The glamourous and not so glamourous side of PR.

One thing I always remember about my first ever PR unit is that my tutor said to us, "If you think this degree is going to be anything like Samantha Jones from Sex and the City, you might as well leave now". Wow was she correct! As fun as partying it up with celebrities in NYC sounds, there is a whole lot more to PR, and I have quickly discovered that being at my internship.

I always imagined there were going be times where things didn’t go smoothly and events did not go to plan. Today was the perfect example of that!

I have always had an interest in events and thought I understood roughly how event management worked. However, after today my views have changed completely and I praise those who manage to keep their sanity while planning for an event!

I was told to meet at the Perth convention centre an 9.00am on Wednesday morning to help set up and prepare for an event that was taking place and due for a 10am start.

When arriving at the location I called my supervisor to organise a meeting place like we had planned. From that moment on it was manic! She was stressed, exhausted, out of breath and overall drained. Everything that needed to be done before 10am wasn’t even close to being finished. People were arriving early, and there was nowhere for them to go besides hanging around the foyer area while the rest of us franticly set up the conference area. As if things weren’t stressful enough, one of the colleagues who had volunteered her time to help with the event slipped and fell down the stairs. Thankfully she was ok but she had to be rushed to the hospital as she is 20 weeks pregnant- so you can imagine the thoughts that were running through everyone's heads.

Things were a bit out of control as we had to manage those arriving early, those complaining about the temperature of the heat in the room, organise each person a conference badge, all while being still being worried and anxious from the previous accident that had just occurred.

Needless to say, my supervisor was close to tears as everyone counted on her for a successful event. Thankfully by 10 o’clock the hall was set up, the guests were enjoying tea and coffee in the foyer and everyone was ready to enjoy a successful conference!

If I’ve learnt anything from this experience, it that, you can prepare as much as possible, but there will always be a time when things don’t go to plan. And that’s ok! The most important part is that you stay calm, stay focused, and keep smiling so that everyone thinks things are ok! (even if they’re not).

It’s given me a lot to think about as I feel event planning may be an area I would like to dig deeper into.  Minus the stresses and unplanned injuries, the event was a success and the feeling of accomplishment makes you feel like all the hard work was worth it!

And while I do admit, I still enjoy indulging in episodes of Sex and the city, I am also grateful that PR is nothing like that of Samantha Jones career. I am learning so much more then I ever imagined and look forward to where my future is headed.

I am hoping to volunteer outside of my internship at other events to get a greater feel of the environment! Who knows, maybe this could be a new pathway for me!

First Steps

It’s been great to finally have a break from the stresses that come with #unilife, but for me it’s time to hang up my bikini and take my first steps into the ‘real world’.

The day is finally here.



I’ve been up all night trying to decide what outfit will most effectively portray the fact that I am keen to learn, professional and above all capable of what they are about to throw at me (even if that include ‘I’ll get a skinny long mac topped up- no sugar’.

I’ve taken my first steps into the office with the social precedent of the word intern hanging over my head, and excitement running through my veins. I keep thinking ‘all I’m going to be doing is filing, getting coffees and running errands- I’ll be fine’.  Boy was I wrong.

I thought that wearing the intern paper crown meant doing the slug work, yet in the first hour here  I feel as if I’ve been thrown into the deep end, and I can honestly say that I’m loving it. The work that I am doing is challenging, interesting and it gets me thinking. It’s a great change from my usual boring 9-5 retail job. I get to apply what I’ve been learning at Uni in a real life situation where it’s actually all starting to make sense now.

Media releases, blog posts, ‘what’s happening’ research, social media- you name it, I’m doing it!

I’ve found myself having been thrown into a world of events and public relations that I honestly love doing- and I’m being intellectually challenged every day I’m here, having to push myself and feeling like one of the head honchos and actually contributing to the team and the business operations.

I had the stereotype in my head that an intern will be placed in the corner, doing silly work that doesn’t make a difference in the businesses success, rather just helps them out with jobs around the office. The tasks and to do lists being passed my way include researching client content and Event/PR topics to include in media releases, event listings and blog posts. I’m liaising with companies and clients and surprisingly I'm actually implementing the skills I’ve learnt at University.

Being thrown into the deep end is an understatement to say the least. 

I’m so happy that an Internship is included in my degree as it really has opened my eyes to the sides of an Event Management and PR organisation that I didn’t realise were so crucial to raising business awareness, gaining momentum and reaching success.

Having a large amount of previous Event Management experience I was already aware of the planning and organising that is contributed towards achieving an event- so that to me was no surprise. Yet what has actually been a surprise to me is the work that is done behind these events that have the potential to make as business great, or give them the image as just another Events and PR company. Of course I knew these things existed in businesses, I just didn't realise how crucial they actually are in all aspects of any business- not just PR and Events! It comes in portraying your business and selling yourself to your desired public's and demographics.

I’m realising how important components like social media, marketing and client management are to the success of an emerging organisation in the market, and I know I will definitely embrace these elements of running a business when I embark on my own adventure. It's definitely relatable to me and what I want to do.

The day is coming to an end and I feel like in one day I have already learnt so much. I was required to do research such as content and image publications to be comprised into promotional material for the business. I never realised how significant components such as promotional and informative e-book’s (electronic material) are in showing your public's what you’re made of and what you can offer client's. These are elements of owning your own business that I didn’t realise mattered as greatly as they do, and I can confidently say that I will definitely be implementing this into my own business path and my career.

I’m actually quite surprised at how easily I found I am fitting in to my new environment. I feel like what I’ve been learning at University I am easily able to apply this into what I am working on. The experience from just one day is extremely surprising and I'm gaining experience that will help in making my own path.

Some could say I'm pretty happy where I am right now, and for some odd reason working for free or slave labour as some might say isn't actually as bad as it sounds.