Ahhh, half way there. At some points during my working day
it feels like I have just started. At other points it feels like I have been an
intern for the better part of a year.
On Friday, as I pulled my car out of the West Perth office
of Devahasdin, it hit me that I was officially half way through my internship.
I had done ten days taking screenshots of media clips,
pitching stories to the media, drafting media releases, doing coffee runs, entering
data and learning the strict formatting guidelines of the public relations
agency I was working for.
I had got to know how the girls in the office liked their
client’s clipping reports formatted. I knew how to email “in style” with the
agency. I knew how they all liked their coffees – one soy flat white, one long
black in a large cup, two skinny cappuccinos (one with one sugar) and a skinny
flat white with an extra shot. I knew how to answer the phone with confidence. I
learnt how to use a Mac computer.
As I was a third year commerce major, there was a lot of
knowledge that I had before I started my first internship day. What I have
learnt most is the way in which Devahasdin does things. I could write a media
release ten days ago – now I can write a Devahasdin formatted media release. I
could build a database ten days ago – now I know how to format it for
Devahasdin clients and handy shortcuts to build it more effectively.
I have learnt that it is all amount the confidence. It is
about asking questions and welcoming feedback. Communication is the essence of
our degree, something which is required between us and our publics but also us
and the people that we work with.
Lauren Roberts
15839817
