The last train has left the station...

After four amazing weeks, I am sad to say that my time at the Public Transport Authority has come to an end. I have had the opportunity to experience so many different aspects of public relations, and been able to have a go at almost everything! Here is what I have gained and learnt from my time with the PTA:

1. Firstly, don't be afraid to ask one hundred and one questions straight off the bat. If someone has taken the time to show you how to do a task, they will be more than happy to take the time to answer your questions, especially if it means you are more prepared for the job at hand. I spent hours asking questions about what aspects of public relations are used on an everyday basis, and everyone was always more than happy to fill me in.
2. Don't worry about making mistakes - your work will never be perfect the first time you complete it. Have a go, and have your supervisor go over it afterwards. More often than not their feedback is really valuable, and allows you to become better at the task you are completing. Don't forget that everything you are doing at this placement is beneficial for your future working life, and any skills you can hone and grow whilst at your placement are only going to help you score a job when you graduate!
3. Be friendly and willing to go along to anything they deem important to your placement. I attended many meetings during my month with the PTA, and while not all of them seemed to be important to public relations, it is only afterwards when you see how important it is to be fully informed of all major projects that are happening within an organisation, especially as a part of the communications team. It also allows you to learn how to ask questions and be a considerate audience member - not everyone likes public speaking, and just a smile and a nod of the head can work wonders on the person that is presenting the information.

While I am very sad to be leaving the PTA, I know that my time there has been such a great experience. I have had the pleasure of working with some friendly and inspirational people, that have really helped me to discover exactly what parts of public relations I love, and where my strengths and weaknesses lie. 

On one final note, I was lucky enough to accompany the projects team on a tour of the new bus port currently under construction in Perth City. Here is a photo of me after baking in the heat in my high vis gear!

Let Round Two Commence

After a relaxing Christmas and New Year break, I'm back at the Public Transport Authority for the second half of my placement. This time I am in the Corporate Communications department, and my first week has been an absolute ball!

After a day of acquainting myself with the major projects that the team were handling, I found myself observing the media monitoring process at the PTA. They use the program Isentia, and after watching for one day I had the opportunity to complete the process myself. The most challenging part was choosing which article to include in the final report, and which articles were the most important or interesting to those that would read the report. Using the program was quite simple - even creating the report was automatically done for you! It created a sleek report that was easy to read and understand, and allowed all readers to quickly grasp the gist of each article.

My favourite task so far has been the auditing of the Right Track educational website. I started off simply going through the website and seeing whether the content was up to date and relevant to the key audience. Once I had completed that task, I was able to use the content management system (CMS) DotNetNuke to go into the website and edit the content. So far I have managed to update some pages and include some pictures and newer content. I am so looking forward to updating even more of the website next week!

I've had a great insight over the past week as to what the everyday activities of a public relations professional really is. A lot of the work revolves around keeping on top of media and stakeholder enquiries, with emails flying back and forth all day long.

My first week back at the PTA has been interesting and eye-opening, and I cannot wait to see what the next week brings.

Half Time Break

We all know that time passes much too quickly these days, and the first half of my internship has absolutely flown by! Now that I am halfway through, here are my thoughts on the tasks and issues I have faced so far.

One of my favourite tasks that I have completed so far is my public relations plan for the Transperth Get on Board educational program. This program is primarily used by primary schools, to promote the safe and responsible use of public transport. The program also includes a station tour, where Transperth employees show children how to safely use the public transport facilities available to them. The program has been around for years, however, they have had little to no promotional activities available to them. That is where I came in - I created a plan based around enlisting parents and teachers to get on board (pardon the pun) with the program, and to encourage their children to learn about public transport in a fun and safe manner. 

One of the major challenges I faced when creating the plan was a lack of background knowledge on who the program had already targeted, and how to overcome the lack of promotional efforts when there was no set budget. I found that a lot of the ideas that I had would have cost way too much money in the end, and that it was quite difficult to try and limit myself to smaller activities that would be more within budget. 

I have also really enjoyed being able to experience what it is like to work in an office full time, and how one must learn to motivate and support themselves to ensure that each piece of work is completed to the best of their abilities. Being in front of a computer all day is a big change from the average casual job, however I found that I was able to get many tasks completed in one day, and managed to keep up with all the smaller tasks that were assigned to me over the past two weeks. Almost every day there would be more information to slot into spreadsheets, and more events to organise or begin to plan for the upcoming year. You don't realise just how busy you will be until you check the clock and it is almost time to go home!

Overall, the first half of my placement has been great. The people that I have worked with have all been very helpful and welcoming, even if I had to ask a hundred questions before I understood what they wanted me to do. They have all been very willing to lend a hand, and have been very encouraging and grateful for the help that I have been able to give them. 

Now it is time for a short break for Christmas, then back to finish the final half of my placement - I cannot wait!

Let the show begin!

After months of planning, and almost an entire university degree of preparation, my first week of interning is already over! With a quarter of my internship at Transperth done and dusted, here is what I have learnt and observed so far:

One of the things that has struck me the most is how much communication is achieved through email. Working in a communications department means constant emails, with updates on how projects are proceeding, questions flying back and forth, and documents being sent through for clarification. This has been both unexpected and very helpful - having everything written down has made any questions I have about the work I have been doing easy for everyone to answer.

Another thing that has been an eye-opener is how many projects are going on all at one time. The people within the department are constantly working on one thing or another, be it writing website copy or negotiating the parameters of an upcoming event. This has been a blessing for me - there is plenty of work that needs an extra pair of hands to complete, meaning I have been super busy over the past week. One of the tasks that I have enjoyed the most has been proofreading and writing information to be uploaded to the Transperth website. It has been really interesting seeing the style that is used, and how carefully crafted each piece of information is before being put out there for the public to see! 

I have been lucky enough to attend an activity day at a nearby school, and watch the children participate in fun events promoting the use of public transport and how to safely get to school in ways other than being driven by their parents. This was a wonderful learning experience as I was able to see just how much impact a small event can have, as well as learn about the extent of planning that went into the event to ensure that it was both informative and fun for the kids.

Overall, the most important thing that I have taken away from my first week at Transperth has been the feeling of working in a team environment. Having fun and supportive colleagues whisked away any nerves that I may have felt when starting the internship, and has allowed me to ask questions without feeling as if I am being frustrating or getting in the way.

Here's to a great first week, and hopefully three more wonderful weeks to come!