PR People Aren't the Only Ones Responsible for PR

One thing to consider when job hunting - don't just look for jobs in the PR departments.

My internship with the Department of Local Government and Communities (or DLGC for short because their title is really long to keep writing out) is about halfway through and even though I'm still unsure about a lot of the things I'm doing there, I also know that I have learnt a whole lot since I started there.

All government agencies have a communications branch in charge of the PR/marketing/advertising/other communications done by the department. So logically, this would be the branch that I would be working in to develop a communication strategy. Except that because the strategy that's being developed is directly related to educating people about a recent legislation change, it's the responsibility of the local government legislation branch and therefore the area that I'm completing the internship with.

Approval for story ideas & any communication materials that are to be sent outside of other government agencies/local governments still have to be approved and finalised by the communications branch to ensure that it is not similar to anything that has been previously released and that it is up to the standards required for government-produced materials. Other than this though, legislation has total control over what the overarching messages of the campaign are and what forms of communication will be used (assuming funding is approved - it's government and nothing is as simple as deciding to develop a brochure and sending it to a printing company).

Whilst working with the legislation team means that I'm not working with people who are employed in a full time communications or PR role, I think that it's benefited me in gaining an insight into how PR fits into the wider scope of an organisation. It's helped me to realise that every area within an organisation needs PR in some form - whether it's to communicate important information between departments or to inform external stakeholders of new/changing information that has come directly from one area.

I think that this information could be helpful when it comes time to find a job after uni, as it's no secret that PR jobs in Perth are pretty few and far between, and if you were happy to take on a broader role to start off with, looking at more general communications roles that are placed within areas outside or PR/marketing could be an option. And, it means that you'd get a range of experience that could be helpful in the future.

That's all for now!
Zoe