As mentioned in the previous post, the company is in the midset of developing its collaterals for 2013. The annual newletter being one that I currently have a part in developing.
The experience of being part of the team putting together the articles for the newsletter has been by the most rewarding of my stay in Kingsmen. (Not trying to say the other works that i was assigned to were not rewarding, but this was 1 project that was exceptionally so.)
In the process of the project, I got to meet and work with people of different levels (senior management, executives, vendors and copywriters), brush up and given tips on writing, learn the hard way to always plan for contingencies and most importantly, have a hands-on experience of how collaterals like newsletters are being developed. It is also through the project that I learnt of the reasons why are some of the human traits listed as traits essential of someone who wishes to carve out a career in the communication industry as mentioned in a PR 250 lecture.
I come to terms that maybe I am not cut out for this line as it is extremely important for practitioners to possess good people skills (which I hardly do). Simply because as a corporate communication staff you need to work all across the board, unlike certain departments in the company where there isn't as much of a need to do so. In the context of my latest project, we required for the various teams in the design department to submit pictures of their works, and some statistical information pertaining to the works.
Like what my colleagues used to tell me "In our department, our priority is usually the least of the other departments'. Which is why our requests are usually attend to with the least priority." I realised just how true those words are as the replies were literally crawling in. That was where my colleague who was heading the project stepped in and exhibited her human skills and began coaxing these designers whom she have fostered a good healthy relationship with to submit their works.
Well anyway, all I can take comfort in is the fact that I can at least consider myself to be meticulous and resourceful, which I feel from my weeks here are attributes that essential as well.
This is my fifth blog entry and will likely be my last as I will be drawing the curtain on my 2 months stint with Kingsmen. For you guys working beyond the semester, hang in there and good luck!
2 comments:
Hi Ee Boon!
You sound really busy! Just how many projects have you worked on for these 2 months?
It's a pity that this internship made you think that you're not cut out for this industry though. Just like you, I don't have good people skills either, but let's not give up and work hard towards our passion for public relations! It must have been hard trying to do work which you were unfamiliar with, but I'm sure you did a great job!
Also, it's really disheartening to hear that your company doesn't place much importance in corporate communication. I feel that it's absolutely essential for a company to know the right way to communicate with its stakeholders, and thus they should place enough emphasis on corporate communications to ensure that they have good relationships with their stakeholders.
That being said, I feel happy for you that your internship is over! Reward yourself by giving yourself a much deserved break! See you in school next week!
Hi Ee Boon.
I read your blog post and the first thing that came to my mind to tell you was to not be so hard on yourself. Sometimes, even though you're not a people person, you can develop such skills overtime. Someone once told me that you immediately become a people person when you know and feel comfortable around the people. See like you said, your colleague had a good healthy relationship with the designers. I am very certain that if you knew them personally or even professionally, you would have been able to convince/coax them to submit their work. All these are just experiences and obstacles that will help you be a better industry professional someday in the future. So chin up and stand tall, it isn’t over. Hope your last few days went well for you and it was not a very bad experience. Take care.
- Priya Suraindran
Post a Comment