End of my adventure

Mikayla Wearne - 17081270 - Bentley 

Hi Guys!

It has been a few months now since I finished my internship with Go Communications and returned home from Kuala Lumpur. I have settled back into university life and into a new internship with the Curtin Activation team which means I can finally reflect upon my time and experiences with GO.

When I first found out I would be heading off to Kuala Lumpur to work at Go Communications I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I envisioned a large company with lots of employees, I thought the company would be very corporate in the way dealings were conducted and in the way that everyone would present themselves. I expected the internship itself to be extremely organized, with a set plan for me to follow daily. It turned out that all I had envisioned was quite the opposite of what my experience turned out to be in reality.

When I arrived at GO I discovered that it was actually quite a small company that dressed and acted very casually but professionally. Although I had many tasks and responsibilities throughout my internship it was not as organized as I had expected, I was given tasks as they came. Although this was not what I expected it gave me a good idea of how communications companies are run and some perspective on a real working environment.

In my role I completed various tasks including media monitoring, both online and print, composed monthly reports for clients, created blogger profiles for client’s potential sponsorship, wrote documents such as media releases, media invitations, fact sheets and interview questions. I also attended events where I was able to interact with the media there and see first-hand how the company’s hard work had paid off, this also gave me an opportunity to network and learn about traditional Malaysian culture.

A lot of people have asked me recently how completing my internship overseas helped me and the challenges I faced whilst over there. I think the biggest advantage I gained from completing my internship overseas was that I learned about public relations on a multinational level, I was able to observe where practices were contacted the same as at home as well as where they differed. It opened my eyes to just how big public relations is, not only in Australia or the US but in many different countries and cultures and in many different companies, brands and businesses.

Another massive advantage to completing my internship overseas was that I was able to discover and learn about a new culture. I became quite close with my team members who introduced me to traditional Malay foods, one of my co-workers even let me wear one of her traditional “baju kurug” outfits to a traditional feast! I was taken to traditional markets where I discovered many different foods, fresh fruit and veg, electricals, home wears, clothing and knick-knacks.

Of course there were challenges attached to my internship being overseas, one of the biggest challenges was trying to overcome the cultural and language barriers that existed. This issue wasn’t present so much in my working environment but I found that it was a problem outside it. Although KL is a very modern, westernized country I still found that locals often misunderstood me or even ignored me. At times I found myself confused and frustrated with the way locals did things, for example I found that I was getting charged a higher price just for being a foreigner.

All in all, the internship provided me with experiences I will never forget, I have already found that I am more of an asset in my new internship from my learnings with GO. I definitely feel more confident about graduating at the end of the semester and jumping into the real world of PR! Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way and for those of you reading my posts, good luck to everyone who is still in their internship placements!

Kind regards,

Mikayla Wearne

Making Hard Choices

There are times when we are placed into tight spots in the workplace. This may be either choosing which CSR Program to sponsor and our decisions and reasoning are torn apart due to the limited budget. However I learn that in life, we can't move on without making choices.

1. Sometimes We Need To Choose 
In PR, there are certain CSR programs that deserved to be sponsored. In making choices, we need to see how big of an impact can that CSR give to the intended community? We are sometimes tempted to choose something that has less sponsorship value to conserve what is left of our budget. But then we need to think about how can the greater public benefit from it. Is it worth it?

2. Bringer of sad news
At times, people will call in and ask if we are able to sponsor or collaborate certain CSR programs. There are times we need to say NO. How can we help others if we can't help ourself. 

I admit, it is hard being a PR officer. Sometimes we need to turn away those that need our help. However, we must not be discourage and keep on going. Sometimes we can turn them to other places for help. There is always a solution. 

How did I get that lucky?

I remember sitting on the balcony of the fourth floor and realising how lucky I was! I think we are not thankful enough for the chances we get and we do take it for granted. The work, meaningful as it was, was only a small part which made my internship experience special. Meeting with important CEOs and being on the front scene was horrifying at first but the deep breath I took before pushing this door was deeply comforting, the little voice in my head yelling "You can do this" made me feel invincible!

"Cogito ergo Sum" -" I think therefore I am"

The real feeling of having neurones dancing in my head to find the most creative way to present projects. There are many reasons to consider when doing an internship, but perhaps none is more worthwhile than being a part of something bigger than yourself!

Enjoy your journey guys and make each moment a unique one! 

Place Activation- Food trucks and....?

Hey everyone!

Hopefully you all enjoyed my last blog post, as much as I enjoyed sharing my first blog with you all.

As promised, I'll be sharing with you all a more detailed insight into my internship, and what it is I actually spend my valuable 20 days of experience doing.

I was fortunate enough to be offered an internship position here at Curtin, within the corporate services. My internship is within the Properties, Facilities and Development business unit, working within the Place Activation team.

The Place Activation team is a close-knit team, consisting of myself and three others. I have been lucky enough to call my colleagues my mentors, as they have taken me under their wing and they make me feel incredibly valued and supported throughout my internship experience. My colleagues come from a range of different backgrounds, but mostly from the arts and creative industries across Perth. I am surrounded by women who have a wealth of knowledge and are happy to freely pass on this knowledge, together with their experiences.

But back to the interesting stuff- what do Place Activation do here on campus? Put simply, Place Activation are here to make Curtin great- the main strategic objective of Place Activation is to get people, not just students, to stay on campus longer and engage with the campus. Place Activation is also aimed at creating a "community vibe" around campus, and another strategic objective is to connect the wider community with Curtin, positioning Curtin as a destination, rather than a tertiary institution.

You may be familiar with some Place Activation activities across campus, most notably the food trucks and the beanbags. Yep, this is all Place Activation! Passive assets across campus are organised by Place Activation, and are the little things that make your day that little bit better at Curtin.

Together with this, many of the activities and festivals across campus are also organised by Place Activation- I was recently involved in the planning and execution of the Mid Autumn Festival at Curtin!

As you can see, I could really rave about Place Activation for a lot longer! I have previously taken these great additions to Curtin for granted, but seeing who organises these things has made me much more appreciative!

Stay tuned for my next blog, where I'll be writing a Buzzfeed-esque blog post on "15 things I have learnt as an intern"!

Dear Creative mind...

Well, I guess my internship is all about doing things on my own. I think this was going to be a turning point in my work! As the communication department of the company relied on one person who was actually busy with other things, I could set my own goals and objectives that were going to be approved of course!

Anyway, I was going to get creative by all means that the Internet could offer myself as an intern!
I didn't know I could do some amateur design? I finally managed to change boring artworks into fresh ones that were showcased on our customer's Facebook page! I can't tell how proud I was!

From this...

To thiiiiissss!! Tadaaa

Further, getting an enhanced response on my artwork was a real push for me. That's how I came to realise that visuals are very important in an increasingly digitised environment. In order to stay unique and to make an impact, businesses must be willing to be creative and add a pinch of vitamin in what they are trying to sell!

Lunch, Anyone?

Dear Friends,

It has been nearly 2 months interning here and I gotta say, lunch time has never been so rewarding. 

Mee Jawa, my favourite meal nearby the office. 

Image by www.hungrygowhere.my

To be honest, I always look forward to lunch time. Most of my lunches are with my boss and colleagues. 

In my opinion, lunch time is also another way for PR to work. Sometimes we are too fixed upon the stakeholders from outside of our organisation that we tend to forget about the stakeholders within the organisation. 

Being able to spend some time with your colleagues during lunch allows you to listen to what they have to say or what they are worried about while working in the company or organisation. Keeping an open communication amongst employees is key to avoiding miscommunication in the workplace. 

I now understand that some employees are not comfortable talking about certain issues within the boundaries of the office and it's not like we even have time to talk during office hours. Of course whatever concerns they have, we need to protect their privacy. 

And besides, we get to deepen our friendship with our colleagues cause sometimes food taste better when you have company. 



Alan Zechariah Gian

Not all posts are happy ones.

I have never seen a sad post, promotion or blog post by a large corporation. I've viewed Peta shock it's audience with disturbing images of animal cruelty through social media; insurance companies give the importance of safety of your family speech to guilt you into taking their next offer and Chevron or Woodside constantly attempting to make the message clear that the environments protection and preservation is their one and only goal. 

However, these are promotional schemes and strategies for a company to gain reputation and profit. A sad or emotional post has no goal or motive it's simply the company expressing their despair and grief. 

When the event is something as sensitive as a passing of a faculty member how do you approach this?

A week ago a member of staff past away. This affected the entire community at the college. Today was her funeral and it was performed at the college chapel today.

The college's involvement with her life and death meant that it was up to the community relations department to represent the emotions felt here at the college. It was agreeed that a dedication to her memory should be posted on Facebook.

As a former boarder and student who knew her, I was asked to give insight into the woman that she was and what she brought to the college as a teacher, career and a mother to the boarders missing their own.

However I had no idea about what to contribute. It's easy to learn how to make an engaging post for a fun company adding content, themes and pictures that are interesting. However, as students we never learned how to engage with the public with a sad theme. 

I guess it is a similar process to the crisis management process showing compassion, caring and respect to the stakeholders affected by the event. 

What do you mean I gotta talk to more people?

Dear Friends, 

It has been one month into my internship and I must say, I definitely learned a lot of deal here in the industry. I have to keep telling myself that this is the REAL WORLD. Work pressure and stress definitely creeps up to you by now. 

First and foremost, I am an introvert. I can definitely speak up on matters that are important and interest me (which is by now are cars, cats and food). If you get to know me more, you'd notice that I like to be alone and not talk much most of the time. Speaking to strangers scares me, MOST of the time. 

                                                   (You mean I gotta talk to strangers?)

My boss at my internship posting here loves to see me try talk to strangers cause she say it helps me in this REAL WORLD. It starts with phone call conversations and slowly face to face. Aside from writing press-releases, prepping media kit, designing and planning, I have to admit, conversing with people in general is not my forte. (Especially ones with strong personality) 

(Can Mr Whiskers just stay under the desk today? You can talk to the humanz)

Somehow after a month in, I gotta say I have more confidence in speaking and coming out of my cocoon of blankets to speak to strangers. Gotta thank my supervisor, Miss Angelyna for pushing me out of my comfort zone. Slowly but surely. 

If you can relate to me, here's to you:

May the odds be in our favour

Alan Zechariah Gian

15410649

Bachelor of Arts: Mass Communications (Public Relations)

Intern at Interhill Group

Before you start your Internship… Watch the Karate Kid.

Hey everyone!

I'm  just about half-way through my internship, and this is my first blog entry! I'm excited to share this with you all as I'm sure it will ring true for many of us currently completing our internships.

If you’re not familiar with the Karate Kid, I highly recommend that you watch it! For those of who are familiar with it, you may already know what I'm talking about. If you do, bear with me as I promise I'm not going crazy, there is a point to this!

When Daniel and Mr Miyagi first meet, Daniel is almost certain that he is merely just a slave, aiming to fulfil the purpose of completing Mr Miyagi’s menial tasks such as waxing his car and painting his fence. Promised that Mr Miyagi would take Daniel under his wing and teach him kung-fu, Daniel is yet to see the value in his “menial tasks”. It is later revealed that all those tasks were really the foundations to those important kung-fu moves.

We are always told that there are the "not so glamorous" roles in PR, such as administration duties and the ever important, but equally frustrating, pre- event logistics, but these tasks are crucial in developing a higher level of PR skills- well, in my opinion anyway!

So where am I going with this? As an intern, I myself have often become frustrated with the sometimes “menial tasks” I have been given. Heading into my internship experience I assured myself that these were tasks I would need to complete in order to learn, but when it came to actually doing these tasks- this thought process soon went out the window as I was more interested in asking, “So, when will I be completing the social media strategy?”

After completing a few days of these tasks, I soon had an epiphany. How could I develop a social media strategy or publish important data if I don’t know how to master Excel or even PowerPoint? Embracing this thought, I threw myself into developing my “basic” PR skills, so that once I have confidently mastered these skills, I am ready to take on the next challenge.

In saying all this, I have been incredibly fortunate with my internship experience in that I have been given a few such menial tasks. I am actually grateful that I have been given the opportunity to practice these skills, such as Excel!?, in a real world setting,- because when else am I going to practice using Excel? And thankfully, now that I have “mastered” these important foundation skills, I have been lucky enough to be involved with some really cool projects on campus here at Curtin!

Stay tuned for my next blog, where I discuss exactly what the Place Activation team do here at Curtin. If you already know, let me know what you think it’s all about!

Five Down, Five To Go: An insight into the real world (toughen up princess)

Five Down, Five To Go: An insight into the real world (toughen up princess)

This week I have reached the half way mark of my internship at an events company. With five more weeks to go, I will reflect back on the work I have done so far.

Week one was very nerve-wracking. Working with people with completely different personalities has taken some time to adjust to (something which I am still doing). The work I completed in week one included a press release on celebrity chef, Anna Polyviou for the De Lish expo as well as annotating and making notes on one of the clients websites.

The second week differed greatly and research was my sole task. I first had to research professional assistant office trends for 2016 and compile a blog post of how far that profession has come. I learnt early on the importance of asking questions as my first attempt apparently did not match the idea of my director. I’m glad I made this mistake early and have been sure to clarify any confusion BEFORE I start tasks. I’ve learnt that those who are in charge are often very busy and unfortunately can’t dedicate their time to properly teaching you, like a tutor or teacher would. I new level of independence was gained in my second week.

My third week involved emailing similar events to the De Lish expo nationally and internationally in order to find out how much they charged their exhibitors. I worked on this task for 3 days and think I know about every food event around Australia now.

The next week I was asked to proof read a registration site for any errors such as spelling mistakes as well as making sure the site functioned as it should have. I was then asked to make a call sheet with a set list of questions to keep in the office for when my directors were at meetings and the role was left for interns to answer the phone.

My fourth week involved researching exhibitors that would be at the famous Margaret River Gourmet Escape that would also fit in at an event such as De Lish. These were complied into an excel spreadsheet as always. On the Friday I was then asked to write a press release on the celebrity chefs that would be at the expo as well as mentioning the changing Perth dessert scene and how alike we have become to Melbourne’s foodie scene. I enjoyed this task.

This week I have been asked to make a ‘how to” research list for the other inters in order to make sure we are conducting the right researching methods. The importance of correct documentation in excel spreadsheets was emphasized and therefore my list features the information that is vital to be included. This includes personal emails as well as full names and correct contact details.

All in all, I frequently tell myself that the experience of this internship will be priceless when it 

comes for applying for future PR related jobs. I am always reminded about the amount of hard work that goes into running a successful events company.

Back to high school

I never thought I'd be going back to high school again. I always imagined going for a reunion of my class. As a former student at Santa Maria College, I was nervous and excited to go to my old school where I have had the most amazing and terrifiying moments of my life.

The first step was the brief. Social media platforms are used by Santa's communications department and they're trying to engage two types of target markets, Students and parents.

Instagram and Tumblr are the primary focus with the students and parents prefer the blogs and facebook. 

Workspace!

Once I understood their goals I was given the regulations and restrictions on the subjects matters and themes of posts and images allowed by a religous school.

I was immediately flattened. Wondering if I would be able to do my job while being innovative and creative.

Turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought!

Being a catholic school they need to ensure every post, blog, image, discussion etc has a direct reflection on the whole school's values and religon. Creating 3 concerns!!

• Posting about current events becomes a little difficult.
• Creates restrictions on creativity
• And may limit the amount of content out there to share and post 

I was educated on being aware of internal and external environmental limitations and restirctions such as  budget, government and community appropriateness, respecting privacy and different cultures within a target market. I never learned how to deal with a company having limits due to their values and religion.

What to do.... Research!

If there's anything I have learnt through uni is research is vital in PR. So I got started on researching Santa's previous media activity, their competitors and the target market's engagement with both. Once I got the feel of how they use their media I felt confident to get started on my first task as a photographer.

As I walked around taking photos of the girls during the technology event, I came across a classroom where I had what felt like a million classes and my lunch spot. 

Once the photos were uploaded I completed my first Facebook post for Santa!

Until next time...

Working from inside the computer!

 When I was little and learning about the Internet, I looked upon the wisdom of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Just as Mike Teavee was shrunk and sent into the TV, it made perfect sense to me that the Internet worked with a miniature person sitting inside the computer, sending out everybody’s emails and messages. As I grew older, I realised that it wasn’t such a plausible idea, and that no person could actually be inside running the functions of the computer…. Or so I thought!

As it turns out, I wasn’t too far off!

I’m officially the “mini person inside the computer” for the CEO of Colosoul group, by running her LinkedIn account.

I have to check her account regularly, reply to her messages, send out updates on the happenings of Colosoul, make sure her graphics and endorsements are up to scratch and suss out any prospective matches that may be of benefit to the company.

It’s not a hard task, but we do gain a lot of sponsorship and support via her LinkedIn connections, so this maintenance is pretty important.

Throughout my time at Curtin, I’ve heard countless times how important LinkedIn can be, and I have to admit – I didn’t think it quite lived up to the hype until now.
 

This small task has been a huge learning experience for me, and I’m really starting to open my eyes to the possibilities of the Internet and how a simple message can go such a long way.