I am Roxanne and I am currently in my final semester studying Public Relations and Journalism. I have started my internship at Medine Limited since Monday August 4 and I have just achieved my first week.
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| Medine Limited |
My schedule so far has been a hectic one. On my first day, not knowing anyone I was rather shy and reserved. I also felt a little stressed concerning the tasks that will be handed over to me, whether I will be up to the standards or not. I soon forgot all of my negative thoughts and personal insecurities when the first task was assigned to me.
I was explained in a few minutes all that was supposed to be done when no one was in the office during the week end. This implied media clippings, filing and updates of the press news on the company website. Unfortunately, the company did not mention to calucalte any Advertising Press Equivalence when I identified articles. Luckily for me, my brain registered real quick and I got to work as soon as my supervisor got back to his desk. With him sitting accross me, I was sweating like mad in the fear of doing something wrong, and then I thought wait a minute, I am here to learn, so loosen up!
My next task was to re-design a brochure to be distributed on behalf of their next event. Chills was running down my spine as I remembered that I did not particularly love my elective design modules (due to the complexity) and that I almost forgot everything that has been done in class. Impossible is the word that was burning my tongue as my supervisor was standing in front of me writing down all the things that needed to be changed and re-designed on the brochure. While Adobe InDesign was loading, I was determined to at least try and remember the basics of working on this program. With the radio broadcasting some pretty cool music, I started my task without even realising that I was actually managing to do the things that I was asked to do.
After a few hours, I laid back and looked at what I have done to the brochure. Don't worry guys, it's good news. The next thing that I was told had to be done is to send 100 copies to the printer and I was done...
So there is a big lesson that I have learned, and which is very different from uni life. At work, perseverence is what pays and if you think that you can't do something because you are not experienced or qualified, you must try first and who knows! Might as well turn out to be a (almost.....or not) masterpiece!
So after observing my way of working and the results that I produced, my supervisor decided to put me as organiser (I remember learning that a PR practitioner is also an events organiser from time to time...) of their next event which will happen on Sunday August 31st. What will happen in between? I shall keep you posted!
Cordially,
Roxanne Lemasson
3 comments:
Hi Roxanne,
I found your post to be very relatable as there have been many times where I have been given tasks I wasn't sure if I could complete. But like yourself, I learnt that perseverance is just as important, if not more important, than experience and qualifications.
I also found it insightful how you outlined the importance of taking on new challenges in order to demonstrate your competence and be given even greater responsibilities. This is so important as every intern’s goal is to gain greater experience which often means taking on tasks that can appear confronting at first. For example, yesterday I had to supervise 20 volunteers on my own! While it was overwhelming at first, I was able to prove I could take on even greater responsibilities.
It’s great to hear that your supervisor also acknowledged your hard work and determination by making you the organiser of their next event. I'm sure you’ll do a great job!
Please see below a few links that illustrate the importance of taking on new challenges and making the most of your internship. You may also found these to be an interesting read.
https://archive.ama.org/archive/Careers/Pages/C2C%20Ask%20the%20Expert/C2C_Ask_the_Expert_Why_do_an_Internship.aspx
http://career.opcd.wfu.edu/find-an-internship/making-the-most-of-your-internship/
I hope you enjoy the rest of your internship and continue to take on new challenges!
Sophie
Hello Roxanne,
Your post echoes what university assignments feel like to me most of the time but you are right, the key is to get started.
I too have been given several tasks involving design and to say that I was a little lost would be an understatement. However, once you start playing around with the different tools, it all starts to come back and before you know it, the job is done.
I'm happy to hear you were able to get through it and I hope you tackle all your future tasks with the same attitude. I think in a lot of cases, just having that “can do” attitude is really what it takes to get the job done. I guess Captain Jack Sparrow was right when he said “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.”
Hope you enjoy the rest of your internship,
Vaneeda
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