The key to success

As we prepare ourselves for our final week/s of our placements, we shouldn’t consider this as the end, but as the beginning of a very challenging and rewarding career. The conclusion of our internships, and for many of us our degrees, is not the closing of one door and the opening of another. Rather, it is the key that enables us to unlock the door to our future career.

I truly believe that the knowledge and skills I have developed over the past 15 or so weeks have provided me with a solid foundation as a PR professional. I now have a taste of what the real world is like, and I can’t wait to get the full experience. I now have a strong ability to work independently and take initiative, I have developed my interpersonal skills as well as got a tremendous amount of writing practice. 

One of the most rewarding outcomes of my internship is establishing a connection between theory and practice. I’m sure I am not the only one who has found that some things are exactly like what we learn at university, but often best practice isn’t always used. A prime example that I encountered at Alcoa is the use of social media. I don’t think there is one of us who would agree that social media isn’t important in this day and age, right? And that’s why I was shocked when I learned that Alcoa of Australia don’t have any social media accounts or actively manage its online reputation. I was even more surprised when I discovered that introducing social media into Alcoa’s communication mix is currently being pitched to top executives, who are largely against the idea. This made me realise how difficult it is to convince top level management about the importance of public relations activities, and that you should never assume that basic best practice concepts are easily adopted. 

So as we begin to unlock the door to new opportunities, we must remember that this is only the beginning. We must continue to develop our skills and abilities, learning from our mistakes as we go. This is the only way that we can continue to open more doors for ourselves and continue to grow as PR professionals. I wish you all the best of luck in your future careers and hope your experience has been as rewarding as mine.

Source: http://www.rtrmarketing101.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/key2success.jpg

 

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!

Things Nobody Tells You

Hello fellow bloggers!

Since the last couple of blogs, I realised that it's been quiet here at Momentum Forum Events. Maybe because there are more admin tasks to complete before our next event, rather doing the type of work you’d expect to be doing in a consultancy, or because Barbara has gone to Europe on a treasure hunt, yet it got me thinking; is there more to it?

Doing another internship outside of uni at a boutique consultancy is giving me more depth of knowledge in terms of what PR encompasses; and there’s always a lot to learn. This seems like an open-ended question, and I don’t know about you all, but do you have some days which don’t seem very eventful and make you feel like you’re not really learning much?
Whichever way it’s going, here are some things I’ve picked up along the way; and things that nobody tells you... 

Who’s Calling?
Dealing with clients and potential exhibitors for events over the phone requires some self-assurance and a call strategy. No-one tells you how to get either. You either naturally have this gift or you fake it until you make it. Another thing you might notice is how easy it is being ‘blown off’ on the phone, so getting your message across in the most effective way is very important. One of the things I’ve learnt is not to say ‘just’ when you’re explaining from where you’re calling from. I know this one can seem like a tough habit to break; so many of us just like to use that word so much! 

Monkey See, Monkey Do
There are many programs which can create just the right content for distribution, such as newsletters for example. Mail Chimp is the one that we use here at Momentum, and although it is relatively easy and straightforward to operate, patience will be your friend when playing around with resizing the sponsors’ logos to make them all fit nicely together. It’s one of those fiddly tasks that you could spend ages on. 

One of my co-workers, who is great to learn from and work with, gave me a tutorial on how to wrangle the Mail Chimp, and then I had a go on my own for a little bit. You learn by observations, but you also learn by doing things yourself; and to be honest, I think you learn much better and effectively when you apply your knowledge and build on it through trial and error. That’s why I thought I would be creating this newsletter and take the time to do it on my own. Sure, having templates makes it easier to visualise where certain elements should be positioned, yet the creative side of doing such things, is what keeps this experience interesting.

The Iceberg Effect
You get days that are quiet and then you get days that productively busy; and at first I didn’t know what to make of those days that seemed to go by quickly yet, when I thought back on what I achieved during the day, I realised that there was no decisive goal to be reached or deadline to meet. Maybe it’s just the calm before the storm. At times things are not as exciting as they may seem, interning at an events management business, because the funny reality is that everything happens before the big day; all the preparation to make an event what it is on the day that others don't get to see from the outside. I like to call this the iceberg effect: 

You're Not a Robot

Working in an office environment there will always be lots of work to do. Sometime's you're lucky if you remember to take your lunch, even if you eat at the desk (you can say it's more efficient that way). Here in the office, however, the mind drifts and wanders, until you notice once again that there are no windows here. Since my first days at Momentum, I've been blessed with people who annoyingly remind me to go outside and take a break; "you're not a robot". In previous jobs I've been allowing myself to miss the fresh air and sunshine, but now decided to take the advice of seasoned pros; take a break. 

I think that maybe other interns would know this feeling too; not wanting to take too many breaks away from the desk as not to seem disinterested with the work that's to be done. We all really want to make the best out of these experiences and show that we are capable to handle all types of responsibilities. Let me know if you're also a self-admitted 'busy bee'!

 

Lunch-time landscapes

Attention to Detail

In life we all know there is an importance when it comes to detail, although in a public relations sense, detail is everything! It is the reputation which you are publicly representing; therefore anyone can see the mistakes. 

Recently it has been my responsibility to send emails back to people who have submitted photos into our competition and to thank them for their submission. This is where the little things of PR really make a difference, such as; not giving people the wrong idea about their submission, or making sure it is BCC not CC when replying to them all as we don’t want to give out peoples private emails. Also it makes you read every word carefully, as it would look horrible if the email (sent to over 400 people) had spelling mistakes or errors throughout. 

Also over my internship I have been conducting a booklet which is to be used for a Growers Tour to China and Vietnam. This booklet is being released to 50 people who are attending the tour and was proofread by 5 people in the department including myself. Although some things did not seem important or noticeable, it was the small things such as commas before and after numbers that I managed to pick up. For example it said Wednesday 7, September and the next one said Thursday, 8 September. These minor details were not important to the information, although they made the document look unified when it was all completed. This is something I have enjoyed about my internship, is finishing a project and seeing it completed, printed and binded. It is such an achievement and makes it worth putting the effort into your work.  

Throughout the time I am at CBH we have been using things such as campaign monitor and other software programs that allow us to evaluate how many internal employees open links and read what type of stories. This attention to detail meant that I had to write a newsletter piece with more of a personal twist as people opened links to stories that moved more away from business information and more into the environment of the people in the building. When analysing this information it shows the importance and effort you have to put in to communicating and the best way to do this.

Also at CBH the decision was made within the internal communications team to release more documents as videos rather than emails or documents published to the website, therefore a video planning meeting was set up between 4 people including myself to discuss how this would be done. Video planning meeting process was extensive and broken up into 4 sections; idea, processes, actions and objectives. Using this 4 section process means that each important point can be taken into consideration and the action which the team needs to take to tackle each obstacle. This is something we have been taught over our entire degree at Curtin, to double check everything, make sure you have the facts, and assess the situation accordingly. 

So remember my fellow PR brothers and sisters, pay attention to detail, it is a reputation on the line!

Happy PR Interning :)

-Rachel 

Feeling Secure 2 Go

Hey everyone,

I wonder, were any of you initially scared of the PR internship unit? Feeling nervous that what you learnt at university will be put to the test? Critically analyzing yourself whether you’d be fit for the company or not? Thinking that you’re not good enough because of your lack of experience? Well, I was.

Secure2Go is a Perth-based wearable technology start-up company. Now, when I learnt that the company was a tech company, I was immediately intimidated. I’m not someone who is particularly fond of technology or its industry, nor do I have much interest in it. But I thought this would be a great opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone and learn more from this industry that’s quite alien to me.

Yet, it was from the moment that I had my interview that my views changed about technology and already I was learning so much. For me personally, technology connotes cold, hard metal with complicated software and coding that you would see in the Matrix. However, the Managing Director of Secure2Go, Wes Lawrence shared how he aims to change this common attitude and belief towards technology. His goal is to humanize the term ‘technology’ and show how it can improve the lives of people and give them a peace of mind. Therefore, the company’s vision statement is ‘to give peace of mind through technology’.

Imagine if you completely forgot where you’ve left your car in a huge parking lot, and were able to find it with a single click of a button. Or imagine being able to discretely alerting your loved ones through your smartwatch when you’re in danger, maybe even a hostage scenario. I don’t know about you but when I heard about these gadgets and what they can do for people, I was extremely impressed and inspired. 

By giving me these hypothetical scenarios involving technology, I was able to completely relate to the story and see technology as a solution, and therefore, completely understand the objective of the company. This form of storytelling reminded me of last semester’s Transmedia Storytelling unit. A unit that taught me how story lines are an effective communication technique to broaden the lifecycle of creative content to a mass audience. Seeing the way it changed my view and attitude against technology, I knew that transmedia storytelling will be an effective communication technique to humanize technology and change people’s attitudes and beliefs.

That’s when I realized how public relation fits to all this. Despite hearing numerous times of the definition of how Public Relations ‘builds relationships’ and ‘changes attitudes’, it was only at that moment that I truly understood.

Despite my lack of knowledge with wearable technology, I quickly learnt from thorough research and the people in the office. There is a lot happening for this small company. Every day, I would wake up at 7 in the morning and be the first person to be in the office, but it doesn’t take long for the office to get busy. There is always something to do and it’s simply exciting to be on board with this growing business.

-          Heidi

The Importance of Cultural Sensitivity and Awareness

I think this is a topic worth discussing, cultural sensitivity and awareness.  Only during my time at AIME have I really understood how PR can be affected by culture, and how it is our duty as PR practitioners to be conscious of these societal differences.

I studied Cross Cultural Communication last semester, focusing on the relationships between organisations and different cultures. We looked at how differences in culture may impact the way in which PR Practitioners create and send out messages and respond to issues that arise.

As I am interning at AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) it has been really interesting working in an environment that is culturally aware of the Australian Indigenous community and the issues that Indigenous youth are facing today. In all honesty, before my internship I had only came to know a couple of Indigenous Australians, from netball teams and school. Therefore, being immersed in this culture is quite a new experience. Perhaps for this reason, it has never fully occurred to me the extent to which the Australian Indigenous culture is different to the secular Australian culture.

As part of my internship I attended a mentor training session at Notre Dame University. I think it is valuable to have an understanding of the Indigenous culture and to be aware of the past tragedies (Stolen Generation and the closing of communities etc.) that have caused so much pain in regards to loss of identity and cultural traditions. I remember learning about the stolen generation in year 7 yet that is the extent of my schooling on this issue. An issue that is still having a major impact today.

Why have I not been exposed to this culture? 

So to bring it back to PR, perhaps we need to invest a little more time into understanding the cultures within Australia. Although we may aspire to work overseas or be involved in a global company, working with AIME has taught me that not enough Australian’s know and understand the Indigenous culture or its people. 

We learn how PR professionals need to be culturally sensitive and aware when dealing with organisations from different backgrounds. So why is our learning narrowly focused on countries across the border?  I have only discovered this reasoning from the time spent at AIME, that there is a widespread need to acknowledge and understand the Indigenous culture. Even if it is one seminar, to be a PR practitioner that is aware of these differences and how this may affect the messages sent to an ‘Australian’ audience will be greatly beneficial.

 

This instagram post by aime_wa 

 is so eye opening to the misconception of identity.

"We identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by blood, culture and merit. Not by skin colour." 

I am grateful that I am now attentive to the identity issues that Indigenous Australians face and experience on a day to day basis. This will prove to be a valuable mentality when heading into my future career, whether it be PR or another pathway.  

AIME for the Best

New environments can be daunting at first, even one that is based at Curtin University. You have the initial introduction to your colleagues, observing the team in which you will be working in, as your internship begins its 1st day.  However, following this quick initiation it seems as if you are thrown into the deep end.  

 

Hi everyone, my name is Libby and I am interning for AIME at the Curtin University campus. Although we are delving into what could be described as the ‘real world’ on training wheels, taking that first step is very exciting.  

AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) is a non-for-profit organisation focused on closing the gap on post-schooling opportunities and outcomes for Australian Indigenous students. The mission of AIME is to reach 10,000 Indigenous children by the year 2018, guiding their transition into university, employment or further education or training. It is heart-warming to know that I will be a part of this journey in some small way.

 

If you would like to know more about this wonderful organisation and how it was brought to life, watch this episode of Australian Story, introducing the CEO of AIME, Jack Manning Bancroft. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt5RxdQRFR4

The first day...

I get a text the day before stating that my first day was to be held at Murdoch University. Always expect the unexpected, plans change and it is our duty to be adaptive to these changes. 

So what do you know, the plans changed once again and after arriving early to be driven to Murdoch, I was notified that my day was to remain at the Curtin office. I was particularly happy about this as I was able to meet my colleagues who were surprised to see me.

After the introductory things were out of the way, I had to put my creative hat on as I was asked to write a pitch targeted towards the John Curtin Leadership students. At first it was a little difficult not knowing the ins and outs of the organisation or the personal jokes that might make a pitch more appealing. In reflection it was a great learning tool, especially after reading the Communication Coordinator’s pitch which gave more insight into the organisation.

What is really exciting is that in October, AIME WA is holding its biggest fundraising event, KiNDLiNG. Events management is my primary major so I am very grateful for this learning experience. I am particularly interested in the media relations aspect of this event, already having started to design social media tiles and a promotional strategy plan. Mind you, graphic design is not my forte but it was nice to practice the 'skills' learnt in Design Computing. You really don't know what will come in handy until you are out in the workplace. Who knows Information Systems 100 might yet come into play as valuable knowledge. 

What I can say about this internship is that it is very casual, yes I wear a AIME T-shirt and Hoodie. However, the colleagues I work with are very dedicated to this cause and are professional when it comes to getting the work done and seeing change happen. I feel privileged to be an intern for an organisation that is focused on helping children and seeking to close the gap between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians. 

I am very excited to see how these 20 days pan out, and more excited to learn about and meet the students that AIME so dearly cares for.  

A Black Tie Ball, A Pet Expo And A Lot Of Spreadsheets

Hi everyone!

I've just completed the first 10 days of my internship - the half way point has arrived!
Despite being 10 days in, this is my first blog post. As you can imagine there is plenty to catch up on. My internship is with Momentum Forum Events in Subiaco, a small but incredibly hardworking organization that has founded many charity and awareness based events.

I began my internship with excitement and an eagerness for what was to come. On my first day in our very small office I was welcomed with open arms and given a briefing of what was to come. My first task was to input the contact details of a previous expo into our newsletter bulk contact list. What seemed like a pretty quick task to complete ended up taking an extremely long time - there were so many more contacts than I originally thought! It was my first glimpse into the very mundane tasks of PR yet it gave me an appreciation of all of the behind the scenes work that often goes unnoticed despite being so crucial to an organised business.

In my first few weeks of interning I was able to experience my first event with Momentum. The Men In Black Ball is a black tie event in support of men's mental health. This year was the 9th anniversary of the event and was arguably the most successful yet! The entire team arrived at the venue 3 hours before the event was set to commence and we began with setup. The staff at the venue completed most of the setup of tables, however we were tasked with setting out the auction booklets, raffles tickets and corporate signage.

The Men In Black Ball.

During the event I was able to manage the door prize entries as well as contributing to the collection and promotion of raffle tickets to guests. In between all of the work I was also able to experience the event itself whether it be listening to the inspirational speakers or watching incredible performances such as Carmelo Pizzino's dancing.

Carmelo gave a heart-wrenching speech after a captivating dance performance

The Momentum Forum Events Team with CEO Barbara and Andrew Donnelly  

After the incredible night of the Men In Black Ball, it was back to regular intern days in the office. The preparation for the remaining events of the year quickly commenced and I immediately began emailing our contacts to source exhibitors for the upcoming Perth Pet Expo. The emailing process, especially when contacting such a large number of people, becomes very repetitive and dealing with people saying 'no' becomes second nature. Luckily there was already a huge list of contacts from previous years of the events, so setup of spreadsheets and sourcing people who may be interested in the event wasn't on my to do list. 

That being said, Microsoft Excel has become my best friend. Every time I spend a day in the office I'm bound to use at least one spreadsheet, so editing and formatting information to make it as clear as possible is something I can add to the resume. Organisation has always been key in public relations, but I never realised how easy it is to lose track of things if they aren't formatted properly! Particularly when there are so many people contributing to a single file, it's crucial to create a key that everyone is aware of as well as keeping information organised and easy to understand for people using it regularly and for the CEO whenever she needs to refer to it.

On of my days I was able to sit in on a presentation from a marketing consultant who was showcasing a new event management software. Not only was the consultant an incredibly engaging speaker, the software was incredible! It essentially is a hub for event managers to keep all of the information regarding an event including ticket sales, guest invites, seating arrangements, to do lists and plenty more. It was amazing to see a tool that could have a great impact the Perth events industry, despite being in its initial stages. It was also great to have an input into the conversation on how such a tool could be utilised in the business, or if it would be more of an extra than a core feature in event planning.

That should be it on updates for now! These 10 days have gone incredibly quick despite being spread out over many weeks, but I'm excited for the remainder of my internship. I've been so fortunate to intern with such a great group of people as well as receiving support from those who have much more experience than I do. I'm looking forward to learning as much as possible and participating in the construction of many more events!

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone is having a great time interning as well!

- Jess Cant

Interns and the boring ‘stuff’

Hi all! I’m back to shed some more light on what it is like to be an intern and the journey so far!

What I really want to focus on is something we are all probably experiencing at our placement, not because we are bad at what we do, or can’t be trusted to jobs, it is all down to sometimes our supervisors just don’t have time. So this I like to call Interns and the boring ‘stuff’.

As we all know there is a considerable difference between being on a payroll and working for free. Unfortunately in our situation we are volunteering to help an organisation just so we can experience what people do in our field and be in that environment on a weekly basis. Although we get to create documents that are based around our role, such as newsletter articles, speeches, information packs and much more, there are somethings which I feel have just been backlogging till I came along.

The team at CBH have been more than supportive in sending me tasks and giving me the opportunity to communicate with our stakeholders regarding information and social media, such as the current Broome campaign which I am completing. Although there are jobs such as filing and organisation which has not been a priority throughout the corporate affairs and marketing team. Therefore I have found myself doing the boring stuff, such as organising over 300 CDs into date order and placing them in cupboards, or putting documents into alphabetical order for the data collection team. Small jobs I have been given purely because having someone who does not have a specific role in the team means that my supervisor has to stop doing her role in order to occupy me.

Although I understand that filing and organisation of photo data is in the role of what I do and what I may have to do in the future. I feel they found themselves on a winning ticket to have an intern to do tasks that simply take too much time out of a day.  I have had many productive days where I have had my head down sending emails and researching information for a company tour, and these days I feel have given me real insight into where I will be in the future and what I need to prepare for. Although small filing jobs I do not feel I get as much experience from, even though they are a necessary part of my job.

It simply all comes down to time! The time to organise tasks for the intern, the time to check over their work, the time to stop your jobs and explain what they need to do. This time is very precious to someone who is constantly working on social media or newsletters, therefore I glad that CBH has taken the time out to give me the opportunity to experience a workplace environment and consider it to be a wonderful place to work. 

After that rant! I would like to fill you in on what I have learnt so far… just today.  I have learnt that the paper you print your marketing on is extremely important, I went to a meeting with the graphic designer and a manager from Spicers, who are a paper company, they discussed new paper that is in, the weight and what colour of white they should use… This was a very interesting meeting as I had no idea there was more than white A4 in a printer. Also I have written some executive emails and been in contact with our suppliers of things for events such as lecterns and cameras, being involved with the money side and filing quotes has been eye opening to exactly how much money goes into event, more than what we have discussed in budgets throughout university. 

Happy Interning Everyone!!!!

Good luck!

Rachel

A First Look into the Real World of PR

Mikayla Wearne 17081270 - Bentley


Hey everyone,

I have just completed the first week of my internship and this is my story so far!

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Friday the 1st of July, just two weeks after I had been told that I had been successful in attaining an internship in KL at Go Communications. This gave me the weekend to get to know the two other girls also completing an internship with GO, gather my bearings and explore the main city. Monday crept up fast and I was nervous going in on my first day, I was in another country and had no idea what to expect. To my delight we were warmly welcomed and each assigned to a team. There are 3 teams at GO, A-Team, Elite and Vuvuzela, I was placed in A-team. Each team has a list of clients they are responsible for, they conduct many different types of PR for these clients which is great because it means there is a lot of variety and lots to learn.




We were shown around the office which is medium in size, with around 30 employees. We were introduced to everyone, including the CEO Paul De Krester who is from Australia, his father, Michael De Krester was the CEO before him so it is almost like a family here, everyone seems very close.


We were then each given a desk with a computer and phone and given instructions on how to create a GO Communications email, how to access the intern folders, how to use the printer and scanner and what we should do everyday when we first come into the office. Everyday I needed to conducted online media monitoring too look for news mentions of the clients, media monitoring was an activity I had heard lots about but never actually conducted myself. I was told to use key words from any recent events or press releases sent as a benchmark for my searches and if that was not applicable, to do a general search including a search of key sponsors involved.










At lunch time I joined my team at a traditional Malay restaurant where I was able to try some local traditions and get to know my team members on a more personal level.



After arriving back in the office after lunch I was introduced to traditional media monitoring. Looking at every newspaper and magazine released on that day I was to search for news mentions of the clients, their competitors, mentions of their industry area and anything press related in regards to their company. After these had been found, I was shown how the articles needed to be presented for the clients’ records, I was shown how to find the PR value of these articles using a formula and made use of the Media Planning Guide.




The next day I was introduced to the process of compiling monthly reports for GO’s clients, these reports included an executive summary, overview of key activates, an activity time sheet, media effectiveness index, media coverage breakdown, press coverage and industry related news. This was all new to me as I hadn’t complied reports like this throughout my studies before. My main job for my second day was to complete the media coverage, press coverage and industry related news spreadsheets for the reports. This was quite a tedious job but nether the less I still enjoyed it and it defiantly gave me some new skills and knowledge.

As my first week was leading up to the Hari Raya festive season which is a “festive breaking of the fast,” I had the opportunity to gain a true understanding of this important tradition and look at some of the festive events our clients were hosting. At the beginning of my second week I helped create a note to the editor, event release and event listing for one particular clients’ “Open House Hari Raya Celebration.” I really enjoyed this task as I was able to convert my learning into practice and for the first time ever actually create these documents for real-life clients. I'm really excited to attend this event on Saturday and see first hand how an event like this plays out.