Four days in and lots to share

Hi everyone! Welcome to my first blog post as part of my Public Relations internship. 

Having completed four days of my internship, I wanted to fill you in on all of the things I have done so far. I thought I would start, however, by explaining how I went about securing my placement. 

A month or two ago I decided to sign up for the Curtin Public Relations Students Chapter (PRSC). As I am in my final year of university, I wanted to take advantage of all the resources available. As a result, I started receiving emails listing internship opportunities; one of which was with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES).

The responsibilities of the role listed media releases, speech writing and liaising with the media among many diverse tasks. Initially, I was hesitant to apply, lacking confidence and concluding that because I had no previous experience in such an environment, I wouldn’t have a chance. After a bit of thinking however, I decided to give it a go. 

To apply, I had to write a cover letter explaining why I wanted to intern with DFES and what skills and experiences I could bring to the role. With this, I attached my résumé and sent in my application.

About a week later, I received an email asking if I could come in for an interview. Extremely nervous but equally excited, I went in with a collection of works from different Public Relations units, and with a notepad of notes and questions. 

Two weeks later, I found out I had been selected. I was so excited! And with that, I had organised an induction and was preparing to get underway with my first PR internship.  

My role is with the Media and Corporate Communications team. For my induction, I got some great insight into emergency communications, with a fire igniting just a few kilometres from the DFES site. From seeing the fire alert prepared and posted to the website, to the recording of the alert for people to access via the information line, it was a great learning experience and an indicator of the processes undertaken when incidents occur. 

Another aspect I got involved with was the WinterSAFE campaign. An email went around the office asking for potential slogan ideas regarding key messages such as tying items down in bad weather. 

As it was my induction day, I was a little bit nervous to make any suggestions. But with a ‘why not’ attitude, I plucked up the courage to send through my ideas. That afternoon, I was told that three of my slogans were going to be used. This was another great way to realise the importance of just having a go.  

On my first day the following week, I was given the opportunity to start writing a media release and two speeches. These materials are for the upcoming graduation ceremony for the latest Western Australian firefighter recruits. Although the formatting was unique to the Department, completing media releases and speeches in Public Relations Techniques has been valuable learning that I have been able to apply.  

With the speeches, it was interesting to note that both of the readers have very different layout preferences. Not only reinforcing the different ways that speeches can be written, these tasks have also taught me a new speech writing technique. This follows a three point structure, with three key messages making up the body of the text. 

On my second day, with some key feedback, I continued working on and developing these documents. In addition, I got extra practice recording, editing and publishing alerts. For an incident unfolding in the Kimberley that day, requiring advice to be disseminated, I recorded the information which was published to the emergency line.  

The following week, I sorted through speeches from the last six months to determine some relevant events that the Minister could discuss in his graduation address. I had a quick lesson with email responses, looking through some public inquiries and the processes undertaken to respond. I also helped another staff member with some work regarding the new Bunbury based RAC rescue helicopter; completing a one-page backgrounder with up-to-date statistics regarding the incidents it has attended so far.

For my fourth day, I drafted a message for the graduation booklet that will be handed out at the ceremony. I finalised my media release and was given feedback on both speeches. With this, I spent some time making the suggested changes and filling in features like the acknowledgements. In addition, I helped to source some videos for a Media Training Presentation that will work to highlight what to do and what not to do when liaising with the media.  

Overall, I can confidently say that I have thoroughly enjoyed my first few days at DFES. Considering the diverse learning I have attained in such a short period of time, I am looking forward to developing my skills in a variety of new tasks and hope to apply as much of my learning and knowledge. 

Although I am yet to experience the full intensity of emergency communications, I hope that this learning, in line with my crisis communication experience and Public Relations knowledge, will allow me to assist in testing situations. 

In addition, I hope that for anyone reading this who might be looking for an internship, the importance of just giving it a go is reinforced. 

For those applying for positions, take a look at the cover letter and résumé template from Career FAQs. I think they will be really helpful for those of you looking to update your résumé or who, like me, had never written a cover letter prior to looking for an internship.

Good luck!