Closing One Door, Opening Another - The End of my Placement, The Beginning of the Real World

After 20 full days of interning at The Wilderness Society, my placement has come to an end. I can't even begin to explain how thankful I am to the WA team for welcoming me into their office and making me feel like part of their little family. Over the course of the past month I have learnt more than I ever expected to learn and I'm glad to say that I will continue to learn with TWS. I know that I am always welcome to lend a helping hand whenever it is needed.

For my last week, I spent a lot of time tying up some loose ends for our event planning and finishing off the last details for a couple of flyers (finally!!). Also, I was very happy to have finally had the chance to draft up a media release that I used to send to a few Perth events websites to let the public know that there would be free access to our event after 8pm. On my last day with the team, we had a 'social lunch' with the researchers and other volunteers. The team were so lovely and gave me a gift - a book filled with gorgeous nature photography, and a pair of earrings. We also shared a delicious cookies and cream cheesecake. It was the best way to finish my time with them.

Now that I have completed my placement, I have come to learn which areas of PR I am best suited to and which areas I am the most passionate about. Writing media releases, articles and general copy for websites has become a small passion of mine and I've realised that this is the area I would like to extend my future career into. I am also making plans to extend my knowledge in print and website design.

To begin the next stage of my life, I have started searching for potential job opportunities but I'm afraid that I am already daunted by the prospects of finding a job straight out of my degree. There aren't many entry level jobs for PR and majority of the other jobs require at least 2 years experience. I've realised that it is going to take a lot more commitment and hard work in order to start my dream career. I am more than willing to do whatever it takes to gain the experience I'll need.

Finally, although it seems that I can now close the door on my university career, I am able to open other doors thanks to the experience and the confidence I've gained from my placement. I have learnt so much and have made so many wonderful friends whom I am sure I well keep in contact with. PR393 has been the absolute highlight of my studies.

I wish all the best to everyone completing their reports and hope that you have all had an amazing experience!

Best wishes,
Brooke Castelli

A Week of Small but Very Important Tasks

The past week has shown me that even the little tasks are very important when it comes to PR. From the tiny details when organising an event to the small edits when writing copy for your organisation, everything makes a difference.

This week I focused on getting the little things organised for the World Environment Day event that we're hosting in June. I ordered the paper carry bags that we will use as our gift bags for our guests. I also researched a number of places that make custom logo stamps so that we can stamp The Wilderness Society logo onto the bags. Although it was important to get these items ordered, the more important aspect was where I ordered them from. I made special effort to research suppliers that were located in Perth in order to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible. Also, the resources used in the paper bags we ordered are from ethical and sustainable sources. I am very aware of the importance of reflecting the organisations values in everything we do.

It's funny to think about how much my placement has had an impact on the way I think on a daily basis. Before, I might never have bothered to put more effort into finding local suppliers for the things I needed. When I first started my placement, I found I had a lot of trouble completing tasks and writing copy in a way that reflected the values of the organisation effectively. This was because my personal values differed from those of the organisation. Now, though, I find that I am beginning to get into the swing of things.

This experience has made me realise the importance of "organisational fit". Which is something used in Human Resources during the recruitment process to ensure that new employees align nicely with the organisation to ensure low turnover rates and to reduce the amount of time it takes for employees to get settled into their new roles. It's important to think about your own personal values and passions in order to find a company that will properly support you in your career goals.

In the end, I find that my passion for the cause is growing each day and I'm proud of myself for keeping an open mind and allowing my values to be influenced by these new experiences!

A Fresh Space for a Fresh Space of Mind

My second week with The Wilderness Society (TWS) WA happened to fall on the same week that the team decided to restructure the layout of the office. On Wednesday everyone worked extremely hard to move furniture, remove clutter and improve the functionality of the space. Compared to before, the new office is spacious, welcoming and has been transformed into a space that facilitates collaboration amongst the group. Everyone is very proud of their new space and a lot of people from other offices have come by to congratulate everyone on their efforts.

In terms of PR work, this week I've done a lot of work contacting potential venues for our World Environment Day event in June. This involved quite a few phone calls and emails back-and-forth. Although I never enjoyed making phone calls to people I don't know, I'm slowly getting used to it and the more I learn about TWS the more confident I am speaking to people over the phone about the organisation. On Thursday we were finally able to secure a venue for the event (after having to reduce our guest-list due to capacity limitations) and the team is incredibly excited. VIP Invitations (which I designed last week, with the help of my supervisor) were sent out once the venue was confirmed.

To finish off my week, I spent Friday creating a proposal document/poster so that TWS could pitch an event idea to a few groups of people to gauge the amount of interest it might gain. The thing I'm finding most difficult about designing/creating materials for TWS is that I'm not yet used to the language they like to use in their communications. I'm used to using quite formal language but TWS like to be more colloquial and informal. This means that most of what I write gets re-written. This sometimes leaves me a little deflated but I understand that the organisation needs to ensure its communications are consistent and match the organisational culture.

This week has taught me that it's important to work in an efficient space; a lot of work (and phone calls) goes in to organising an event; and sometimes it takes a while to join the flow of the organisation.

Learning to Adapt: New Experiences

So, my first week as a (full time) Public Relations intern at The Wilderness Society (TWS) WA has come to an end, and I must say that it was one of the most overwhelming and insightful experiences I've ever had. First of all, I was very quickly confronted with the casual nature of the organisation and the way in which it operates. My initial expectations were thrown out the window as I realised that the organisational culture at TWS allows its employees and volunteers to work in an extremely friendly and down-to-earth manner. This was a very nice surprise and it helped me to get to know everyone i'm working with and has helped me feel very welcome in the office. I've learnt that TWS is comprised mainly of volunteers, and only a few paid staff, which means that there is a lot of pressure on community/volunteer organising within the company.

In terms of the work that I've been doing throughout the week: I've done a little bit of data-entry; I was given the task of drafting up an email that would be sent out to a list of approximately 5000 volunteers across WA, and I also re-designed an informational flyer about the Helena Aurora Range. To do this I had to learnt how to use Adobe In-Design which I quicked up relatively quickly and I'm very happy that I'll now be able to put this skill into my CV.         Also, I have already been involved in the planning for a few major events that TWS will be holding in September and I've been told that I will be instrumental in organising an event to be held next month on World Environment Day. Planning and organising for this event will officially begin next week. I'm very excited about all of this and i'm incredibly grateful to have been included in such huge plans so early-on in my internship.

On Wednesday I was included in the team's staff meeting which allowed me to get to know each person's role a little better and listen to what they've been working on. It was also good to see how the team communicates with one-another and it was interesting to learn about how things are done in the office.

Overall, I'm incredibly happy with my placement at The Wilderness Society WA. Everyone in the office is incredibly nice and their passion about the environment is so inspiring. I've learnt that the doubts I had about my ability to practice PR are relatively unfounded because, after this week, I now know that I have the necessary skills to do well in this profession and I have a basis of knowledge that I can build upon through experience. I'm very excited about the work i'll be doing over the next 3 weeks and the experience i'll be able to gain from it all.