Hi PR 393’s!
Ok so it is here. The end.
My internship is over and I must admit I didn’t think I would come away
from it with as much as I have. Going into
it I was nervous, excited and ready to learn and apply what I have already
learnt. The person coming out of it is more
confident in herself and her abilities and more self- assured that this is the
career path she wishes to pursue.
Things I learnt:
- · TIME MANAGEMENT. Record everything that you have to do for the day. WRITE IT DOWN!! This is the best and only way you will get through everything and be organized!
- · PRIORITIZE. During my first few weeks in my placement, they hadn’t yet replaced the support/admin role within the company so I was placed on reception. This threw me straight into the deep end as I would be answering and directing phone calls as well as having to take on all the jobs and tasks the office threw my way. After a couple of days of being overwhelmed I learnt to ask what is priority and work my way down the list of to do’s that way. I feel like being in that admin role straight away was the best way for me to learn as much as I did. I was thrown head first into it and I had to learn how to swim very fast.
- · DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS. You are in your placements to learn. The team at Devahasdin had all at one stage been in my position and understood that I didn’t have all the answers and that there are some things University doesn’t teach you. I was never afraid to ask questions as I wanted to learn and do things right but it was very comforting to hear it from them that I should ask questions.
- · And finally the value of PR. We all know how amazing and valuable PR is to a company but did you know a feature in a newspaper is worth 5 times the value of advertising in PR. Crazy!
I really loved my placement and
that feeling of working in the ‘real world’ of PR. Getting to experience the excitement when
they won a new client, gained beneficial media coverage for a client or an
event was a success was truly a thrilling experience. That feeling of belonging to a team and
working on exciting projects is a excellent feeling, and it confirmed to myself
that I was pursuing a career in the right area.
Finally I just want to say a huge
thank you to the team at Devahasdin, you are all fabulous individuals who
taught me so much! Congratulations to everyone who has completed their
placements, we did it! We survived!!
Jeacinta xx
3 comments:
Congratulations and jubilations.
I am so happy for you and I wish you luck.
Currently I am in my second week of interning with Curtin Sarawak in their Corporate Communications Department. All that you have said about time management is extremely true as well as prioritizing.
I myself have made checklists to make sure things get done and which duties come first.
After reading your blog post, it inspires me to look ever forward and the struggles now are steps forward to a better future with hard earned experience paving the way.
You are also right in not to be afraid in asking questions. Assumptions are very dangerous and knowing gives a person a better advantage in the 'playing field'.
The posting you made is a valuable reminder of the simple thoughts that we all should remember.
Congrats again. Look ever forward.
Hi Jaecinta,
What a great post!
I definitely agree that prioritising and to-do lists are the way to go. At the beginning of each day, I would review the tasks that were assigned to me (as well as any remaining from the previous week) and work out what had to be completed first. Even having a rough time plan e.g. "Complete X by lunch time" worked well for me.
Of course, I don't know about you by sometime I ended up using To-Do lists as a form of procrastination! My manager gave me a great bit of advice - DO IT NOW! Sometimes I need to remind myself to simply stop talking/thinking about it and just do it!
Glad you enjoyed your placement :)
Rachel
Hi there! Congratulations on the completion of your internship placement! I have just completed mine as well!
I totally agree with you on all the three points. Proper time management is crucial for a public relations practitioner because we are responsible of planning and organizing events and we need to make sure that everything progresses according to the specific time frame set by us. It is in fact a must!
Prioritizing is important as well because we need to know which tasks are to be put ahead of the others. Of course, even in our daily life, we will focus on the things which matter to us more right? ;)
About not being afraid to ask questions, that is absolutely true!! That was something that I learned from my internship as well. I realized that being afraid of asking questions will get you nowhere. I am glad that my experience has helped me to be more open and improve my communication skill to communicate better with people.
Good luck to all your future undertakings!
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