Yusra’s Internship Wisdom

I have finally come to the end of my internship. As much as I’m looking forward to writing my final report, I’m sad to be leaving such an amazing group of professionals who have welcomed me into their offices and showered me with valuable advise and inspiration.

For this last blog I have decided to share my newfound wisdom as an intern, for those who are yet to complete their internship unit or have only just begun the journey. So here are just a few tips and pieces of advice.

   1. Outlook is your new best friend … and don’t forget the subject heading

Email becomes a major way of communication, from being booked into meetings, reminders, delegating tasks, sending off finished works and in some instances liaising with the media. Receiving so many emails daily fills up your inbox really easily. Remember you’re an intern, imagine how many emails your colleagues are getting, working on numerous projects and having numerous contacts.  Remember to be considerate and always include a subject heading when sending off work to a supervisor, client or even just getting a quote, as your work may get lost in their endless pile of emails.

   2. If it’s your first time working in an office, you’re in for a surprise

If you’ve only ever worked in retail, like myself, then working in an office environment will feel quite unusual. The consultancy I worked for had one guideline for me when it came to ‘office life’; you’re free to do as you please as long as the work gets done. This meant there was freedom to have lunch whenever and wherever, freedom to leave the office as pleased and even take work home if one felt they’d rather do the work from home. 

Being accustomed to a strict routine at my retail job, this newfound flexibility was initially quite hard for me to comprehend and I found I preferred to work a 9-5 day with an hour lunch break.  

  3. PR can be extremely time consuming

There will be times when you will be asked to complete work that is extremely time consuming and tedious such as database work, certain writing tasks, and even some event work. Remember that this is all part of public relations work, you’re not always going to be doing the best jobs, but if you do the small ones well you have a better chance of having a go at the bigger jobs. It’s all about attitude and perspective. Stay positive.

  4. Stakeholders, and other theories are real

Talking about stakeholders and stakeholder theory in countless PR classes can sometimes leave you thinking ‘in the actual business world will professionals use these terms constantly?’ the answer is yes, they will. In fact many of the terms and theories that we learn at Curtin will come up at some point in your internship. So in short yes, those long three-hour seminars pay off at the end.

   5. Always do your research

I’m sure this is a given, but it’s important to always do research before beginning any work. The last this you want to do is miss out vital information or make something look like half a job, solely because you hadn’t done some research into the industry, service or product. As an intern you’ll have to do a lot more research then the rest of colleagues, as you begin to learn more about your industry background and clients.

    6. Account for your time

No matter how foreign it feels to be noting down what you’re working on each minute of the day and for how long, it’s really important. This was the main method used for billing clients and keeping track of what was done. By the end of your internship it will begin to feel like second nature. Plus, as a bonus, I found doing this made me feel more productive, as at the end of the day as I could reflect on all the hard work I’d done.

I hope these little tips and shared experiences can come in handy as you start you internship. Remember to make the most if it, as it will go quicker then you can imagine.

For the last time,

Yusra