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.
