Making the Best Out of Your Internship

Is this really happening? 

We've made it guys! It seems like just yesterday, I was refining my resume and sending out emails, fingers crossed hoping someone replies. Somewhere along the line, I had set up a meeting with Bridget too as I felt a little lost at the direction I was heading into. I say this in almost all my blog post but HOW TIME FLIES!

I have had a lot to think about and how I wanted to wrap this experience and it dawned onto me - another tips and trick! Ending it with how I started - how poetic. So my bring-backs are:

1. Knowing yourself - understand your strengths and weaknesses

Public relations is a very dynamic field and as PR practitioners, we have many different hats to wear. It takes self-awareness to know where you need guidance on and where you can be more independent. With the many operations and tasks flying across the office, time is of essence. The more you know how you can work best, the better. Halfway through my internship, I have designed enough visual materials to know where I need guidance and inspiration from. Before starting out, I would clarify my grey areas and it has helped so much! Which brings me to a sub-bring back : don't be afraid to ask.

2. Observe & Adapt

In Cross Cultural Communication, we learn that as we travel between countries; systems, expectations, and communication method changes. On a smaller scale, this can not be any more true with work in the office as well. I have had the privilege to work in a few jobs and companies prior to the internship, and each has been different in their own ways - notably with the preferred form or style of communication. Some organisations are more formal while some are laid-back. Observing and adapting into the workplace's system will come a long way, especially when you're the new one around. 

3. Saying Thanks

Not much of a strategy but don't forget to say thanks! Although the internship comes to a wrap but it does not necessarily mean it's the end of the journey. Throughout the internship, the director at my internship would mention previous interns and sometimes still reach out to them for certain matters. We were also asked if we would want to help out at De Lish in January as well. So say thanks and if possible get in touch on LinkedIn. It may come in handy in the future. 

So in saying that, I would like to thank Bridget and everyone who has been a part of this journey.  Congratulations everyone and good luck for the report! 

Still can't believe this will be my last PR rodeo as a Curtin student. Full speed ahead now and all the best in your future endeavors! 

Signing out, 

Quin :)

Rethinking PR

Posting this right at the end so I'd collect my thoughts on this experience. It has been great stepping out of class and going into the real world. The concrete jungle is not as scary after all! It was a great before graduation.

I remember, before going into university, I said I wanted to do PR because I love events and I do not want to be confined to an office job. A PR practitioner then responded that I could not be any more surprised it is exactly that. I looked at him in confusion and disbelief then but it all connects now. BUT it's not all that bad either. Most of my tasks were generated looking at this view with my laptop and using the internet. It is not glamorous and PR is not a glamorous field BUT when it all comes together at the end, it sure is exciting. Seeing my designs go live on the project website was great.

Although we learnt different aspects of PR in class, I still personally had a very strong customer focused approach to PR. I had a very focused customer-appeal approach carrying out my tasks. Reflecting on my internship, a question always comes to mind - "do I want to pursue a career in PR?" To answer that, I then had to figure out where do I fit within the world of PR. And it suddenly hit me 

PR is all around us. 

In the midst of everything, I forgot how dynamic PR is. 

This photo above perfectly says what I now think about PR and my experience, while the photo below is a representation of how my experience looked like. Public Relations is more than client engagement. A conversation in the office between the directors and myself were PR too! Internal relations. Daphne, from the Miri campus (blog linked here) mentioned that good PR should be practiced by everyone and I could not agree more. Good PR can be practiced in all aspects even as simple as maintaining good conversational skills. (personal branding)

Overall, it's a reminder that the world is changing and so is PR. As a PR student, I am reminded how vital it is to keep an open mind and to absorb everything like a sponge. Creativity and adaptability is a key attribute in the industry. It's an exciting time for PR and for us, soon-to-be graduates! 

Writing my closing blog post next.

Till then, 

Quin 

Reality of events: My first 12 hour day

Hello! Welcome back to my blog.
For those who haven't read my previous blogs, I am interning at an events company in Northbridge, Western Australia.

I am approaching the end of my 20-day internship journey and have experienced my first full day at a conference managed by the company.

A week prior to the conference, one of the company directors emailed a run sheet with a breakdown of all the tasks required throughout the day and the interns that would be responsible for particular tasks.

I was very nervous prior to the event, particularly because I thought I would sleep through my alarm at 5AM and because one of the first tasks of the day was to welcome CEO's of oil, mining and gas companies from around the world. Never the less I arrived on time at 6AM and greeting the guests wasn't as intimidating as I had imagined.

As there were a few interns helping throughout the day, we could relieve each other and take breaks in the 'green room'. Most of our tasks consisted of directing guests on where to sit, handing out name tags, directing guests to lunch, morning and afternoon tea, assisting with mobile device application that was used throughout the conference. Most of the day guests were seated, listening to the speakers so we had very little tasks to do.

During the quieter periods of the day, the directors asked me to return calls for another event they are managing.

The conference consisted of a number of CEO's speaking, referring to videos and slide shows and interacting with the audience. There was a team of audiovisual, that had to follow along with slides, play the videos at the right time, ensure correct microphones were switched on when members of the audience spoke and to ensure the entire day ran smoothly. My director sat with the audiovisual team the entire conference to ensure that the slideshow, videos, and talks ran coherently.


It was a great experience seeing what goes on behind the scene at an all day conference. I learned that it is important to have good people skills when working in events as you have to work and collaborate with a number of people and things aren't always going to go to plan and the way you compose yourself when things take a turn for the worse is a clear representation of your professionalism.

It is also important to remain professional throughout the entire event because it may be an opportunity to network with business professionals.

Overall the event was fast paced and a good learning experience for a soon to be university graduate.

Below I've inserted a screenshot of the run sheet the interns were sent the week of the conference.