Beyond this internship – CTI

The semester is almost over and I’m finally going back home for the holidays. This module has motivated me to pursue another PR internship instead of laying around for the next four months. It would be another great opportunity if I would get the chance to work within the same industry that is aviation or tourism while the skills and knowledge from my current workplace is still ‘fresh’ in my mind. Unfortunately there is only one aviation headquarters in Seychelles; Air Seychelles-Etihad Airways, which means that the chance of working within this industry is very limited. My goal for this internship will hopefully to secure a job placement when I complete my studies in July 2017.

My internship is still ongoing after the 20 days and I am grateful that my Supervisor wants me to back after the holidays that is from March-July 2017. I said yes because I was proud of myself for getting the call back and felt appreciated for my work but now that I have time for myself, next semester will be my last and I don’t want added stress or having to juggle multiple assignments both for work and university. The past month and a half was really stressful and I found myself indulge in work and neglecting school work compared to the attention I use to give.

So what do you think I should do? Any advice on whether I should do both or stick to school?

My current pros;

·        • Work experience is of more value nowadays during job interviews

·        • Many students are part timers, I can do it too lol

·        • It is my dream industry and I love working for them

Overall I was pleasantly surprise with this module; PR Internship, from my placement to the tasks I completed and lessons learnt. I remember the first day like it was yesterday, I had butterflies in my stomach the whole morning of because I was thinking of the worst scenarios. This internship has also reassure me of my decision to be a PR practitioner and think beyond being merely an employee. The excitement of having to brag to my next interviewer about all the skills and tasks I am capable of doing, especially since some PR tasks were for international brand names such as Air Asia and Air France. This was really the chance of a lifetime to have my first ever work experience in a prestige company and I am thankful to Curtin for initiating such unit. My CV, LinkedIn profile and my professional reputation is finally starting to be of value within the PR industry.

Don’t forget to leave some advice in the comments below and all the best with the report. x 

Adulting during this internship - CTI

This post is about things I find myself doing differently ever since this internship initiated. I am an international student, living on my own hence I know the daily mundane routines of the stereotypical ''grown up''. This infographic presents an overview of the professional routines I've grown accustomed to during my internship hence shaping my adult self.

A Change of Scenery

Hey everyone,

Today’s reflection is dedicated to the somewhat unconventional workplaces I’ve worked in for the duration of my internship. I don’t think I would be alone in thinking ‘internship’ and having my mind go straight to a large office space, cubicles, a copy room and coffee runs. So I was pleasantly surprised to be welcomed into two relaxed environments over the semester.

Firstly, working for an entrepreneur that generally works from home means no official office or workspace. Although rather than me and the other interns going to her home, we did most of our work at the Wanneroo Business Association (WBA) located at the Enterprise House. This provided a positive experience, it allowed us four to work closely and collaborate as well as take our lunch breaks and chill out together.

At times it hardly felt like work as I was completing tasks while enjoying the company of Mikayla and my fellow interns which I am extremely grateful for! The relaxed environment combined with Mikayla’s mentoring style made for an experience equally educational as it was enjoyable.

When the WBA was too busy or not an appropriate environment on certain days, Mikayla, myself and my intern buddies Ophelia and Simone, would simply pack up and head across the road to the Wanneroo public library. One of the great advantages of working from home or providing services solely online like Mikayla, is that you can pick yourself up and set up your office anywhere essentially (with a wifi connection). The change of scenery was a positive, and in our case, conveniently located above Cafe Elixir should any of us need a mid-afternoon pick me up!

See below the spacious corner of the library we called our own one Thursday, featuring Ophelia our graphic design intern.

Thanks for reading everyone!

-Bianca

Different PR approach within different Industry - CTI

I am privileged to work with one of the leading pioneer company within the tourism and aviation industry in Mauritius that is Rogers Aviation (RAV). It was difficult to find a suitable placement because

     •Little PR acknowledgment in Mauritius’ firms

    •I am not Mauritian so it was difficult to find and initiate the internship earlier

RAV is the parent company to numerous organisations and a partner to a list of well-renowned national and international companies such as airlines Air Asia and Etihad Airways. The PR/communications aspects of the company is led by the Marketing department, fortunately my tasks are tailored to encompass the PR criteria. This internship is putting into practice what we have inculcated over the years but customized to meet each organisation's wants.

Currently within the first week and a half I am working on;

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLcpqNXhXVH/?taken-by=curtinpr
• the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) which is the crisis management plan for RAV and their sister company in Mozambique.

• quality check on RAV’s website and subsidiary organisation resaplanet

• press releases for their website and Mauritian press

• writing blog articles and social media posts

• work on the event - Le Salon du prêt-à-partir 

For these tasks I had to adapt to alternate terms for example BCP instead of crisis management plan, multitask for different organisations and adapt to different working environments.

To highlight my first ever work experience in the world of Public Relations, here are some tips for your successful start.

Basic tips for first-timers as a PR practitioner

Searching for Placement: Approach organisations that you know already has a PR department or what appeals to you as PR aspects within their organisation. Note some firms are clueless about the functions of Public Relations, take this opportunity during your interview to pinpoint their current work and reference as a PR feature. In your CV or cover letter elaborate on what you want to cover (PR-related) within their organisation referencing potential and their existing PR work. This gives your supervisor an overview and understanding of what is expected from you.

Internalise jargons: Prior to initiating the internship, familiarize yourself with not only your company but the industry’s abbreviations and idioms. A PR practitioner has to adapt to an industry’s ‘culture’ and this differs from industry to industry.  Ideally, the language spoken within the Health sector would be different from that of aviation/tourism. For example, abbreviating all flight destinations is common semiotic within the aviation industry furthermore, the ‘Cockpit’ is the name given to our company’s intranet. This also extends to the company’s font preference for documents. Internalising these basics will facilitate interaction and note-taking. However, be careful not to use these technical terms in official documents such as media kit or interacting with other stakeholders that may not be aware of these terms.

Jot down everything:  Public Relations functions encompass a wide range of activities from multiple press releases, events, blog posts and planning which is bound to numerous meetings sometimes in one day.  Organisation is vital and investing in multiple planners, agendas or notebooks is ideal to keep track of future events and note taking. It is ideal to jot down information whether it is from meetings, online and traditional (newspapers) media relative to your industry and tasks. This will give you a better understanding of the organisation by gathering as much facts as possible. Since we write/blog a lot in PR, these notes will inspire your final content and give you more information to work with.

Self-taught PR skills: Aside to the academic knowledge it is essential and beneficial to gain some skills to better your professional capabilities and reputation as a PR practitioner. Familiarize yourself with these self-taught online tools and list them on your CV.

Surveymonkey.com – design surveys and generate creative/organized presentations.

Canva – simple photo editor, include a blog illustration or social media tile with your article and await approval from your supervisor. Also create and recommend a letterhead to your company if they do not have one.

Photoshop – most common photo editor which is requested by employers.

InDesign - to create company newsletters or flip information files for both online and offline.

Radius6 – social media monitor which compiles all mentions of the organisation or key words online. Learn about implementing keywords used in SEO and paid search.

These would not only impress your employer but facilitate your work in a creative way.

Build a PR network: Include/add a PR-related account to each of your personal social media presence. Recommending; @PRPERFECT account on Twitter, PR lifestyle for the fashionistas on Pinterest and most importantly networking and interacting with PR content on LinkedIn. Aside to social media, use RSS feeds or applications such as Pulse to stay-up-to-date with the PR industry. Consider becoming a member of PRIA or other relative PR organisation. You’ll get to say a thing or two or at least understand these corporate ‘lunch’ conversations.

Feel free to add some more tips for first-timers in the comment section below!

The secret to good PR – follow the money?

The organisation I am interning with is currently undergoing a rebranding process from the name iVEC, to Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, as a means of aligning the project's recognised title, with the services and facilities. The overall goal of a rebranding process is to change the brand’s image, which can be done through accumulative changes to the brand identity and the brand experience. Ordinarily, rebranding processes are tailored towards consumers and patrons within a profitable business model, as a means of meeting personal stakeholder goals that emphasise the continuation of profitable business practises. For example, the process of rebranding a profitable business must be undergone with stakeholder considerations in mind, to ensure that business will not suffer through consequential branding confusion or dislike. Subsequently, it makes sense to follow the rebranding trends and preferences of consumers, as they are the profitable driving force. Keep them happy, and the money will continue to flow. My boss refers to this process of consideration, as “following the money”.

However, when undergoing a rebranding process for a not-for-profit organisation, the obvious flaw in the plan is that following the preferential user trends of consumers is not as straight forward, as they are not the organisation’s primary financial stakeholders. Those who utilise the facility within which I am interning will continue to do so, regardless of how well designed the new website is, or how well the interface integrates with the their mobile devises. From a user perspective, the rebranding process does not change the scientific gain from our facility.

So in light of that fact, the question is, who do you tailor the trends of rebranding towards? One would think that you “follow the money”. The financial stakeholders, including investors, both public and private, are the people to tailor the re-branding process towards, right? But you see the problem then faced is then that there are only a handful of individuals that actually sign their names on the checks. So, do you design your entire rebranding template based on those few, in the hope that firstly they remain in their career position, and secondly that you’ve researched their particular tastes and preferences enough to be able to hit their nail on the head? I have since learnt that this particular avenue is both risky and redundant, because the real stakeholder group that holds the most investment within the rebranding process is the facilities employees.

A large number of the employees showcase their research achievements and progressions across the project’s digital presence and physical facility. The process of branding involves cohesively updating, changing and editing existing information to align with the new brand. Understandably, each member of staff has their own investment in public information relating to their work and the facility, and it would appear that meeting the personal goals of each employee, within each department proves, to be the most challenging task within relations to this particular group. One of the most important lessons that I am learning within this role is that diplomacy is everything, and that following the money will not always lead you to profitable outcomes, as people relations is a necessary skill required for successful public relations. 

"Generosity consists not the sum given, but the manner in which it is bestowed" - Mahatma Ghandi

Sponsorship for a not-for-profit organization is much more than just receiving money and donations from a corporate organisations'. It requires like-minded individuals to be committed to a similar cause, and hopefully sustain a relationship over a long period of time to help others in need.

One of my last  tasks assigned to me at my placement was to look for potential organizations that would be able and willing to sponsor Therapy Focus' Help a Child Grow Charity Ball. The fundraising event, which will be happening on 24th September this year, which hopes to:

• Raise $50, 000 for the Help a Child Grow Fund; and
• To recognise all the dedicated professional staff within the disability sector.

For Therapy Focus, it is crucial that the potential sponsors for the Charity Ball are also like-minded people who want to create a better future for all children in Western Australia. I have never had any experience in the sponsorship side of Public Relations, so this task was definitely a new experience for me. 

I guess, my primary knowledge of sponsorship would be my exposure to sports. I think growing up in Australia and watching AFL every now and then, you see teams being sponsored by well-known Australian organisations.  For example, Bank West and SGIO being the major sponsors of West Coast Eagles. I also thought back to those times in PR units when lecturers would discuss certain topics such as Corporate Social Responsibility and sponsorship.

This experience has taught me a few things about sponsorship in not-for-profit sector that I was unaware of before.

Firstly, sponsors of a charity need to be a good fit to the cause and its objectives. Secondly, its always best to contact businesses that love to give back to the community as they are more willing to help out.


To sum it all up, sponsorship to me has become about the relationship between the charity and the sponsors and/or partners, and how that can used for a greater cause than just making profit.


Until next time,


Maria.


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