Challenges I Faced & Questions I Have

As my internship comes to an end I wanted to take the opportunity to discuss and reflect upon my exciting experience at gtmedia. This includes insights into the consulting side of PR, challenges I faced, and questions I have.

After three years of studying PR and Web Communications, I was not completely sold on a career in the PR industry. The work I had done in class was somewhat practical, but still very theory based, and I had reservations about whether I would enjoy a job in this field. I also had very little confidence in my writing, getting average results most of the time. Truthfully I enjoyed the Web Communications half of my degree more, and was leaning towards finding a career in social media. However, after spending some time interning at gtmedia this is no longer the case. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of my time at gtmedia, as working in a consultancy, no day was the same. I was also exposed to a wide range of clients, from property developers to contemporary dance companies, which I really enjoyed. 

I did face some challenges throughout my industry placement. As I mentioned before, I had very little confidence in my writing, including issues with tone and formatting. Receiving one-on-one feedback from my superiors helped me pin point areas I needed to work on, and their encouragement made me want to keep improving. I also faced challenges to do with confidence in my professional communication. A successful PR professional must be able to network and build strong relationships with clients and journalists. I was still not overly confident with my conversation skills, but I found that learning from my superiors on shoots, I was able to build on these. They still need improvement, but I am drastically more confident than I was before and I believe these skills will continue to grow with time and practice. 

My internship also helped me realise the importance learning PR theory at University. When applying it to my work at gtmedia I was able to recognise how a good strategy must start with a solid base of PR theory. I also saw it in the work of my superiors. My application of PR theory then lead me to understand the concepts I was learning at University more comprehensively, and I even found my marks improving. I faced many personal challenges during my internship, but with the encouragement and support of my superiors, and a bit of confidence in myself, I was able to overcome these. 

The real word of PR was nothing like I thought it would be. Prior to my internship, my knowledge of the industry came from a textbook, and I also was subject to the general public perception that PR professionals are 'spin doctors'. After seeing gtmedia's ethical approach to work, and their healthy relationships with clients and journalists, I was puzzled as to why these negative public perceptions existed. For an industry that works to build strong reputations, this raised the question for me as to why the PR industry had a bad reputation itself. Even people like Mumbrella CEO Tim Burrows were pleasantly surprised when working with the top people in the PR industry, as like many others, he had reservations about the moral compass of people working in the PR industry. From my research whilst completing my final report, it seems PR consultants get a bad name from inexperienced people in the industry. So as person just starting in this industry, I ask the question: How can I, and others in the same position as me, correct this negative perception? This is a big issue for the industry and I would definitely like to work alongside other PR professionals to help implement ethical practice and correct this reputation problem. 

My time at gtmedia has been an experience I am incredibly grateful for. I absolutely loved working at a consultancy amongst like-minded people, and I hope I can use this experience to help gain a position in industry once I have graduated. 

With the gtmedia team at the HeartKids WA Gala Ball 2015