirm the blurb about the National Breast Cancer Foundation. PCEC would confirm the actual food served on the night. The NBCF were very specific about every time there logo is used, there needs to be the 'Proudly Supporting' written above it. We needed to go back to our artwork team to change this immediately. Everything else was perfect so the menus were ready to be printed.

The auction catalogues had to be confirmed with the auction item description, the reserve price with a photo or image included of the prize. There were 15 items included in the Live auction this year and each item had to have a photograph and description. Once confirmed the catalogue was then ready to be printed!

The raffle tickets were very similar to the ones used at the ball last year and therefore did not take long to produce. As the raffle item to be won are two Business Class return tickets to Paris, the raffle tickets look like boarding passes with the Singapore Airline logo used as they are donating the prize. Once the tickets were approved, 550 were ready to be printed.

VOLUNTEERS

As part of my role at Momentum, I also have to organise the volunteers for the ball on the night. Volunteers are a crucial part of the night as will help with checking and seating guests, selling raffle tickets, ballot bidding and silent auction forms and help as spotters during the live auction. As the ball will accommodate over 550 guests the volunteers will be helping with any queries guests may have and help to set up the tables before the night has started.

Due to my previous work experience volunteering at different events I already knew some people who would be interested and Barbara also had a list of people keen to volunteer for her events. I contacted the three people who I thought would be keen and they were all happy to accept and volunteer on the night. I emailed all 6 volunteers with information about the night; where to meet and at what time and what to wear on the night. Last year the volunteers wore customised t-shirts for the "Pink Ribbon Ball 2011" however this year we decided to just wear black cocktail dresses.

I am very excited for the ball and look forward to sharing my stories with you after the event!

Elizabeth Thomas
14848799

First weeks at the City of Joondalup

Hello everyone, 

This is my first blog post written after completing four days at my placement within the Marketing Department at the City of Joondalup. So far I have been going in every Monday, however will be beginning to go in several times a week as the semester progresses and as we get closer to some of the events they hold.

At City of Joondalup public relations is incorporated into their relatively small marketing department, specifically focused on by the media advisor. As a result of this I was exposed to different activities some more marketing orientated and some more public relations based. The variety kept things interesting and I have definitely learnt a lot.

So far I have had a great experience here with everybody being extremely friendly and more than happy to help me on things I am unsure about as well as having me sit and work with them to get a better understanding of each of their roles within the department and the jobs they carry out on a day to day basis.

Being a local government, the City of Joondalup hosts a lot of corporate events, but it also hosts plenty of community based events where they are currently really focused on getting more awareness and increasing attendance.

Because of this I have been assisting with a lot of the work developing advertisements, fliers, booklets and signs to be distributed to the public before events including the Joondalup Festival, Joondalup Esteddford, Little Feet Festival and more.

I have been asked to do a competitor analysis for some of these events. Looking at the websites run by other local governments and seeing how events are run and what type of advertising is used. I am then asked to make any suggestions for things that City of Joondalup could do for upcoming events or events they have next year.

I did a lot of this for NAIDOC Week, the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. This is celebrated by many local governments and companies around Australia every year and City of Joondalup always holds an opening ceremony and several community activities. I was asked to research and come up with ways that the City can increase attendance and encourage more of the public to attend. In the past they have found that the activities are mainly attended by City employees which the marketing department wants to change by increasing awareness.

So far I have had a great time in my placement and look forward to what I’ll be learning in the weeks to come!

Work experience, WASO and what it's all about.

It is hard to believe that in three weeks time I will have completed my university degree and this therefore brings with it the looming realisation that the ‘real world’ of full-time work awaits.

When thinking about the topic for my final blog post it seems necessary to reflect upon not only my time at the West Australian Symphony Orchestra but also what I have learned from the various internships I have undertaken throughout my course.

Having started at WASO as an intern and eventually coming into my part-time role that I have currently, has made me appreciate hard work and the diverse nature required of their marketing department. With hundreds of concerts per year to organise promotion and ticketing for, alongside the constant planning ahead for the next season saying that time management is a requirement for working in this type of environment is an understatement. Despite this the WASO team are always more than willing to answer questions I have or show me when I have trouble with something (usually this involves the printer which seems to desperately hate me) and they are genuinely lovely people to work alongside.

From working here I have definitely gotten a taste of what goes into the weekly running of the marketing department and concert preparations. A few other opportunities that I think have definitely aided in my understanding of a marketing/PR role have included coordinating the volunteers for WASO’s Symphony in the City event which is an annual free concert with around 20,000 attendees and organising rates incentive prize schemes with the city councils.

I think it goes without saying that the best thing someone studying in the communications field (whether it be public relations, marketing or journalism) can do is volunteer for as much work experience and networking as possible. In my experience I have learned so much from observing how ideas originate, the processes it takes to put these into reality and also what is involved with monitoring press coverage and its results. Seeing how everyone communicates, PR and journalists alike, and the conduct of an office environment is extremely helpful too and certainly makes entering the work force a lot less daunting on a graduate.

Interning is a great deal about attitude too. You can be the most efficient and well spoken and written person but unless you want to be there giving up your time isn’t worth the while of either you or the employer. It can be really intimidating walking into an office as an inexperienced student who doesn’t know anyone but taking the time to smile and talk to people shows your interested (even if you are seriously intimidated sometimes!) and want to be there.*

I have learned that there really is no job too small, sure it can be frustrating when you have to update media lists, searching long and hard for contact details, or are asked to package and mail out 500 letters by hand but they really are important to the company and contribute to its profitability- otherwise these tasks wouldn’t exist.

As my other major is Journalism I have interned across a few media companies in Perth and feel I have an understanding of the relationship between the industry and public relations. Knowing what journalists need from PR professionals, the main of which is prompt and accurate information when requested to meet their strict deadlines, is imperative. In addition to this establishing good relationships with the media is paramount to being successful in PR- a journalist will never forget unsatisfactory behavior made by PR consultants!

If I could go back and do anything from the beginning of my degree over it would have been not to wait until second year to start interning. I think a lot of students hesitate to start volunteering, even for one day events, because they are afraid they don’t know enough yet but I don’t believe this should be the case. I know personally I have learned just as much from being emerged in an organisation as I have from my course.

Being a member of the PRSC has contributed also to my learning and through organising events with PR professionals you really get an appreciation of the fact that Perth is small and everyone really does know pretty much everyone else in the industry. That being said, I look forward to seeing most of you inevitably out there in it!

Vanessa Costanzo. 

*For anyone interested there is a blog called My Interning Life which was started by a La Trobe University media studies student. It is dedicated to getting varying opinions and insights into interning in the media/communications field. It’s nice to get an Australian view, as a lot of similar sites tend to be American or English.

The Fair Tradie Project Ball

Blog 2

The day of the Fair Tradie Project Ball arrived and there was so much to be done so everyone had to be at the South Perth Community Hall at 11:00 AM in order to set up. I had to help set up the tabels and chairs, arrange seating plans, create flower arrangements for the tables and help with the goodie bags.

At 6:00 PM we were debriefed on our roles for the night. Another girl and I were front of house and in charge of checking everyones names off at the door and informing them of where they were sitting. It soon became clear that it was going to be fairly difficult as the list of names was not in alphabetical order and many names were missing off the list. It took a little while to sort all the issues out but it was a great learning experience about what I would do differently next time. I did a lot of running around trying to find people's seats and figuring out table issues.

Once the night got underway I helped serve drinks and then Georgia the event manager asked me to model the auction items so people at the tables could see the items. I was not super keen as there was hundreds of people in the room but i worked up to courage to do it. I also had to go around and ask the guests who they thought was the best dressed for the night and who the best dancers were. At 12 PM the night was finished and we had to stay back to clean up and pack away everything. It was an extremely long day and there were a few bumps but it was a wonderful night and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

In the end $15 000 was raised for FTP to build homes for orphaned children in Jinja Uganda which was short of the $30 000 that we hoped to raise but it was still a great result. I personally learned a lot through the process of preparing for the ball and how much work is required in organising everything especially when you work for a not for profit organisation and everything comes from donations.

The power of the intern

I have been doing work experience since the second year, and it something I highly recommend to everyone who is beginning a degree…“start early!”  I have gotten so much out of every experience as it has really consolidated everything I have learnt in university, and in some cases helped me in my degree. On top of the skill and knowledge gained, there are the relationships that are formed that can change the direction of your career. We hear it all the time “network, network, network”, and it is true because the people you work with have connections in the industry and if you can prove your worth then they are more often than not happy to help you move forward in your career.

So for those heading out into internships I would like to pass on some advice from what I have learnt through my experiences. 

• Ask “dumb” questions, people don’t mind answering the easy questions and it shows interest and a want to learn. 
• Always go beyond what is expected, you want to make a good impression, you never know where this opportunity could take you. You will never regret trying hard, but you will always regret if you feel like you didn’t show your best.
•  Push yourself, entering the professional world is scary and you may start out feeling like your not good enough and begin second guessing yourself, but if you don’t try you will never know what you’re capable of. There is no harm in failing, but there is harm if you never tried, and from my experiences it is the times when you pushed yourself outside your comfort zone that end up being the most rewarding. 
• Be organised, it is the key to success. 
• Say ‘yes’ to everything! The beginning is when we really have to make our mark and prove ourselves above the rest and if you take advantage of every opportunity then you will be rewarded.

I hope this helps people heading out in to internships and in to the professional world. Work experience has been the best decisions I have made and has made me even more excited to finish my degree and enter the professional world. 

Social Media is the new Black

Social Media is the new Black
 

After two and a half months at Scitech I finally am feeling the groove of the workplace and my spot in the office. There is always something to do which is either challenging or exciting and this really has calmed my initial nerves of working in the ‘real world’.

There is one thing about the ‘real world’ which everyone should have a strong grasp on and that is the crazy world of SOCIAL MEDIA. This can be anything from facebook, twitter, blogs and hootsuite which I have found to be a massive eye opening experience in its self. If my sole role in Scitech was to just monitor, adjust, post and create social media stories and information I would have my hands full. The fact that these women in the communications department are able to get any of their other jobs done astounds me. That being said I have been given the administration ‘master key’ to Scitech’s entire social media sites and I take this responsibility with both caution and excitement.

 It is amazing how much there is to know about the world of twitter (which up until recently I have only used to stalk the Kardashians and Justin Beiber) so with this in mind I asked my supervisor for a crash course introduction to the social media site. All these hashtags and handle things that needed to be understood have taken practice but I have to say I am now nearly a twitter convert! I still don’t post much on my personal one (I prefer to stay the silent type) but I now can receive the most up to date news information, fun facts about anything and follow what is happening around Perth. This homework is necessary in the real Public Relations world and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is as computer redundant as me.

Hootsuite however has blown my mind, for anyone who has not heard of it look up http://hootsuite.com/ and prepare to be amazed. It is basically a dashboard which allows you to manage and measure your organisations social media. With one login you can view, update, measure and even draft upcoming posts which are schedules to come out in the future. It has your facebook and twitter on the same window and so you can easily view what is being said about you, what you are saying and what you want to in the future. Highly also recommend this as homework to all!

From uploading pictures of events, giving people a heads up to upcoming things and just interacting with our stakeholder, social media is amazing and we should never underestimate the power of it. If you want to see fun and factual things everyday add us on facebook or follow @ScitechWA (even a video of the baby chickens hatching!)

Feel free to comment, until next time! J

Brooke