A moment of insight, worth a life experience

Name - Sandy Myo Myint Aung
Campus - Curtin Bentley
Placement - Map and Page  
Commenced - March 7, 2012

Hello fellow interns,

I’m a tad late to start with this blog, but I promise I’ll make the most of this opportunity to share the beginning of an extraordinary internship experience with a national public relations agency located in Perth, known as Map and Page. 

On a lighter note, does this bring a smile on your face?

Great, now that I've got your attention, let me give you a quick story on how I got this great job placement opportunity not too long after I got to Perth. 

Interview, Interview, Interview

The PR internship unit came to me as an eye-opener for something beyond fulfilling a unit requirement, after having spent my first 2 years in Curtin Singapore, learning the theory and skills needed in a PR professional. Like most of my friends, the thought of getting a PR job placement was truly exciting, while at the same time daunting to even begin with. How do I create a resume that draws the attention of potential employers? How do I dress to impress? How do speak? Who do I contact?  Which field of PR do I want to get into? What do I do if I don’t find my ideal job placement? 

Before I knew it, I had been to interviews with five amazing potential employers in the span of just two weeks - both non-profit and for-profit organisations. Relentlessly tiring I admit, but truly the most rewarding experience getting to meet PR professionals from all walks of life. At the end of the 2-week job-hunt (also referred to as ‘professional stalking’ by my best-friend), came an unexpected email with a note that reads “Would you like to come in for a trial day at our consultancy,” by the account manager at Map and Page. It came to me as a pleasant surprise, and I jumped right at it. Did I mention the overwhelming amount of anxiety that I felt about finding the right job placement and the many times the potential employer decided to hire the other interviewee before me, as quickly as right after the interview. It was that competitive. Similar to many of my peers on the Reflective Blog like Tash_Seymour who had shared their difficulties in choosing to work for a non-profit or for-profit organisation, I also had a dilemma of my own. I was excited to experience the life of a PR consultant (an intern in my case) in corporate communications, while at the same time wishing to join a non-profit organisation to challenge myself with advocacy and passion for a cause.

The Real Job Experience

Nonetheless, here I am, nearly in the 5th week of my internship with Map. PR Daily News (link), as well as many other news sources, have been my daily dose of oxygen since I've taken my first baby steps into PR. I’ve also been keeping records of my daily experiences while interning and trust me, there has not been a single PR effort that came across as routine. For all I know, it’s going to be valuable in crafting yet another, better resume in the making. I know experience and a good portfolio will help me get my dream job, starting me on my way to a career in PR. If I have to thank my lecturers and mentors for teaching me the theory and skills that I will need in the industry, this would be the right moment as everything I’ve learned academically have been put to use in this practicum - including drafting materials like news releases, clippings, media alerts, fact sheets and status reports, handling client meetings, media training, presentations and participating in brainstorming sessions. I also wouldn’t go without mentioning what a pain it is to work the EAVs (Equivalent Advertising Value) out, which I think should be an integral component of academic PR that educators spend more time passing on the knowledge. Nonetheless, I was assisted over the phone/email by a nice, friendly supervisor from another Map and Page branch in Sydney. Tough, challenging, almost impossible, yet a rewarding experience to finally complete it and come into terms with the fact that I’ve always hated Mathematics. 

The Ruby Connection: An initiative inspiring women to succeed.

Like many other things in life, working in a consultancy comes with its pros and cons - great potential for creativity, dynamic, broad career options and growth, and highly analytical nature, versus the long work-hours, deadlines to meet, stacks of information to absorb and great competition in the field. One of the reasons PR is so interesting to me is that it encompasses of many different roles under the very term ‘public relations’ - publicity, promotion, events, media relations, community relations, etc. Assisted by my Account Manager, I'm currently being assigned to help out with tasks in support of the Ruby Connection, by the Westpac's Women's Markets Managers, which provides women with education, information and networking opportunities through a national program which runs across both metro and regional Australia. Truly inspirational and thought-provoking stuff, which I'd like to share with you guys more later in the future blog posts.

Fifth week of internship and still standing strong, I can’t describe how proud I am to be part of the team at Map. After changing two majors and thinking back on all the career expectations I’ve had in the past, I can now tell you that a career in PR consultancy is something I definitely see myself growing with. I’m all in for the exciting dream job that lets me put my creativity to test in communicating with the publics and working on a variety of interesting projects - and also in the process of finding ways to explain to my mom what I plan to do for a living.

Food for thought:

What is your dream job? How do you plan to stand out amongst the crowd, all of those who want the same dream job as you? What are you doing now to achieve the end goal of your 'dream job'?

Best of luck to all of you,

Sandy Aung