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Yes. My Interning experience is fun event planning, with endless funds and media contacts, and everything falls into place without any hiccups.
Has anyone gotten these questions before? Perhaps from friends or family members?
Like most of us here, I am in my final year of uni, yet I still find it hard to explain to people what my degree entails and what I am doing as a PR intern!
When I tell people the list of things I do in the day, saying it outloud makes it seem like it isnt that hard/complex/time consuming, and I find myself wanting to ellaborate just to make it sound interesting! Dont get me wrong, I really have enjoyed myself throughout the entirety of my placement, but do you ever have those moments when you are telling people and it just sounds so... mundane?
"Today I worked on a story for our newsletter, sent some questions to an author and am waiting reply, then added some pictures to the website, did some mailouts and had to reply to teachers, booked some even space for an upcoming book launch..."
Wait, how did THAT take up 8.5 hours of my day?!
They all sound pretty straight forward don't you agree?
But all of this stuff takes time! Oh is it time consuming to think of questions to send, get those questions checked by my supervisor and then our editor, wait on the responses... Go through the tedious Photoshop steps to resize and scale an image so it works on the web... Find contact details for event spaces, research and send countless emails sometimes for WEEKS to places when wanting to book spaces, drafting media releases or stories a few times, and then a few more, before getting it edited and checked before it gets the go ahead, waiting on draft images from our graphic designer... I think I have been blissfully unaware of the small details that go into PR and marketing. Maybe its like that with all jobs.. There are so many things, seemingly insignificant and small, that make the bigger picture what it is. The devil is in the details as they say!
This is just a little blog post today, a stream of consciousness if you will, about the daily tasks in my PR placement.
Do you guys find people asking you the same thing about your placement / degree? Is it as easy/simple/harder than you would have imagined? Its funny how small things take such a big chunk out of your day.. but I guess it is those small things that make it all work!
Please let me know if you guys have had the same questions or experiences as me!
Until the next post,
Anouka
6 comments:
Hey Anouka
It's so funny that you posted this topic as I was just trying to explain to someone on the weekend what it was that I did only to be responded to with "oh cool so you plan parties, my mom is a wedding planner too!"
I do agree that it is difficult to try and explain to people exactly what it is that we do all day without making it sound like the easiest job in the world. You definitely have to experience it for yourself just to see how long it takes to actually complete the tasks we have to do. I for one had to write my first media release the other day and Im pretty sure I rewrote it about 10 times before I was even mildly happy to get it checked by my supervisor. Im so glad someone else knows the feeling.
Hi Anouka,
I know how you feel, especially when it comes to researching contacts for events and sponsors!
I feel like i've spent half my internship sat behind a computer looking for contacts for upcoming events even though we have over 800 for each already!
But i guess it teaches you to appreciate all the planning and organisation that goes into creating, managing and seeing through an event.
It may even help you decide what part of the PR industry you want to work in.
Sometimes the jobs we don't want to help us narrow down what we want to do!
At least you know now that the PR industry isn't all parties, glitz and glamour. All jobs have their downside unfortunately. Just have to find one for you that is outweighed by the positives!
Enjoy your internship
#Mica #Nelson #15506988 #Review
Hey guys,
thanks for the comments!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this! it's funny isnt it after three years I am still trying to explain its a lot more computer-research work and less meeting contacts over drinks! ( I blame Samantha for that one!)
It's surprising how much time and effort goes into planning even the smallest things, like editing a brochure to get the picture juuuust the right size!
I hope your both enjoying your internships!
Anouka
Hey Anouka,
I can't help but completely relate to what you have written in this blog post. People are always stopping me and asking "so what exactly is PR?" and I sit there, looking at them thinking "I don't know". How did we get through three years of university with a simple "I don't know"? And how do you describe what we do without sounding like a bunch of soccer moms who "make pretty newsletters".
It is surprising how much time and effort we put into these small tasks. And how easily people take these things for granted when they haven't seen how this industry works.
I can say for one thing, I'll never just press "delete" on a newsletter again.
Best of luck,
Jade.
#16857263
Hi Anouka,
I've been feeling the exact same way, especially now that I'm getting excited to graduate and have been chatting to friends and family about my plans for the future.
Trying to explain all the different jobs you can get with PR- Most don't understand how I can be interning at a firm that focuses just on PR, while other students are completing their internship at CrimeStoppers for instance.
My internship has also showed me how much time and effort is put in to even the smallest details of a public relations plan, even just listing an event online is a tedious job, not to mention the countless other tiny details that need to be taken care of.
I said in my 10 day update form that my least favourite thing to do whilst completing my internship was creating media distribution lists simply because of the time it takes to produce such a small amount of work, but I guess that's the same in every profession-there's always going to be things we hate to do!
I guess it's just a testament to the supervisors we've been working for that they've made it look so seamless and easy until we had to try it for ourselves.
Good luck with the rest :)
Claudia
Hi Anouka,
You are preaching to the choir! It is so difficult to explain the role of public relations and what a day on the job entails. Each time that I’ve come home from my internship, my family will eagerly ask me how it went and what I got up to. When I hear my response out loud (“It was great! I sent out emails, posted photos on Instagram, sent out tweets on Twitter, updated databases and wrote different pieces), it makes me re-think how these tasks filled up an entire day. But as you said, these tasks are tedious and it’s the in-between elements that are time consuming, yet don’t receive any recognition.
Trust me, it’s not just you being asked these questions, I hear it all the time. It just makes me more determined to get more from my degree and to further pursue a career in public relations. There is so much scope to be gained in the PR industry and it really can lead you down an array of paths. In the meantime, I guess it is in our best interest to not be disheartened by the questions or scepticism people may have around public relations and to show them what it is all about.
As soon-to-be PR professionals, we know that a day in the life of PR is anything but mundane, so never lose faith in whatever career path you may take. All the best as you graduate from uni and enter the workforce Anouka. May it be a thrilling journey full of challenging, yet wonderful experiences!
Ashleigh
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