And it all comes to an end

Over the past 10 weeks I have gained a great insight into an industry that I have studied for three and a half years. I have had the opportunity to put theory into practice and learn new ways of executing different tasks. Although this unit was sometime hard due to the heavy time demands I feel as if overall I have benefited greatly. I feel sad that I have to leave a team that I was just getting to really know and move onto the next thing. Although I have discovered that my passion does not lie in public relations I have gained experiences that I can apply to an array of both personal and professional situations which life may throw at me. In my final post I would like to share with you the top five things I have learnt over my prac.

1. It's who you know. I think in all professions, especially public relations, the people you know are far more valuable than theoretical models we may have learnt. It amazed me that your net working ability often determines the out come of an event/situation.

2. Feel excited about you will learn rather that scared about what you don't know. In the begging of my prac I was terrified that I wouldn't know enough to be a helpful member of the team. I am convinced the results that I produced where not as good as they could have been. As soon as I let go, not thinking of a task as something I didn't know how to do but rather something I could learn, I found I was far more creative and useful.

3. No question is stupid. There where plenty of times during my prac that I was nervous about asking a question in case I looked dumb. What I found when I did ask is that the people around you are more often than not incredibly eager too help. Not only are you able in increase your knowledge, it often results in the job being done much better. Not to mention quicker.  

4. Passion is the Key. When a person has a passion for what they are doing often that passion will be passed on the the stakeholders and the job is done much better. Stay true to what you really want to do and you will get there in the end. If you still don't know, experience everything you can. Along the way you will find where you want to be, often with an amazing tale to tell in the end.

5.  Know who you are talking to. I don't think that anyone will disagree when I say that public relations has a lot to do with communicating a message to a target market. This concept can be applied to multiple aspects of your life. Know who you are talking to whether it be in a campaign, your boss or a client it is ok to have different ways to express yourself. In fact this is crucial in effectively communicating a message.

I hope some of my experiences where insightful. It is sad that my placement has now finished although I will take its lessons long into my professional career.

I would love to hear things that others have learnt throughout their time at prac. Please feel free to comment:) Best wishes to everybody else in finishing their prac.

Kind Regards 

Emily Colman