As I've completed my prac at my current place of work, I'm in a slightly different situation to a lot of people as I've been there for over eight months now, rather than just 20 days. I've also been working 50+ hour weeks since that time, which meant that the thought of completing a 6000 word report and numerous blog entries about work in my spare time wasn't the most exciting prospect!
However despite this, I've still found completing the unit a really rewarding experience. After eight months I'd already started to settle into a groove at work, where I stopped thinking so much about the theory and ideas I learnt at uni and went more by experience in the job, the related experiences of other people and what the 'done' thing was in this particular workplace.
Having to critically reflect on all of this to complete the report was a really great opportunity to think about what I have been doing so far and whether it was really the best practice way of doing it. When you're a junior in the workplace, it's really easy to take what more experienced people say as gospel, without thinking about how it compares to what you know about PR and communications. On the whole, this isn't always a bad thing - workplace experience will teach you a lot more than a textbook - but it's important to critically reflect on what you're learning in order to make best use of it for the future.
As such, while this unit didn't throw me into a new work environment, it has already helped me to improve the work I have been doing by thinking critically about it. It also made me realise that the research side of communications is actually quite highly valued in the workplace - my boss has asked me to bring him in a copy of several articles I referenced in my 'recommendations' section, as he agreed with the recommendations and was interested in some further research on the topic. It will be fantastic to see if some of my ideas are implemented in our team, especially since I'm not sure if I would have had the guts to put them forward without this assignment spurring me on!
1 comment:
Hey, Melissa.
First of all, hats off to you for doing your internship for 8 months. I personally did my internship for 4 months and I thought that was pretty gruesome, so props to you.
It's a rare and cherished opportunity for a company to get feedback from university students like us on how the company is from the eyes of soon-to-be employees. I personally think that your recommendations will be welcomed with open arms by your boss.
Best of luck to you and your career in PR.
Regards,
Freddy Gurning
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