Public Relations and I

Note: I apologise that this is a little out-of-date, I've been writing my blogs without posting them.

 

I can honestly say I’ve never considered myself a Public Relations student. Whenever I’m asked whether I’d like to pursue the PR or journalism aspect of my degree I invariably respond by saying; “Journalism. The PR is sort of a back-up.” Journalism is what I’ve wanted to pursue since primary school and as a result I’ve always somewhat coasted through my PR units. However, my view on PR is slowly beginning to change.

My view of public relations first started to change when I was looking at where I could get a placement. As I was using regular employment sites, such as Seek, I was coming across real job listings and it was hard not to imagine myself in those jobs. I couldn’t help but think things like; “That sounds like a decent job”, or “I could do that.” Maybe it was all that time focused on journalism, but I’d never understood how many different avenues there are when you go down the public relations path. Being able to dedicate a career to working in social media was something that continues to stick with me, I can’t help but think that would be a great job. It also helps that starting salaries in public relations tend to be a lot higher than in journalism.

I have a full semester of PR units ahead of me so I think I’ll definitively be able to say if I’d like to pursue PR by the end of the year. If I can stand basically studying PR full-time for the next few months than I think I’ll really be able to pursue a career in Public Relations.

Oh by the way, I’ve secured my placement at Perth Glory so if I can’t stand doing PR there, I don’t think I’ll be able to cop doing it anywhere.

"Its not over till the fat lady sings"

Hi Everyone!

I have just completed my placement at 32 Degrees South Group and I cant help but feel sad. It has been such an amazing experience especially being part of such a new company. When I finished, my supervisor took the team out for celebratory/goodbye drinks and she asked us what we have learnt from this experience. My immediate answer was ‘confidence’. I said that in University your tutors see potential and they mark you accordingly however you never truly know whether you were just having a good day or whether the caliber of work would be accepted in the real world. Working with people who truly rely on you to do a good job because it involves money and business reputation, and then getting good feed back on your work, just gives you more and more confidence to be able to enter the workforce. No one could every replace that.  I also said it was so incredible to see my work go up online- knowing that it was good enough to be up for everyone to see it and represent the companies work. I was extremely lucky to have a supervisor who gave constructive criticism and compliments that I started to feel were deserved.  My supervisor also asked me whether I felt disadvantaged for working in a small boutique firm rather then a big one. I answered that I could see that each has its positives and negatives attributes. For example, being part of a boutique firm means that you are given many jobs to do and get one on one contact with your supervisor who can mentor you through your internship. However, it also means that you cannot hide behind someone else when you make a mistake, you stand out, every task given to you is something that will be used in one way or another and be a representation of the companies work. When you work for a big firm you can hide behind other people, if you make a mistake it can be easily covered, your work is not always the be all and end all of company and you get the opportunity to work with some big names. However some negatives may be that you do not get as many chances to produce work, your supervisor has little time to communicate with you and you could potentially be given unexciting and repetitive tasks. I have not worked in a big firm so I do not take my word that these negative characteristics are true- they are only assumptions. I would however be very open to working in a big firm because I have realised that you do not have to be a part of every daily task that goes on in the office, merely observing can be very educational. You also have a lot of opportunity to make an impression, stand out and potentially score yourself a paid position.

Over all this was an incredible experience- a lot of work on top of other university studies but every day was worth it. I feel proud to have obtained and completed this internship myself. It is a huge achievement. I think Curtin is incredible to provide us with this opportunity. The workforce doesn’t look so scary after all.

I have learnt that even though your internship has finished, the lessons you have learnt in this unit will stay with you throughout your working career- it is never over, it’s only just begun- and I’m excited!!

            

Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed your placement as much as I did!!

Martine

Xxxx

The end of something is just the beginning of another...

Here it comes. The end of my internship.

Indeed, this blog post will be dedicated to my final appreciation on this very short (but intense) professional placement, as well as on the obvious experience I took out from it. Because this internship has brought me a concrete practical experience in the field of communications and especially Public Relations. But even more important - and as I read it here and there on this blog, this is an opinion shared by many others - it has also brought me a real human experience, and allowed me an unprecedented immersion into a life that surely looks like my tomorrow life.

My last week has not been the easiest one. It was actually quite the contrary, the roughest week I had, and one thing I learned is that once you have integrated the "system", or rather, once the "system" has integrated you, you are "sucked" into a world that never sleeps, a world where tasks are never ending and add to each other. There will always be things to do, and you will always have something to do.

My supervisor really wanted me to stay longer. One month is a short period time when you work on a project, after all... Some important tasks I was currently working on will have to be transfered to other people in my department. I was, for instance, in connection with the chief-of-staff editor of one of the most popular French newspapers "La Tribune", to find out about the terms and modality to disseminate one of their articles describing some of our company's Solution Services, on our upcoming redesigned coporate website. Unfortunately, we did not have time to finish our discussions, and further negociations should happened without me.

I knew that the conduct of a project wasn't easy. But this is especially true for an international company which has divisions in more than 80 countries around the world, and moreover, in different sectors. While I was looking for information on the company, I realized the extent of the operations of my business and at the same time, I understood the real importance of my role within such entity. The image below shows all the actors and groups related to the company. The linking lines between them represent a Public Relations-based communication.
This placement was also important for my personal appreciation of my own diploma. I actually had a really abstract opinion of my Bachelor degree's value on the labor market. Through this experience, I found that my skills in Web policies & culture, were as important as my communicator skills. I have been able to give a real value and to enhance my knowledge in these two areas, gathering them for a common goal and mission and I though managed to enhance my professional profile among one of the biggest employers worldwide. I am now sure I will find a job once I finished Uni, or at least, that my diploma will be of interest to companies wishing to combine PR and modernity.

As a balance on my internship itself, and after discussion with my supervisor, I have fulfilled my responsibilities with professionalism and seriousness. It hasn't been always easy, but in the end, my employers thought I did a great and efficient job. And that surely is the most important. I still regret it was so short, but considering I had other important units beside this one, I could not afford to do more than one month.

My work will normally be visible on the Group's corporate website by the 1st of June, when the new version will be entirely developed. I am a little anxious about the texts I wrote and that will be posted on a site that records visits by millions. But after all, almost all the department will proofread and verify my text before it is posted online, so I do not worry. What will be posted will be of quality, and I am proud to have contributed to this big project, at my modest level.

Thus, this is how my internship ends. But increasingly, I am getting closer to the beginning of my professional life. Or, perhaps has it already begun?

The end is just the beginning.

Good luck to all of you for the end of your placements, as well as for your final exams.

In-house vs. Consultancy - Or How New Experiences Bring New Questions

Time flies...

And I am actually just starting to wonder where I'll be in 5 years from now. 10 years. 20 years.
Yet, there is a more important question I should ask myself before imaginating the future. That is: where do I WANT to be, in 5 years from now. 10 years. 20 years...

As a matter of fact, I am now at the end of my Public Relations studies curriculum. I already know my future job will "have something to do" with managing the image and public profile of an organisation, person, group or brand. I already know I'll have to challenge myself everyday, and I know I'll spend about as much time with Medias in my professional life as with my wife in my personal life. This is a choice I already made. The choice of Public Relations, the choice of CO-MMU-NI-CA-TION.

Now, thanks to PR 300 (Consultancy), I have learned more about some of the options I will have once I'll be a gratuated student: either starting a career in a Public Relations Consultancy, or starting a career in a company or organisation's in-house Public Relations department.

Both have strengths and weaknesses, career opportunities and limitations, benefits and handicaps. The work of Katharina Wolf, PR Career Progression - The gap between traditional research and the UK industry's perception (2005), does a great job in helping to understand the differences that both path implied.

As for myself, the internship I am currently involved in raises many questions to my mind. I had the chance to work in a French Public Relations Consultancy during previous semesters, and with this new professional placement experience in an in-house communication department, I can now start to take a step back and think of what I learned and experienced, and in which position I felt the most happy and comfortable.

For instance, if in-house Public Relations departments provide less important (or at least, less evident) career opportunities, they also - theoritically - have the benefit of a less stressful schedule and flexible hours. Consultancy practictioners also feel the frustration of not being part of an entire project, but just part of some of it elements.

Conversely, Consultancy practictioners have more networking opportunities, better and numerous career evolution possibilities. Consultancy work is also referred to as an opportunity to gain a wide range of experiences...

Thanks to PR 393, I think my choice is getting more and more defined as my placement comes to an end. For the moment, I feel like starting my PR career as an in-house practitioner is the choice I want to make.

Nevertheless, it is important to remember - I believe - that it is not impossible to change a career path and going from consultancy to in-house, and inversely. However, Katharina Wolf (2005) in her above cited work, mentions that it is still easier for Consultancy practitioners to move to in-house positions than the contrary, especially when they have arrived at a certain point of experience in their career.

I think I'll still need a few experiences to build-up my final opinion and take a final choice regarding my career path. But this placement and unit has helped me, in bringing me new questions and I am grateful for that.

Now... What about you? Where will you be in 5 years? 10 years? ...20 years? Think about it.