At the end and so happy with my experience!

Hi everyone,

This is my final blog post, I know it is a little late in the semester to be writing this however having only finished my placement just over two weeks ago I have been flat out with report writing, but here I am to tell you about finishing up with INPEX.

In the beginning i was incredibly nervous to start my placement, questions like would i be good enough? will they ask me to do something I have no idea how to do? will I forget everything I have learnt in the last three years? But after completing my 6 week 20 day placement I wonder why I was ever nervous.

Having the opportunity to work in house for a global oil and gas company has changed the way I look at public relations, the way it works and how it is applied in the real world, the difference between having a semester to come up with a communication plan in a group of four as opposed to having three days to complete something of the same standard on your own was something I never thought I would be able to do, but with the pressures of real time, real money and a real company I realise that i can do it!

My final week with INPEX was filled with mixed emotions as I began clearing out my desk, collecting materials for my report and handing in my final work samples to my supervisor. I had grown so accustomed to my little desk and my daily routine which I had fallen into so easily, coming into work checking my emails, sending out a media report to the company detailing the most recent news and then getting to work on whatever task was set for me for that day or week and being able to work at my own pace to get something finished that I felt proud to submit.

As I mentioned in my last blog I had the great opportunity to work in the stand at the annual APPEA HSE exhibition and the Perth Convention Centre, the exhibition was fantastic and I had the opportunity to prove to my supervisor just how competent I had become in my time with the company, remembering facts about the project and being able to discuss in detail to dignitaries and visitors the work that INPEX is carrying out. The conference ended on an even higher note with me being the lucky winner of a 42inch plasma screen television from one of the other exhibitors, it was a great memory to leave my placement with!

I don't think that I ever fully understood just how important and crucial work experience is to furthering your career, this unit really the best unit I have ever done at university and I feel more than prepared to go out into the real world of Public Relations and apply the knowledge and skills that I have obtained having the chance to work in a real life corporation!

Im sure you are all busy finishing up your reports as am I, good luck and hope you all enjoyed this semester as much as I did.

Hayley