I spent the second half of 2014 as an exchange student in England, frolicking in the snow and sashaying across to Europe on the weekends. As you can imagine, getting an internship was the last thing on my mind during this time. When I arrived back in Perth, just weeks before the start of semester one, I suddenly realised that I needed to get moving. After a frantic search I landed a placement at Programmed.
If you have no idea what Programmed is then never fear, I
still wasn’t sure even after my first week working there. Basically, Programmed
is a recruitment company that employs staff and tradespeople across a range of
industries, predominantly in resources and property and infrastructure.
The Programmed logo
Across
Australia and New Zealand, over 10,000 people work for Programmed on a daily
basis. They have offices all over but their head office is in Perth, where I
have been working. My supervisor, Kate, is the only Communications employee
based in Perth, so she has a lot to do. Programmed is also a major sponsor of
the Fremantle Dockers, so a lot of the work she does revolves around this.
In assisting her, my roles have included writing articles for the quarterly newsletter and intranet, organising corporate dinner events, producing website content for the renovated
website and organising sponsorship events and competitions.
To be honest, when I first started I thought working here might be a bit dull. So many blog posts tell of internships at exciting music festivals, in the fashion industry or at big events. However, there's so much diversity in the jobs I do and I've learnt so much about writing and sponsorship already.
Although
it’s no match for gallivanting around Iceland, so far I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the next few weeks!
1 comment:
Hi Anna,
It’s great to hear that you are enjoying your placement, and that you were able to find something suitable with relative ease. I found myself in a similar position to you, whereby I was away for the month leading up to semester one. However I combatted this issue by searching for placements prior to leaving the country, upon the understanding that I would be able to commence once having returned and would be able to stay for as long as they wanted me.
My internship is also quieter in comparison to some of the others that I have read about, however I think that this puts us in a position of strength, as you mentioned, because we have the opportunity to refine our basic PR and communication skills prior to landing involvement in the larger projects. Engaging in sponsorship work and alternative communication means are not skills that we necessarily get to explore and refine during the course of our degrees.
I guess that is why this internship unit proves to be so successful, but I do not think that those of us who are less involved in the projects of recognition should be disheartened. By the sounds of it, Programmed has the potential to open a lot of doors for you, especially since it is an organisation that spans across the country. I’d be really interested to read more about the specific work you are engaging with as an intern, especially in relation to sponsorships and clientele.
Good luck with the rest of your placement, and potential future employment opportunities. I look forward to hearing about the rest of your time at your internship.
Kind Regards,
Molly
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