Lessons, lessons, lessons

Hi everyone!

So my time as a PR intern at Swan Districts Football Club has drawn to a close, with its fair share of lessons learnt, both life lessons and PR lessons. I will be graduating this semester, which is very daunting but believe the internship experience has really increased my confidence for the big bad world.

One of the main lessons I learnt from my internship was that I can't learn it all in such a short period of time. I went into my placement knowing I would develop my skills as a PR practitioner by writing Media Releases and helping with events. What I didn't realise is that when I finished, while I feel much more equipped, I will still be learning constantly in my professional life.

As the PR world grows and develops in organisations, the more we are going to have to know and instead of this freaking me out, I am excited to sink my teeth into this new challenge. Instead of dreading the set readings at uni, I am going to seek out books that will help me progress as a professional - and I will enjoy it.

I hope everyone has an amazing break and well done for getting this far.

Keep learning!

Lucy

That Daunting Feeling Called...

Have you ever had the feeling of wondering where the last few years have gone? On January 17 of this year, I was faced with the exciting yet unpredictable experience of entering a Marketing Communications firm as a Public Relations Intern. I remember waking up on that morning and thinking, "How can I possibly apply my studies to the workplace? I don't know anything about PR!" I felt as though all my hard work at university was finally being applied. But what work was I applying? It seemed as though time had slipped away and everything I had learnt was simply theory...

This daunting feeling is known as 'taking your first steps into the real world.'

Over the past 8 weeks, I have been working once a week at The Hub Marketing Communications as an Intern to the Marketing Communications manager. Not only have I had the pleasure of working with several creative and intelligent women, but I have also been given the opportunity to become involved in numerous different projects. 

My first few days at The Hub involved a dabble in market research. I was given the responsibility of contacting selected individuals in regards to some stakeholder research that we were conducting on behalf of an organisation. Initially I felt as though I had dived straight into the deep end! However, after the first few calls, I was feeling confident and excited; I couldn't wait to get to the real juicy stuff!

My most recent time at The Hub has been spent proofing and organising The Hub's social media e-books. Most recently, I have been concentrating on the Twitter e-book. I have spent much of my time researching into the statistics used and making sure they're up-to-date, as well as searching for any new and interesting facts and figures. This task has been extremely beneficial to me as I have learnt a lot about Twitter and it's benefits to all organisations, not just the ones operating in the PR and Marketing industry. I've also thoroughly enjoyed taking on some responsibility and using my initiative on several occasions. 

Despite all the fantastic experience I have gained thus far, there's no denying it has been challenging. Since starting at The Hub, I've learnt a lot about myself and my work ethic. Particularly, I've found it difficult using my initiative in such a professional environment. I often feel as though I want to do exactly what is expected to avoid making mistakes and letting my work colleagues down. Although I have thrived off the responsibility I've been dealt, I've also struggled with the pressure thats come with it. However, to overcome this I use my common sense and often clarify any task instructions put in front of me to ensure I completely understand what is expected of me. I don't hesitate to ask questions ( which, thankfully, my colleagues are more than willing to answer) and I take my time in completing my work. It's these methods of stress and time management that have made the experience so far thoroughly enjoyable. 

My time at The Hub Marketing Communications has been very rewarding, exciting and fast-paced. I've learnt so much in past few weeks, and gained invaluable experience. I've developed several invaluable skills and taught myself how to work best in new environments. 

With many more weeks ahead of me, I'm very much looking forward to the second-most half of my internship and what it has to offer me.

To be, or not to be, that is the question....

Thirty days ago when I started my internship at PPR – I set out in search of an answer to a question which has plagued me since the beginning of my degree – ‘To be or not to be a PR consultant?’ I am happy to report that after my finishing my last day at PPR on Friday – I am now a whole lot closer to finding that answer.

The world of PR consultancy is an exciting one to say the least with a multitude of clients that subsequently come with a multitude of different projects, experiences, deadlines and demands.  It is because of this versatility, that in the past month at PPR, I have had the privilege and the opportunity of working on a range of different projects for different clients. I find this versatility to be a very attractive characteristic of working in consultancy and one that I will attempt to explore more when I begin my search for employment in July.  Having said that, there is still a large part of me that is curious about working in corporate PR and I think that I will need to experience this before I can confidently choose the path that appeals to me the most. Have any of you ever had experience working in both fields? And if so, which one do you prefer?

As I write this, I can’t help but also smile at the fact that in only 20 working days, I can say that I have done everything from media clippings, reports and releases through to invitation drops, research, phone interviews and writing for some of PPR’s professional publications.  When regarding the writing I have done in particular, three pieces of my work were officially published in my last two days at PPR – which I think was such a great way to end what I would definitely call a great internship!

One of these pieces of writing was a media release entitled ‘Dalwalinu Channels Its Own Rottnest Swim’, which was published in a regional WA newspaper that you can read here.  As some of you would know, that feeling that you get when your work is published in a public space is like nothing else and has certainly given me the confidence and self-assurance that I need to believe in myself as a professional writer and PR practitioner.

Another thing that I have learnt throughout my time at PPR is that though Uni definitely has its place in teaching us the fundamentals skills required in the PR industry, there is still nothing quite like applying and refining these skills in a real working environment. I am thankful for the opportunity that PR Professional Practice 393 has given me in this regard as I have been able to use what I have learnt and expand on what I have learnt in all my classes in a way that I believe will serve me well when I graduate and begin my career.

Thanks everyone for following my updates over the past month and it's been wonderful reading all of yours. Though these entries have been useful for reflecting on my own experiences, I’ve also learnt a lot about other aspects of the industry through reading yours. I wish you guys all the best in the remainder of your internship and your degrees, and best of luck in your careers.

"Its not over till the fat lady sings"

Hi Everyone!

I have just completed my placement at 32 Degrees South Group and I cant help but feel sad. It has been such an amazing experience especially being part of such a new company. When I finished, my supervisor took the team out for celebratory/goodbye drinks and she asked us what we have learnt from this experience. My immediate answer was ‘confidence’. I said that in University your tutors see potential and they mark you accordingly however you never truly know whether you were just having a good day or whether the caliber of work would be accepted in the real world. Working with people who truly rely on you to do a good job because it involves money and business reputation, and then getting good feed back on your work, just gives you more and more confidence to be able to enter the workforce. No one could every replace that.  I also said it was so incredible to see my work go up online- knowing that it was good enough to be up for everyone to see it and represent the companies work. I was extremely lucky to have a supervisor who gave constructive criticism and compliments that I started to feel were deserved.  My supervisor also asked me whether I felt disadvantaged for working in a small boutique firm rather then a big one. I answered that I could see that each has its positives and negatives attributes. For example, being part of a boutique firm means that you are given many jobs to do and get one on one contact with your supervisor who can mentor you through your internship. However, it also means that you cannot hide behind someone else when you make a mistake, you stand out, every task given to you is something that will be used in one way or another and be a representation of the companies work. When you work for a big firm you can hide behind other people, if you make a mistake it can be easily covered, your work is not always the be all and end all of company and you get the opportunity to work with some big names. However some negatives may be that you do not get as many chances to produce work, your supervisor has little time to communicate with you and you could potentially be given unexciting and repetitive tasks. I have not worked in a big firm so I do not take my word that these negative characteristics are true- they are only assumptions. I would however be very open to working in a big firm because I have realised that you do not have to be a part of every daily task that goes on in the office, merely observing can be very educational. You also have a lot of opportunity to make an impression, stand out and potentially score yourself a paid position.

Over all this was an incredible experience- a lot of work on top of other university studies but every day was worth it. I feel proud to have obtained and completed this internship myself. It is a huge achievement. I think Curtin is incredible to provide us with this opportunity. The workforce doesn’t look so scary after all.

I have learnt that even though your internship has finished, the lessons you have learnt in this unit will stay with you throughout your working career- it is never over, it’s only just begun- and I’m excited!!

            

Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed your placement as much as I did!!

Martine

Xxxx

Tick, tock, not much time left on the PR Placement clock!

Last week I had a massive realisation – there are only a few short weeks left til the end of my final semester at uni, which means there are even fewer short weeks left of my internship with Perth Zoo!

This scary thought had me panicking, realising that I have only a matter of days left to finalise and edit my report, and got me thinking about what this means....
My internship with Perth Zoo is drawing to a close and I’m starting to wish that I could freeze time and work on my report for another year, because it doesn’t seem real that I will be handing it in to my supervisor and potentially the CEO next week. But this is the reality of the ‘real world’ and being out of the comfort zone that is uni life.

On the other hand, this week makes me really excited thinking about what I have achieved. I have learnt how to turn something suitable for my uni tutors into something that a real life CEO or manager would want to read, and (hopefully) something that will actually be used by an iconic Perth organisation, how thrilling!
Someone wise once said: “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back”. This I am afraid is very true. The week ahead of me, leading up to my final report being handed over is I’m sure, going to be a very, very stressful one. I have already had a giant red bull and two cups of coffee today in order to keep my spirits up to the tedious but, alas, necessary task of editing.

Another thing that has me worried is (however pathetic) my executive summary... I think back to all of the assignments I have handed in over my 4 year uni career and still wonder how I ever manage to get through these horrendous executive summaries. The reality of this situation is that they are also extremely important. As we have been told countless times by our lecturers, most executives only read this part of the document. This worries me, in that over the massive amounts of information I have put into my actual report, it is my least favourite and probably my least impressive part that will be read.

Anyway, for those of you who are coming to the end of your placements like I am, I hope you have learnt something valuable as well and I will be sure to update you as to how my report looks when it is finished and just how well my executive summary writing goes!

Elle