Introduction to the Internship Placement 101

Hello readers, it's been quite a time since my first post ever in the blog. Today, I'll tell you about my workplace for the PR Internship. Likewise, I said that the place specialise in entertainment industry.

The place was established on 2008 and have been very successful entertainment company in the city of Palembang, South Sumatra. This is where I was born and grew up at. Everyday the business generates a profit up to amount of $5,000 if converted in Australian Dollar.

The place was expanded to another building on year 2011, adding more 100 rooms for guests to come and enjoy karaoke-ing in our place.
We offer a 'happy hour service' where people can book the room for 2 hours and get a free 1 hour additional with certain total amount of food and beverages for the previous 2 hour that they have used beforehand.
Our business opens EVERYDAY from 11AM - 3AM in the morning. Our employees have three shifts changes throughout the days and given a few day-offs per month (notified for medical reason or other personal reasons).

There is a downside to our place where we as an entertainment industry have to close our business when it's on Ramadan month about 2 - 3 months (June to end of July or beginning of August). We have to do that because of the Indonesia's regulation where we have to respect our Muslim friends who are fasting and prohibited to have late night entertainment or clubbing services. But this only applies in small provinces such as Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi. Sadly, our place is applied.

This is the place that I have been working for:

This is the front logo of the building. it has 5 floors (floor 1 - 4 are the karaoke rooms), 5th floor is the office. We also use elevator service for easier access to our customers since year 2014.

The special colours for the industry are blue and yellow. It is applied in the employees' uniform, front desk table design and wallpapers around the building.

This below is our brand ambassador. She is called Inul Daratista or preferably called as Inul, a leading singer specialise in Dangdut music genre, it is quite famous music genre in Indonesia. She has been working as a singer from year 2000, her work is acknowledged nationally by 2003 and has been working with the karaoke franchiser since year 2005.

The rooms that we offer for our customers are divided to 6 types. There are small, deluxe, medium, large, VIP and VVIP, with different prices range. The last 2 types are usually booked for birthdays, seminar, gatherings and official meetings.

These below are some of the images for the rooms:

These below are the price offered by the business. It is presented in IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) prices.

The karaoke place also have food services for the customers to enjoy their time when they are karaoke-ing. These below are some menu design for the business. The menu is also part of the special offers for birthdays up to 20+ pax and offered with various types of Indonesian food specially served by the kitchen staff. (All prices are in IDR (Indonesian Rupiah)).

Based on my personal experiences and a few visits, I have been to the place before I was working as an intern and it is a really good place and recommended for people who loves to sing and spend their time with friends and families. We have a lot of songs in the system and you can request it if it's still haven't uploaded yet (I'll tell you more on my next post!).

This karaoke brand has a lot of branches across Indonesia such as Jakarta, Denpasar;Bali, Surabaya, Lampung, Bandung, Makassar, Jayapura, Tangerang, Medan and more. If you are interested in coming there and want to know more about the place, don't hesitate contact me later for more information.

I think that's all for this time, I have spilled quite a lot of information for our company. Thanks for reading!!

Introduction to the Internship Placement 101

Hello readers, it's been quite a time since my first post ever in the blog. Today, I'll tell you about my workplace for the PR Internship. Likewise, I said that the place specialise in entertainment industry.

The place was established on 2008 and have been very successful entertainment company in the city of Palembang, South Sumatra. This is where I was born and grew up at. Everyday the business generates a profit up to amount of $5,000 if converted in Australian Dollar.

The place was expanded to another building on year 2011, adding more 100 rooms for guests to come and enjoy karaoke-ing in our place.
We offer a 'happy hour service' where people can book the room for 2 hours and get a free 1 hour additional with certain total amount of food and beverages for the previous 2 hour that they have used beforehand.
Our business opens EVERYDAY from 11AM - 3AM in the morning. Our employees have three shifts changes throughout the days and given a few day-offs per month (notified for medical reason or other personal reasons).

There is a downside to our place where we as an entertainment industry have to close our business when it's on Ramadan month about 2 - 3 months (June to end of July or beginning of August). We have to do that because of the Indonesia's regulation where we have to respect our Muslim friends who are fasting and prohibited to have late night entertainment or clubbing services. But this only applies in small provinces such as Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi. Sadly, our place is applied.

This is the place that I have been working for:

This is the front logo of the building. it has 5 floors (floor 1 - 4 are the karaoke rooms), 5th floor is the office. We also use elevator service for easier access to our customers since year 2014.

The special colours for the industry are blue and yellow. It is applied in the employees' uniform, front desk table design and wallpapers around the building.

This below is our brand ambassador. She is called Inul Daratista or preferably called as Inul, a leading singer specialise in Dangdut music genre, it is quite famous music genre in Indonesia. She has been working as a singer from year 2000, her work is acknowledged nationally by 2003 and has been working with the karaoke franchiser since year 2005.

The rooms that we offer for our customers are divided to 6 types. There are small, deluxe, medium, large, VIP and VVIP, with different prices range. The last 2 types are usually booked for birthdays, seminar, gatherings and official meetings.

These below are some of the images for the rooms:

These below are the price offered by the business. It is presented in IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) prices.

The karaoke place also have food services for the customers to enjoy their time when they are karaoke-ing. These below are some menu design for the business. The menu is also part of the special offers for birthdays up to 20+ pax and offered with various types of Indonesian food specially served by the kitchen staff. (All prices are in IDR (Indonesian Rupiah)).

Based on my personal experiences and a few visits, I have been to the place before I was working as an intern and it is a really good place and recommended for people who loves to sing and spend their time with friends and families. We have a lot of songs in the system and you can request it if it's still haven't uploaded yet (I'll tell you more on my next post!).

This karaoke brand has a lot of branches across Indonesia such as Jakarta, Denpasar;Bali, Surabaya, Lampung, Bandung, Makassar, Jayapura, Tangerang, Medan and more. If you are interested in coming there and want to know more about the place, don't hesitate contact me later for more information.

I think that's all for this time, I have spilled quite a lot of information for our company. Thanks for reading!!

Things Easier Said than Done

To gain the benefits of new experiences and the knowledge they bring,
get out of your comfort zone! 

Usually during the glorious 30 minutes designated for lunch at my internship here at Momentum Forum Events I like to go outside, sit on a bench and read some Harvard Business Review articles (*geek alert*). Usually I find them scrolling through Facebook or LinkedIn; but lately I've spent more time on the latter. 

In the Zone
The mind wanders and I wonder how what I'm reading relates to my internship experiences. There was one about how if you're not outside your comfort zone, you're won't learn anything. This is something that I'm sure we've all experienced, especially when it comes to finding work placements, jumping into new waters and doing things you weren't sure about. 

There's this theory that you shouldn't wait until you're ready to do something - do what gives you the butterflies before you think you're ready; otherwise there may be a missed opportunity you wish you would have taken. The article pointed this out also, reading, "As we grow and learn in our jobs and in our careers, we’re constantly faced with situations where we need to adapt. And without the skill and courage to take the leap, we can miss out on important opportunities for advancement."

Work the Net
One such experience which can bring us out of our comfort zone, is moving to a different city to start a new job. I've talked to many of you, and read your detailed blogs, who have done the PR internship overseas; which I find amazing! Part of getting to know a new city is getting to know its locals and industry professionals you'll be working with. 

Networking events are a great way to stock up your fresh business cards and make new contacts. Another HBR report in my 'article library' talks about this: "If you’ve just uprooted yourself to move to a new city, where do you begin?" It offers some tips and advice so check it out!

Today we think of networking events as a pretty standard thing to get involved in. But 23 years ago it wasn't all that common, with people being unsure of what this term meant. All of us doing our internships, I'm sure, have been to a variety of networking events (if not, then I'd worry!). 

Everyone has different experiences when it comes to meeting new people at either industry-specific functions or multi-sector gatherings, or in exclusive or larger crowds. Yet one thing we can agree on is something that this recent article talks about: "Diverse networks enable the opportunity to interact with people in different departments, organisations, industries, and countries. They're valuable because they provide access to new information, whereas your existing co-workers tend to have similar insights to yours." 

Theory in Practice 
Interning at an events management company networking becomes critically important. What the team I'm a part of are doing involves getting people to attend events in support of a worthy cause. Creating, running and managing such events brings people from all walks of life together in one room; creating the chance to meet them and get to know their stories and expertise. They're networking opportunities in disguise. 

I'm someone who was always predominantly shy, and found it hard to get out of my shell to let the wider and brighter world in. One of my first jobs was working as a waitress in a busy restaurant. At first I was nervous and over-thinking too many things, but as time went by and I focused on what I had to do and began to enjoy it more and more, the nerves went away and my people skills improved massively. Now I work in offices all over Perth, and although interactions with people are still constant, the nature of how I have to deal with people is different. 

Although I still get nervous about dealing with people I don't know, and hoping to manage their expectations, I remind myself that taking that step outside my comfort zone is what will bring new experiences and opportunities; the ability to learn and grow. 

Let me know what you think about your networking experiences and how you get out of your comfort zone!

Finding an internship is like finding an ant in the sand for me

Hello friends, this is Isabella I know it's really late that I just post my blog post for the 1st time for the internship. Let's just get started :)

First of all, I have no idea that finding an internship as a PR student will be really really hard and requires a lot of time and receiving replies when you apply for the position is kinda giving mixed emotions like excited to work as intern but a bit sorrow when the company does not want us in their industry. But all is good now because I will finish my intern position soon enough after finding it with much effort and struggle.

I have been enjoying my intern position as a social media assistant in managing the company's Facebook page and the website for the company. I work for a karaoke industry called Inul Vizta in South Sumatra, Indonesia. It has been a pretty successful company as it's been running from 2008 and everyday there is always guest or customers who want to sing at the place.
The name for the company is pretty unique because the franchiser use Indonesian singer to work as the icon or ambassador for our company. The company also has a lot of branches across Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Lampung, Medan, Makassar, Depok, Tangerang and many more.

At first, I was really nervous on how to work as an intern in a company because I don't have much working experience in general let alone as a PR intern. Also, finding an intern position in Australia is really hard for me as I am an international student and don't have significant experience in working and most companies want people who are already have skills in working as intern.
When I work at the company, the manager trains me on how to do the work in general, giving me guidelines on how to work with the teams, what things to post on the accounts and the people are really friendly too as I have known them before I apply for the job.

The one thing that I am concerned with at first was the difference theories applied for PR in general. Like in Indonesia, PR is known more as public speaking, presentation and writing reports. It is seen as communication and promotion tool for the company. But in Australia, it isn't like that, there is more to PR than what I know before studying it in University. So it is kinda interesting to tell my fellow colleagues about what I studied for PR, the techniques, theories, understanding and application for PR in working as well.

Well, I think it is enough for my 1st post ever in this blog. I will write my intern journey soon enough and doing my best as a student as well.

Think On Your Feet!

As many of you have mentioned in your own blog posts, the field of Public Relations encompasses such a diverse range of tasks that sometimes you forget that what you're doing is actively contributing to the Public Relations of a firm. I experienced this last week when I was asked to come along to the filming of a new episode of Hello Darlink! with Rob Broadfield. Hello Darlink! is a sub project of Momentum Forum Events, using YouTube as its core platform to showcase extraordinary people through a series of interviews. The interviews are all unique in their own way, not only because they involve a new person each time but also because they aim to share a variety of experiences through each person.

In the latest episode of Hello Darlink! Rob Broadfield was interviewed to share his experiences in his plethora of careers as well as his battle with cancer. The filming of the episode was carried out by a very small team of only two video producers, Barbara, Rob and myself, with the background assistance of the sponsors of the episode, Ferguson Alfresco Lifestyle. My role on the day was to capture as many social media worthy pictures as well as going through the scripted questions with Barbara before filming began.

During the preparation for the filming on site, I sat with Barbara and read through the script out loud to ensure that everything made perfect sense as well as being entertaining and engaging for the future YouTube audience. As English is Barbara's second language, another task was to ensure that not only did everything flow smoothly for her, it would also make sense to an English speaking audience. We also decided to make slight changes to many of the questions to lighten the tone of them. In particular, questions surrounding Rob Broadfield's experience with cancer brought the tone of the interview down. To counteract this and to ensure the overall tone of the interview was positive and uplifting, we followed it directly by asking 'When are you happiest?'. It was many simple decisions like this that allowed for a smoother interview, as well as creating the right tone and impression through the interview.

As with all major projects, there were a few hiccups along the way. Despite not being in the traditional PR environment, there was definitely a crossover in skills that allowed the team to keep things on track even when things started to go wrong. Quick thinking was the first skill to take the forefront when a key part of the episode was undeliverable. Not only did we have limited time frame between arriving on site and beginning filming, using creative thinking to search for an alternative as opposed to scrapping the idea completely was also key.

The entire day was high intensity and time frames were strict. The pressure of these restrictions definitely pushed me to think faster and more creatively, something I'm incredibly grateful for. I feel incredibly lucky to have experienced so many different aspects of Public Relations and Events Management throughout my degree and I can't wait to further refine my skills as a PR Practitioner as my internship continues.

Happy interning everyone!
- Jess

When Open Plan Isn't Always Best

There are undoubtedly numerous benefits to open-plan offices, like increased collaboration and reduced real estate costs. This is definitely the case for my internship at a dance company in the CBD. The photos below capture just how open the office space is for the small staff of employees.

 

Office at Kings St Arts Centre.

 

This has been great for breaking down barriers between departments and encouraging a collaborative environment where even I, as the intern, have a lot of access to the executive director and am able to foster good relationships and increase interaction with all employees in the organisation.

An article in The Conversation indicated that, “two-thirds of employees prefer to build relationships face-to-face, and the majority prefer to build that connection in an ideal workplace.”

Cultivating open communication is obviously very important and helps all employees understand what each department does. However, there are pitfalls when it comes to the open plan office.

One challenging experience I had last week demonstrated the disadvantages of not having separate offices.

A heated discussion arose between two employees in the office, during the height of production for the company’s major season performance. Understandably, everyone was very stressed and under the pump to get everything organised for performance week.

The discussion went on for about 10 minutes, back and forth, not really getting anywhere. During this time no one else said anything and they just continued arguing in the room.

Reflecting back on this, I still don’t know how I should have reacted other than trying to keep focused on my work (any suggestions are very welcome!).

I do think the situation would have been avoided if they were in a separate office, however the open plan design doesn’t allow for that.

Their discussion needed to be had, but I believe they should have gone outside or at least not let it go on for an extended amount of time.

The topic of their conversation was actually centred around lack of communication, with lots of confusion and one employee feeling unsupported. It highlighted the significance of clear communication and the importance of writing things down so everyone has a record.

After all that, everything went well and the performances at the State Theatre were a success, and a great step for contemporary dance in WA.

Part of the MoveMe Festival at the State Theatre Centre of WA.

I’ve learnt that it is critical, in a time of extreme pressure and stress, to stay professional and remember to communicate effectively.

- Aimee

When your boss is not around

I wanted to share with you what really happens when the boss has been away for three weeks, and what happens when you need to get back into the swing of things... 

Hello fellow readers! 

Since the last blog things have changed, as they usually do. For one, the boss is back. Since Barbara's treasure hunt in Poland for the mysterious Gold Train, she has brought back the sense of urgency, methodical chaos and rigor into the workday. The storm has hit (but in a good way)! Emails still linger, yet are no longer the only activity of the day, which I'm happy about. Yet what was happening here while she was away is a different story. 

In a day of an intern, we're under constant supervision. Colleagues, managers and the boss keep us busy and engaged throughout our times in the office or in the field. So what happens when the boss is not in the office to pull you in all sorts of directions? 

In a nutshell...  
...it gets quiet and the intern doesn't get that many responsibilities. Another thing that happens here is the process of writing, newsletter layouts, resizing photos and content creation all become less hectic. A writer's way of going about reaching a goal is to either logically outline what they're going to be writing about, how they want to structure it, or to prefer the tangled version of putting a newsletter together. Depending on how people around you influence your writing process, you might find it contagious and adopt this alternative pathway to successfully reaching your intern goals. 

Two ways of reaching your end goal

As the radio filled the silence, I had to do something during these doldrums. This being a work experience when things get quiet you have to take some initiative to ask for tasks you can do, how you can further help out, and keep asking plenty of questions. 

Never a Dull Moment? 
Speaking with other interns who are at different placements, I hear another story; they are always busy, loaded with work and completely overwhelmed - wondering when the day will end. Of course every place is different, and all our bosses and supervisors have different approaches to teaching and exposing us interns to the fast-paced world of PR, communications, events management, in-house work and consultancies. 

Coming in every week and not knowing what to expect is nervously exciting, so when you can accurately predict a bland day ahead, you'd want to make it better and turn it around. I don't know how you feel about this, but I'm sure we'd all rather be busy bees than wilting workers. 

Keep on Moving
Of course while Barbara was away she kept in touch, and her right-hand go-to assistant Siobhan was in the office, which gave us the chance to work together a lot more and enjoy the less-manic office vibe. So just because the boss isn't here doesn't mean you can slack off; if anything it gives you the chance to keep improving your skills, prove yourself to other co-workers and keep moving in a productive direction; even if responsibilities don't pile up on your desk. 

Booth sales sheets, Pink Ribbon Ball flyers and inspirational team posters

While Barbara was away, I had time to dedicate myself to an ongoing email frenzy and think about how to turn this into a useful blog post. I realised that any tasks that we do as interns serves a larger purpose, even if we can't see that at this very moment. Once it all comes together and we enjoy the hard work we'd put in, we realise that all those menial and repetitive things on our to-do list were not as terrible as we previously remembered them to be. 

A Final Reflection

 17081270 - Bentley

Hi Guys!

It has been a month now since I finished my internship with Go Communications and returned home from Kuala Lumpur. I have settled back into university life and into a new internship with the Curtin Activation team which means I can finally reflect upon my time and experiences with GO.

When I first found out I would be heading off to Kuala Lumpur to work at Go Communications I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I envisioned a large company with lots of employees, I thought the company would be very corporate in the way dealings were conducted and in the way that everyone would present themselves. I expected the internship itself to be extremely organized, with a set plan for me to follow daily. It turned out that all I had envisioned was quite the opposite of what my experience turned out to be in reality.

When I arrived at GO I discovered that it was actually quite a small company that dressed and acted very casually but professionally. Although I had many tasks and responsibilities throughout my internship it was not as organized as I had expected, I was given tasks as they came. Although this was not what I expected it gave me a good idea of how communications companies are run and some perspective on a real working environment.

In my role I completed various tasks including media monitoring, both online and print, composed monthly reports for clients, created blogger profiles for client’s potential sponsorship, wrote documents such as media releases, media invitations, fact sheets and interview questions. I also attended events where I was able to interact with the media there and see first-hand how the company’s hard work had paid off, this also gave me an opportunity to network and learn about traditional Malaysian culture.

A lot of people have asked me recently how completing my internship overseas helped me and the challenges I faced whilst over there. I think the biggest advantage I gained from completing my internship overseas was that I learned about public relations on a multinational level, I was able to observe where practices were contacted the same as at home as well as where they differed. It opened my eyes to just how big public relations is, not only in Australia or the US but in many different countries and cultures and in many different companies, brands and businesses.

Another massive advantage to completing my internship overseas was that I was able to discover and learn about a new culture. I became quite close with my team members who introduced me to traditional Malay foods, one of my co-workers even let me wear one of her traditional “baju kurug” outfits to a traditional feast! I was taken to traditional markets where I discovered many different foods, fresh fruit and veg, electricals, home wears, clothing and knick-knacks.

Of course there were challenges attached to my internship being overseas, one of the biggest challenges was trying to overcome the cultural and language barriers that existed. This issue wasn’t present so much in my working environment but I found that it was a problem outside it. Although KL is a very modern, westernized country I still found that locals often misunderstood me or even ignored me. At times I found myself confused and frustrated with the way locals did things, for example I found that I was getting charged a higher price just for being a foreigner.

All in all, the internship provided me with experiences I will never forget, I have already found that I am more of an asset in my new internship from my learnings with GO. I definitely feel more confident about graduating at the end of the semester and jumping into the real world of PR! Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way and for those of you reading my posts, good luck to everyone who is still in their internship placements!

Fashion Week!

The Telstra Perth Fashion Festival is fast approaching, and this year I have a pretty important role!

Each year I look forward to Perths fashion week. I’ve attended the shows, I’ve reported at the festival and have volunteered as part of the PR team – but this year I get to do something even bigger! I’m a PR team member for the WA Born fashion show!

This event is run annually by Colosoul Group, and showcases both established and upcoming talents in the WA fashion industry. This years theme is life, meaning that all the fashion created is environmentally friendly, which is something I personally really align with and am excited to be a part of.

Being part of a PR team for a specialised show as opposed to the entire fashion week, means that I get to have a much more hands on role in the running of a fashion event. I get to contact sponsors, send media releases off to newspapers, and am first to hear about big decisions such as who is featured in the show, who gets to host the show and what kinds of local artists and musicians are the nights entertainment!

Another exciting part about running this event is the cause that it gets behind. Each year Colosoul chooses a charity to highlight and raise funds towards. This year they have chosen the Organ Donation and Transplant Foundation of WA, with a percentage of profits being used by the foundation to spread awareness about organ donation.

Working as part of this team has given me a huge insight into what goes on behind the scenes of an event. There are so many minute details that go into consideration and the team works super hard to see the events success.

I’m really looking forward to this particular project at my time at Colosoul Group, and can’t wait to watch the event unfold before me.