Sunday, March 4, 2012

Ending with a Blast!!... The intern: Part four




So this is it. The placement is done and the report a work in progress.

Being immersed in the public relations world helped me to have a better insight of where I am seeing myself in a couple of years, not in a public relations capacity. To be honest, the internship was very stimulating and my spell at Blast Communications was more than enjoyable. I learned a lot and soaked up the maximum knowledge around.  I have to say that since the first day, I was in observational mode and acquired useful information from tasks being done and from colleagues, a real “sponge-bob”. As I said, although I learned and enjoyed a lot my time in this public relations capacity, I have the feeling that this is not my vocation, as I am sure that  my fate and career lies in another field but which is closely linked to Public Relations,  The Marketing department! More specifically, eventually turn into a creative director. Anyway, no more beating around the bush and lets focus on my last week at Blast.

I assisted the event management team to set up a launching and cocktail on behalf of Grant Thornton Mauritius. My first assignment was to update the organisation’s contacts list; which consisted of going through the internet and yellow pages and this took me hours to complete. The next task was to call every guest in order to confirm their presence at the event. After a few calls I had the feeling of working in a call-centre but I realised this was a crucial part of event management as without proper follow-up you might end up with very few guests. So I boosted my motivation and ego. Though I went through a lot of cold secretaries and assistants, I kept on calling and confirming.  The next day we went to the event’s hall to set up the decorations and logistic. We guided the sound and lights team and the handy mans. The MC rehearsed his speech and we gave him advices. All went smoothly. And so came the event, the motto; Suit up! And smile. I could feel the stress around and the team were hastily, with a tense smile, checking everything and briefing the staff.  The guests arrived one by one, all important leaders of the private and public sector; they were welcomed by the team and served drinks. Meanwhile I was busy unpacking boxes of giveaways; personalised mugs. Removing them and placing them in alphabetical order so as to prevent any confusion while distributing it.  The vice-prime minister was the main guest and following his speech and some chit-chat, He came by our stand and was offered his mug, which brought a big smile to his face. Unexpected gift has the best results! The giveaway session done, I found myself in the hall, Cocktail and canapés in hand, talking about how the event was handled effectively by the Blast team. The live band played and the Blast staff danced...

As this is my last post, I would like to thank the Blast team for their support and knowledge sharing and thanks for enabling me to gain valuable experience on their behalf.

I hope that you guys are enjoying or still enjoying your placements and for those who haven’t found one yet! Persevere!
Cheers!

Jean Allen Giovani Adeline
14540448
Curtin, Bentley.

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