A daunting prospect...

After having worked a total of 32 hours in my PR placement at Shine Communications, I can honestly say applying my theory into practice is definitely not what I had expected.

Prior to commencing my placement I couldn't fathom the concept of even trying to apply these past three years of theory into practice, it was such a daunting prospect and one I did not think I would do well at.  Currently in my fourth week of interning at Shine Communications, a home-based PR consultancy, I feel like a new person, like I have learnt so much. Technically I have only completed four full days of work experience so far as I am only working once a week, but the increase in my confidence and the gradual improvement in the way I now practice public relations is immense. 

It is so interesting to see how all of what we have learnt at university is actually applied in real life and it really isn't all that different. I was always of the opinion that what we learnt at university was only going to be half of what we ultimately need to know about public relations once entering the workforce. This unit has enabled me to appreciate and understand the importance of my degree in such a field of work and now I really don't know what I was so worried about - I may not be as clueless as I thought I was! 

The Principal of Shine Communications and my incredible mentor has thrown me in the deep end from day dot. So far, I have conducted five interviews and written six media releases, one of which made it into the Joondalup Community Times! I have also done some minor work on a client's newsletter, written up some interview questions and am currently in the process of compiling media clippings from 2012 for the Dogs' Refuge Home in Shenton Park - one of Shine's many clients.

Despite a few minor glitches initially, having to cast my mind back to PR Techniques 220 and remember how to actually write a media release, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time so far at Shine and can't wait for what is to come in the near future. I hope with more time, comes more responsibility in my role at Shine and therefore a broader opportunity to learn more about public relations, continuing to challenge myself and my initial thoughts about this whole experience! 

Internship Adventures: Mission accomplished!

It is the end of semester and I recently submitted a draft of the PR report to my supervisor. When I attended the report writing workshop with Ali a few weeks ago, I was taken aback by the thick reports from past semesters. I felt terrible that the work I undertook will not amount to a thick report like the ones I saw. However, reflecting back to the public relations efforts I put into this internship, research played an integral role. Conducting research took a lot of time but enabled me to produce, in my opinion, a high quality media release and information to my supervisor for his meeting with the Premier. 

Since I work from home or university, I did not spend much time in the company. Rather, communication was mostly done via email and weekly or fortnightly meetings with my supervisor. I must say my supervisor did invite me to work at the office whenever I wanted to. However I thought I could do more at university or home so decided against that. Besides, most staff work from home and I felt awkward to be there without anyone else. Fun fact: staff work from home to cut back on energy consumption at the office! 

I think I have managed to apply the public relations theory I have learned over the course of two years into practice. It is wonderful that I worked for a company who has similar ideals as I do. Being energy-wise s something everyone should think about at least once because taking care of our natural surrounding is, I think, one of the main reasons we were put on Earth. Moreover, having experienced it first-hand, energy building designs makes for comfortable living that is also responsible towards the environment. 

This blogs concludes my log of the Internship Adventures as I like to call it. I hope all of you enjoyed your placements and got a lot out of it. Most importantly, good luck and best wishes for a successful public relations profession! Also, enjoy that road to your individual successes. And remember, Winston Churchill was right in saying, “kites rise highest against the wind, not with it. So keep at it and success is inevitable!