I’ve never written a water polo match report! & The end of my internship

Time files and this is my final post for PR 393 on my work placement at WA Water Polo.

The highlight of my internship was definitely working at the 2012 FINA World Youth Water Polo Championships in the media team as a media coordinator. It was a highly exciting and challenging position at the very same time, as I had to write match reports, assist with news gathering and publishing and provide the social media content for the tournament. I had to work under large amounts of pressure, as I had to observe the water polo matches and complete a match report within 45 minutes of each game. I was definitely out of my element as I’ve never analysed water polo matches previously and I had to quickly learn how to do that effectively in order to do a write up on a match. This gave a taste of what it would be like to be sports journalist, working for large international sporting events. I was also tasked to update all the social media platforms that included Facebook and Twitter. It was certainly different from working in a office environment, being more fast paced and exciting as reports had to be written and published shortly after matches. I also had the opportunity to interview players for flash quotes that were to be included in the match reports. My match reports were immediately published on the official FINA World Youth Water Polo Championships website right after each match and it was exciting to know that my work was being read by many people following the tournament all around the world.

In my earlier post, I provided updates on planning the Final Night Function that was to be held at the end of the championships for the participants of the competition. It was a successful event that ran smoothly from the beginning to the end (except that it rained a few hours before the function started and the ground was wet and soggy, but that did not prove to be a major problem) and I was relieved that there were no major problems or issues that came up on the night of the function.

Overall, I definitely had a great internship at WA Water Polo. Despite being challenging at times, I feel that I had plenty of opportunities to put the skills that I have learnt in my public relations units at Curtin to practice during the course of my internship. It was a great experience and I am confident that it has prepared me for a public relations related position in the future.

Deva

This is not the end, it is all slowly beginning

As the end came for my internship, I took time to reflect on the last three months about how working at Communicare had set in stone that doing PR was one of the best decisions I ever made personally.

The 8:30 starts and driving through traffic for another day at staring at a computer may not sound so appealing and great but I came to enjoy it. The different skills I had learnt through the course of my degree, were being put in play and having done countless assignments for non- for profit organisations, the knowledge that I had gained was helping me.

My internship thought me to be organised, on time and to double triple check everything to ensure everything is perfect and also there is nothing wrong with asking for a third or fourth opinion. At Communicare, the organisation services about seven different sectors, and they are all dependent on the marketing and media team, to get the word out there about the different events that are happening for them. I was thoroughly impressed how organised the team was, in ensuring they got all the right information out there at all times  and on time.

I am grateful for Aimee (who is no longer at the organisation) for giving me this opportunity, to develop my skills further, to allow me to reassure myself, I have made the right decision in choosing to study PR , when some around me doubted it was not really a real degree.

Now that it has come to an end, and I am writing my final report, each day I think to myself, yes I can be a PR practitioner and though it may not always be easy, I will enjoy it at the end of the day. Now to just get a job!

This is not the end, it is all slowly beginning.

Asvinder

Could you be the next Intern at Venn?

My time at Venn is nearly up, I will complete my internship on the 29^th of May. This year on top of my university studies I followed a dream of mine to become a qualified Yoga teacher and during my training it became extremely obvious that teaching Yoga is how I want to spend the rest of my life. Because of this I have resigned from my position at Venn in order to put my full heart and soul into teaching Yoga.

I realise that what you have just read isn’t exactly related to Public Relations or to you as Public Relations students and so allow me to make the connection. Because I have given up my position the position is now open to another intern and applications are currently open!

During my time at Venn I was given many responsibilities and allowed far more creative freedom than I ever hoped I could be given as an intern. I completed tasks such as;

• Creating blog posts, Facebook posts, Instagram posts and E-news posts. All of which I was for the most part allowed to come up with my own creative ways of getting a message across through my words. 
• I helped to plan events and the themes behind them, this was really enjoyable. Helping to run the actual events was great experience as well.
•  I was given the responsibility of all the media monitoring and the maintenance of these files.
• I was given the opportunity to create my own promotion ideas in line with the opening of the new Laneway entrance, for this I chose to hold a 2 for 1 coffee deal, which ended up being quite successful. For this I was required to carry out the promotion from start to finish, which saw me handing out coffee coupons to workers one morning.
• I was given the task of creating a media release for many of the events held during my time as intern and compiling databases of relevant media publication contacts to approach with the release.

All in all I have had a BLAST to say the least and there is always plenty of opportunities to unwind after events and have more of a social time with the other Venn staff members. The other office staff are a wonderful bunch of people, all very passionate about Venn which makes it a lively office culture to be a part of.

If you wish to apply follow this link

http://www.venn.net/marketing_intern_opportunity_at_venn

Good luck to you all for finishing up your internships and completing your reports!

Amy Taylor

14268342

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! 

Fouth and final blog

Hi everybody, This will be my fourth and final post. With my placement technically finished I have just two days next week to finish out my internship as the golf day I have been working on is next Tuesday I have decided to stay an extra couple of days.

I have found this to be a very worthwhile experience and have enjoyed my placement. I realize now that there is much more to working in Public Relations than what we can learn in the classroom and although the theory and practice is necessary there's nothing like getting pout there and doing it for yourself.

I would have to say coming to the end of my placement that I'm not entirely sure that a local not-for-profit is my desired job even though I have enjoyed working at Communicare. It has been useful though as I have had an opportunity to gain valuable work experience across a broad range of activities which has led me to work out which aspects I do and don't like about public relations.

I would like to finish by saying a big thank you to Communicare for taking me on board this student to gain some valuable work experience and I hope that my contribution has helped the organisation in some way as I believe they do a lot of great work for an important cause.

I don't have any imparting words of wisdom but I would like to wish everybody the best in their future pursuits in Public Relations!

Cheerio!

Goodbye my internship adventure!!

 

This is the end of my internship with the Department of Environment and Conservation, and it’s nearly finishing my final semester, which means I will graduate from Curtin for soon! I have learned several indispensable tips for my further career from my incredible internship and I get this fourth and final blog to share my experiences with you.

 

When I gain the chance of my internship, first thought came into my head was: “Oh my god! I have to do a lot of PR stuff! What about my grammar issues!” However my task is more marketing than PR, but also need to do some communication strategies, newsletter and posters.

 

 Actually my major task is to complete the customer evaluation and data collections; because I finished really soon, I helped my supervisor with the workshops, the summarize of conferences and the display of WA Naturally publications in Perth Royal Show 2012. I have performed my sales skills and communications skills successfully with both customers and colleagues during the show.

 

Although I didn’t get any chance to do media releases as a PR but my internship was still full of passion and knowledgeable, and I have expanded my professional skills a lot while I did office work for DEC department. The main tips I gain from my internship include:

 

l  Time management-Time is money, never leave the work till last minute.

l  Quality- double checking, even triple checking any work you have done.

l  Always learn something from the others.

l  Finish all the work then take off-never leave the task till tomorrow.

l  Dress properly.

l  Every events need well prepared.

 

Many thanks and appreciate to my supervisor, she is such a patient and good manner person that taught me so many good things and experiences.

 

Although I cannot turn my internship into payment position in DEC because of the budget cut, I can still gain some other chances to get PR experiences in the future! Also I hope this internship could open more doors for my future career.

 

 I really do appreciate about the Public Relations Professional Practice brought me this chance to improve myself and introduce me to the real world before I graduate. It was an amazing adventure to me.



Jingrou Zou 14470972

 

My internship turned into a paid position!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my fourth and final blog post about my internship at Professional Public Relations (PPR) in Subiaco.

I have to admit I’ve been a little absent from the blogging scene, but this is my most significant post of them all – I get to share with you all what I’ve learnt over the course of my internship and how I came to be offered an entry level position at PPR.

Throughout my internship I carried out a variety of tasks for a range client accounts. Some of which included:

• ·      Landcorp - stakeholder engagement, Claremont on the Park event preparation, stakeholder information mail outs
• ·      Perth Fashion Festival – media monitoring and media launch
• ·      Wesfarmers Chemical Energy and Fertilisers- Human Resource interviews
• ·      Decmil Group Limited – annual report meetings
• ·      Australand – work in progress meeting, desktop research
• ·      Yarra Valley Caviar – media kit drop
• ·      Shell – stakeholder validation
• ·      McDonalds – Serious lamb burger lunch
• ·      Muzz Buzz – Media list creation and validation
• ·      PTTEP Australasia – media validations
• ·      Dampier Port Authority – crisis contingency planning
• ·      Administration support – credential planning,

As a soon to be Curtin Graduate I believe I have been adequately prepared for the ‘real world’. Throughout our degree we have consistently applied theory to real life situations, whether that be an industry renowned case study or an actual not-for-profit organisation such as United Way WA or Friends of the Environment. PR 393 Professional Practice has allowed me to fine tune my skills and get me one step closer to a paid position.

Although I didn’t get to draft media releases or write a lot of content I was fortunate enough to professionally develop and expand my skill set. The main things I have come away with from my internship include:

• The art of networking and developing mutual relations;
• Time is money – effective management is essential;
• Quality control – double checking, even triple checking your work for errors;
• The flexibility to work as an individual and a team member; 
• The ability to liaise with multiple stakeholders.

From an employer’s perspective, hosting interns is a great way to ‘try before you buy’. Employers are able to gauge weather the intern suits the work environment and the intern gets an understanding of what they do and don’t like before being committed to the role. PPR only hires PR graduates into their entry-level positions (admin assistant, receptionist, PA and database assistant) which gives them the chance to learn about the organisation from the ground up. Because of my internship I was granted the opportunity to be consider for a position at PPR. I have now completed two weeks of full time work!! I view my role as a stepping-stone – I’m just a hop, skip and a jump away from becoming a public relations consultant.

I hope each and every one of you have thoroughly enjoyed your internships and feel ready for the real world :) 

See you at GRADUATION.

Gemma x

It's time to say Goodbye!!

Hello bloggers,

Today was my last day at Imagine communication. Even if it was the last day, I've had lots of things to do as to complete and end satisfied of my placement there.

This internship has given me the opportunity to accomplish several PR tasks in the real life and to put into practice what I've learnt during my 3 years of study at Charles Telfair Institute.

The main thing with which I will conclude my blog posts will be that there is definitely a big difference between PR in theory and PR in practice. We have been taught as to have a basic idea of the meaning and the role of PR in a company, but after completing my placement I can say that there were aspects we have'nt focused on and which were important.

But this is why the last module is an internship, so as to show students the difference between what can be taught in class and what can be completed in a company. In my opinion, this was the greatest part of my internship at Imagine, the combination of both theory and practice which gives an unique mix.

I'm sad it's already finished, but excited to submit my final report with all my tasks and activities.

I hope you all have had a great experience. I wish you luck in your future carrier.

Elodie Charoux

14103265

Charles Telfair Institute