Time for blog #2!
On my second week into my UK Border Agency Internship, I was asked to go to Wales for the day, to interview some customs officers on recent training they had received.
I caught the train from London to Cardiff and then caught a little bus through green fields and along the coast to the tiny Cardiff International Airport. I spent the day interviewing 5 immigration officers who had just undergone SEAT (Secondary Examination Area Training) which basically enables them to be immigration AND customs officers. They were all very friendly and so enthusiasic to talk, mainly knowing that what they had to say would be published in the Border Force Weekly and would be excellent PR for Cardiff Airport. I was taken on a tour of the airport, through the immigration desks, to the customs controls, the baggage section and through the arrivals and departures terminals themselves.
Initially I was weary of interviewing the officials as I felt slighly out of my depth talking about a subject I really didn't have much of a clue about. I reminded myself however I was on work experience and trying to facilitate positive PR within the Border Agency, so it was all about talking to people, getting a vibe and using it to connect with different publics.
I headed back to London with some fantastic information and a great understanding of how important it is for different publics within the Border Agency to communicate and interact with each other due to the sheer size of the organisation.
A slightly different PR experience to what Im sure many of you are experiencing? But exciting and interesting none the less!
2 comments:
Good read Jess, I have to say I can somewhat relate to you in terms of feeling out depth when it comes to interviewing people. My placement is at a company specializes in building power generators and other remote power solution equipments. When I was asked to interview employees and write stories for the company newsletter I had no idea where to start. But like you said, we just have to take a deep breath and do the best we can.
Hi Jess,
Yes that sounds very different to what many people would be expecting but that would also be such an advantage when you're trying to get every experience under your belt. I'm sure if things get too deep you'll have someone there to help? Well I hope so! It sounds like a really interesting opportunity and I hope you enjoy it.
Kate
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