Half way there with no signs of a holiday!

So, I'm 2 weeks into my placement at the Imdex  PR department and finding myself drowning in work and clutter, however as unattractive as this may sound its not all bad! I'm starting to really enjoy my experiences working with a whole team of new people (some familiar and some not so much) and planning the events and liaising with my supervisors to achieve what they are expecting of me.

Once of the main challenges I am facing at the moment is working with event organizers! In my case most of the events that Imdex goes at are trade shows, these are specialized events specifically designed for the trade or market in which the company runs business within. The challenge I am facing is trying to get these people to return my phone calls! After 3 phone calls to find out some simple information (like expected numbers to this show) I was almost about ready to give up and hand this one over to my supervisor, however finally yesterday I rang again and go through to someone that was able to help me.

I guess the lesson I learn from that one, was that when someone is not answering your emails and phone calls, KEEP TRYING! You will eventually catch them, or ask to be put through to someone else that may be able to help.

One new thing I have been doing this week is assisting with new copy write for a new website that is been developed. This has been a interesting experience for me as I have found the traditional PR that I have learnt through uni is very different. My supervisor requires much more detail that the traditional sentences written. In saying this though our brand is one of a high tech product which requires a lot of detail and is often read by people with PhD's in geology.

One of the other project I was previously working on before moving into this department and one which I have carried over with me to my placement include the development of the companies YouTube accounts and channels.
I have particularly enjoyed this as it has allowed me to be creative but also have that PR flare.

Samples of my work can be found here:

AMC: http://www.youtube.com/user/AMCDrillingFluid

Reflex: http://www.youtube.com/user/ReflexInstruments

Overall, I am very much enjoying my placement at the Imdex PR department!

Newbie In The Workplace

Public relations internship is definitely an essential path in helping students to land lucrative positions in the field. It provides us opportunities to be involved in the decision-making process rather than just theoretical learning, more importantly it allows us to get a vital experience in the real world working environment. 

The role of being an intern-assistant in Momentum Forum Events associates with many challenges which include multitasking, fast and creative thinking, stimulation and effective communications. It is so much more than being a coffee girl in the office who manages minor tasks for the boss such as arranging schedules, printing documents and getting break beverages. The variety of my daily work tasks involves the following:

·            Managing incoming email inquiries

·            Researching and sourcing potential sponsors

·            Helping to prepare sponsorship proposals

·            Liaising with venues and suppliers

·            Communicating with the media

·            Aiding in the development of media releases, radio advertisement scripts etc

·            File management and data entry

·            Producing electronic newsletters and other related documents; and sending to database contacts

·            Assisting in updating the Momentum Forum Website

·            Event assistant

Since this is my first office-type job I struggled at the beginning. I need to type faster; I was so nervous I could not spell the words; I was not sure how the email system works etc etc… Although I was so new I was picking up fast. I remember once the boss told me ‘you’ve done well today’ at the end of my shift I was really happy. I could not explain the brilliant feeling when I looked through the work tasks I had done for the day – there were big amounts of sponsorship invitation emails, contacts lists and more. 

The biggest thing I learnt during the first few shifts of my internship is that quality is definitely more than quantity – the fewer the words the better. People in the real business world are extremely BUSY; no one would have the time to read through your 40+ pages document, sometimes I wonder why us university students do it so much. The success key is to be straight to point, I have now totally comprehend why they say it’s all about quality rather than quantity. I couldn’t help it wondering if Barbara – CEO of Momentum has even read through the 29 pages media strategy plan I conducted for her two weeks back as I started my internship. I think the best way to approach strategies is to go straight into the innovative ideas and benefits; I have some ideas regarding the use of active social media event promotion, I need to think about an effective way to communicate the pitch.

Another issue I have come across with during the first days of my internship associates with professionalism and confident. I can be a very shy person in the new environment; sometimes I totally lose my confident and speak in a very soft voice. There was a time I was asked to make a phone call to confirm a corporate contact detail with one of the manager’s assistant, I spoke so quietly the person over the phone could hardly hear me even after I repeated myself numerous times, it wasn’t professional. After the phone call my boss told me that I must speak louder and be more confident. “If you don’t speak with confidence you have no value, how would people listen to you when they can’t even hear you” my boss said. She was extremely right. I need to work on my self-confident and overcome the language barriers. Barbara is also an immigrant and she has a Polish accent, but she always speaks in a strong and persuasive tone. I want to be an independent and powerful woman in the workforce like her.

The learning journey can be tough but there is so much to gain. I must challenge my limits and surpass them.