Bad Blood...Internship went bad!

An internship is one of the most exciting units you can have as this is like giving you a real taste of the future profession you want to be. However, some organisations do this just to get free labour even they don't have a proper internship program. It is a very frustrating experience that’s what I can say.

I got this internship and started really well as I met the head volunteer and discussed what I can contribute to the organisation. She is happy about me as I have previous experiences in event managing that I can contribute to the organisation. I gave my availability and also asked is the organisation can provide an official email to communicate with prospective sponsors and donors. She said she will get back to me but did not happen. I tried to communicate with her using email and she sent me an email to just do things for her without any direction. I felt unhappy about it as I was expecting that I’ll get guidance with them about doing things but it’s just my wishful thought. I like working independently but without a clear vision where I’m heading is not a great feeling.

One day she sent an appeal letter and told to use that for getting donations or sponsors. However, I proofread the letter that was made by two interns also and said that this letter needs to be revised as information is too much in an appeal letter. I edited it and submitted to her and explain what are the problems in the first letter she sent. After this incident, I did not receive any email. I don’t know what happened but yes I did not receive any reply.

Seven days before submitting my performance appraisal form she sends me the email that she will transfer me to another organisation to do my internship. I was not happy about it and decided to contact the unit coordinator to move to another internship, which I got.

Lesson learnt that in searching internship experience, you need to make sure that the organisation should have an internship program in place and they are committed to giving you the experience that you're looking for.  

We're homeless!

We’re homeless!

Being a not-for-profit organisation, the company I am interning with, Colosoul has to work hard to raise funds for any of their upcoming ventures. Their current endeavour is this time, more of a personal one – trying to raise funds to move into a new office space in Subiaco. With developers taking over our current space, Colosoul Group is soon to be homeless, so this project is crucial to the survival of the organisation.

Being an organisation that focuses on helping youth to feel empowered within the media and arts industry, Colosoul has a lot of potential to make a difference for youth struggling in a normal learning environment.

Part of our new office space will see the implementation of several leadership programs, bridging the gap between high school, university, TAFE and the workplace. So we (the PR team) are now in the process of creating campaigns that will make our group more relatable to the public, and show them the incredible work we do in order to increase donations.

My role as an intern has seen me searching for, and contacting potential sponsors for our move, and pushing the word of our campaign out onto social media. We’ve also worked with the entire office to create marketing ideas that will hopefully boost our public awareness and reputation. This can be difficult and awkward as we are essentially asking people for money (donations), but is something that needs to be done in order to see the move ensues. We also get a lot of "no's" when asking around, which can be disheartening and frustrating!

So far, this has been the most challenging aspect of my internship. Being a venture that is really important to the future of Colosoul, and means a lot to the workers around me who have invested a lot of time and effort into the corporation – I really want to see this campaign be successful, and feel a great deal of pressure to do a great job for the team.