The final days of my internship with Corporate Sports Australia
Reflecting back on my first day with
Corporate Sports Australia (CSA) in mid March, I find it hard to believe
yesterday was my twentieth and final day interning with them. To be honest with
you, I can't believe that it's already June and I'm almost finished the final
semester of my degree - where has all that time gone!
In the past three months I have seen my
skills, confidence in my work and passion for this industry
develop immensely and learnt a great deal about both myself and the
workforce. I've worked in corporate environments before but it's interesting
how the structure and culture of each workplace differs and how different
aspects and departments work together to achieve the goals of
the organisation.
It was a great experience to be a part
of the team that worked together to put on the Perth Garden Festival with great
results and tremendous feedback. I have been exposed to different areas of the
organisation and encountered many challenging situations where I've had to
apply my personal ethics and values as well as the skills I have developed over
the course of my degree to make decisions.
In the PR and events industry I believe
interning is vital to then securing a full time position. All the advertised
jobs require 'a minimum of 2-3 years experience' which is difficult for a graduate
new out of university. This is my third unpaid internship that I have
completed, not including all of the hours I have volunteered at events to get
to the position I am in at the moment.
My advice to other students and
graduates who are looking to work in this industry in the future would be:
1. Volunteer –
like I’ve said every position in the industry want candidates to have
experience in the field. It also gives you a whole range of opportunities to
develop your skills further and find out what aspects of the industry you
really enjoy.
2. Network –
everyone keeps telling us the importance of networking and I absolutely believe
that it’s helped me develop my career. Volunteering and interning is a great
way to make connections with people who actually work in the industry. The
majority of the positions and opportunities in this industry aren’t advertised
but are filled based on who people know – so make yourself known! Linkedin is a
great (and free) tool to meet other professionals. Also groups and
organisations such as PRSC and PRIA have great social events to network and
meet like minded individuals.
3. Every experience is a good experience
– I truly believe in this statement when applying it to your career and work
experience. I’m not saying every experience will be an enjoyable experience because
it won’t be. I’ve done plenty of volunteer roles that I haven’t enjoyed at all,
but this has taught me that I don’t want to work in those positions in my
career – better to find out now in a volunteer role than when a company is dependent
on me.
4. Attitude is everything – how many PR and events graduates are there every
semester? And how are they different from you? Attitude can be everything, use
it to your advantage to differentiate yourself from your peers. Have a good
attitude and work ethic and people will start to notice you and how hard you
are working. PR isn’t a huge industry in WA and if you get a bad reputation
from one employer it may affect the rest of your career in Perth.
All of my hard work over the past years
paid off when the Marketing Manager of CSA and Event Manager of the City to
Surf took me out for coffee and offered me a full time contract working on the
City to Surf WA series! I couldn’t be more excited and although it’s only a
three month contract, it’s my first paid experience for my degree!
My job title
is Event Services Manager and will involve liaising between sponsors,
participants and teams to make sure all stakeholders of the Chevron City to
Surf for Activ have a pleasant experience throughout the entire event
experience.
I’ve had a great time reading about
everyone’s experiences in their internships and I wish you all the best of luck
for the future! Connect with me on Linkedin so we can stay in touch!
All the best,
Megan
