Our journey has still just begun...

Looking back on what I have learned at the Department for Communities, I feel that I’ve experienced almost everything I would have wanted to in a public relations capacity. Work experience within the government gave me an opportunity to practise my writing skills over a variety of tasks including media releases (see post titled “The art of media release writing”), event management (see post titled “Planning the obvious and not-so-obvious”) and speeches (see post titled “Being a public relations chameleon”), which means I now have a complete portfolio of work from a reputable placement to show potential employers.

The placement allowed me to build on the skills I learned throughout my degree, while teaching me so much more. I think this was partly because much of the degree focused on either consultancy or corporate work, rather than public relations for the government. I also think there is a bit of a gap in learning public relations for a not-for-profit context (for example, practices such as gaining sponsorships and lobbying). Although many of the skills learned in the public relations degree are transferable, I think it would have been more valuable to place the skills in a greater variety of learning contexts.

But I suppose there will always be things to learn beyond the books. As a profession that crosses so many industries, public relations is applied differently from one industry to the next. I guess that is why the professional placement is so important as it gives us, as students, a chance to experience the public relations role within a context of our choice.

I particularly liked community relations work and feel that I work best in public relations when I am promoting a cause that interests me. Since the first day of my placement at the Department for Communities, I liked the idea that my work was contributing in some way to positive social changes.

My placement challenged me in a way that assignments and exams never could. I think a practical unit should be offered in every stream at university.

Public relations is only one of my many interests, and I am still deciding whether I would like to pursue it in the future or to chase another dream. I do, however feel that work experience helps to provide insights to your unique needs and wants, your strengths and your potential. So as I am seeing what jobs come up, I am considering doing more work experience to help me on my way.

Best of luck to you on your own journey… I guess we have all already taken our first steps into “the real world” and it’s great to have shared mine with you.

Alana
-Curtin University, Bentley

(Note to blog authors: Please excuse this late blog submission as I am still recovering from being sick and have had problems accessing my account).