Hello everyone, I am Chashanee and I am currently in my third year at Charles Telfair
Institute. Well I am presently enrolled in B.Com Tourism, Hospitality, Events Management and Public Relations. I am doing my internship at Fortis Clinique Darné (FCD) which is one of the largest private hospital in Mauritius. It has been only two days since I joined there but today I am going to share few things that I have learned and observed.
 |
| Fortis Clinique Darné |
On the first day I was happily welcomed by the PR/Marketing officer who will be my mentor during the internship. Of course the first thing I did was a site visit so as to know the premises. Then in the afternoon the real work started as my mentor gave me few letters to respond along with a deadline. One of the letter was about sponsors agreement which I found quite challenging to respond but eventually I did manage to complete my tasks at the given time.
However, something that keeps on making its present in that small office of Fortis Clinique Darné is the TELEPHONE! I feel like the telephone never stop ringing and I think in the coming days I will be great at picking up the telephone at the first ring itself.
Nevertheless of its annoying sound I believe that the telephone is one of the most useful and amazing equipment any organisation can have especially the marketing/pr department. So basically I have learned that anything could happen from a single phone call. For example, the telephone can give a simple information but at the same time it can finalize an event.
Well that was my two days experience I had at Fortis Clinique Darné and I hope I get to share more interesting things in the future with you all.
Have a nice internship experience people!
Chashanee Badrisingh
6 comments:
Hello Chashanee,
Your fist post was insightful, and I can relate to your issue with the phone constantly ringing.
They never sat us down in class to teach us the proper way to answer the phone, yet as an intern it is one of the first things we have to do. I don't know if you've had to deal with nasty clients yet, but the pressure of remaining courteous and polite with them is tough! However it is a skill every PR person needs to master.
Did you feel free to ask questions concerning the letters you had to answer? Sometimes I feel silly, at my own placement, when I ask questions. I am torn between proving that I know what I am doing, and wanting to ask questions to make sure I do the task properly.
Regardless, I think we are both learning that PR people are first and fore mostly well rounded individuals able to adapt to any situation.
Looking forward to reading- Fortis Clinique Darné is an interesting placement. You can also read my first post here: http://pr393reflectiveblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none.html
Sasha
Hi Sasha-Lee,
Thank you very much for reading my post.
And yes! I totally agreed with you, they had never taught us how to properly answer the phone. Luckily I have not yet been encountered with nasty clients but, I am sure I will meet some in the future.
When I was asked to answer those letters I did asked some silly questions and since it was my first day I was extremely nervous but at the same time I wanted to be on the right path. But, now I make sure I am not asking any silly questions and I do try my best to adapt to the rules of the organisation.
Thank you once again for reading and I will surely read your first post as well. Have a nice internship!
Chashanee
Hello Chashanee,
I definitely agree when you say that writing the letter concerning sponsor was challenging. It is quite impressive how being in a 'real' office writing a 'real' letter to be 'really' sent is far from what we did in class.
yes, we did PR plans for 'real' life client, but none of them actually read it. I do not know if you feel the same, but I can really feel the pressure when writing a media release.
I guess this is the reason why we have to do the internship, and this proves that the distinctions received in assignments does not mean much!
Did you found that answering the phone or calling journalists was challenging? I must admit that I caught myself blushing on the phone while talking. I guess I was stressed. However I can see the changes from day to day, it must be true that 'practice makes perfect.'
I hope you are still enjoying your placement and that the phone is not an issue any more.
I am looking forward to read more about your adventure in Fortis Clinique Darne.
I just made my first post on my two first days, follow the link: http://pr393reflectiveblog.blogspot.com/2014/08/you-should-expect-to-answer-phone-and.html
Isabelle
Hi Isabelle,
I am glad that you read my post. Thank you very much!
I totally agree with you that writing in the real workplace is completely different from writing in PR classes or doing a PR plan assignment. I mean it is a huge responsibility since we know that real people will be reading it. So we must be very caution.
For me answering the phone was and still is challenging. I mean personally I found this task quite stressful especially when it comes to call journalists for media coverage. But, as you said things will change in the coming days and practice does make perfect.
I will definitely read your post and once again thank you for reading mine.
Have a nice internship!
Chashanee
Dear Chashanee,
I really appreciate the way you described your first two days in your new workplace and I really enjoyed reading your post. It gave me the impression that you were really enjoying your internship as from the start!
I totally agree with you on what you pointed out about the telephone that keeps on ringing. On my first day, I was asked to answer the phone and I was like: Oh My Dear God! What must I supposed to say to the person at the other end of the line? What if I cannot help him?
Yet, I think that it must have been the same for you. By dint of doing the phone calls and answering the phone, I think that both of us did manage to know what to say to that person! Despite its annoying ringing tone like you said, every phone calls gave us the opportunity to train ourselves to talk to other people through the phone in a professional manner.
Personally, I would say that although it can be really disturbing at times, the telephone is a powerful tool in the Public Relations field as, firstly, it helps us to communicate with people if you cannot have a face-to-face conversation. Secondly, it can help us find accurate information easily by a simple phone call. And to my opinion, I would say that it is one of the most vital communication tool for our quotidian at work.
I am looking forward to read more about your acquired knowledge and experiences gained throughout your internship.
Keep it up.
Cheers,
Keshya.
Post a Comment