Heading into my internship I had high
hopes I would be deeply involved in real, riveting public relations work. To an
extent I have been, but for the most part the work has been fairly surface
level. Generally this is to be expected and honestly, I don’t suppose I would
trust an unqualified intern with work that could jeopardies my
client-consultancy relationships either.
On my first day I walked into the office
thinking, ‘please don’t give me a spreadsheet, please don’t give me a
spreadsheet.’ Five minutes later I was given a spreadsheet. I sat at my desk
editing it for hours and, for a moment, I honestly believed time was going
backwards.
The spreadsheet I was working on was a
media contact database. It’s an essential tool for PR practitioners because it
enables them to reach editors or writers instantly to pitch a story and
generate interest in a client. Without an updated media database, pitching
becomes a lengthy and clumsy process. So, although the task I was doing wasn't intensely fascinating it was still real, necessary PR work.
Over the next few days, in between the
meatier PR work, I was given other menial tasks to do such as fetch stationary,
draft travel plans for client trips, take client work to be packaged and, on
one particular day, I was given three hours to find one hundred small green
luggage locks that needed to be delivered that day. No small task for those who
know anything about retail stock management and the chance of someone stocking one
hundred locks specifically in green. But moving swiftly on...
Even though the tasks weren’t particularly stimulating
they still provided opportunity; an opportunity to show work ethic, efficiency
and attention to detail. So, each time I was given a small task I did it to the
best of my ability. I did it quickly, thoroughly and with pride.
The way you approach small tasks may
very well define how an employer perceives you. All those small tasks are
essential for the completion of larger, more important tasks. If you do them incorrectly
you risk laying a weak foundation for your team.
