Last Day

Today was my last day at SIDS and Kids in an official work experience role. It went so fast!! I have learnt more than I have thought possible in the last few months.

As it is my last day, last blog, I wanted to share the basic things I have learnt from the 20 days experience. We all know them, we have been taught them so many times, but it is different when it comes to a true practical experience.

1) Be prepared to learn
One thing I have really noticed, is that you can never stop learning. And if you are prepared to do so, most people are happy to share what they know with you. This will make it so much easier to do everything.

2) PLAN
Planning is so vital to everything that we will do as PR practitioners. One thing I have noticed is that there is so much happening all the time; you are trying to do so many things, plan so many events, find so many facts, that if you don't have a clear idea of where you are headed it all becomes too much and things get dropped.

3) Talking is so important!
One piece of advice I have is talk, talk, talk! Talk to everyone in your organisation, because they can help you! Don't be afraid to talk to your boss- that is what they are there for.

4) Maintain
Maintain and update everything that you do. Especially in terms of contact lists- people move jobs or companies so often that it is so important to know who is where, so you can get your job done properly.

5) Love what you do
PR work is not glamorous- but no matter how many times you are told this, the reality is a bit different. But PR work can also be very rewarding! If you keep the bigger picture in mind, and keep reminding yourself what all the grunt work you are doing will achieve, it all becomes worth it. Even two days on a telephone doesn't seem too bad.

I am looking forward to working more, learning more, and getting better at something I have really come to enjoy.

Good Luck!

My time at SIDS and Kids WA is officially coming to an end… And it’s really sad. I still have two official days left for my placement, and I don’t want it to end! I feel like I am learning so much, and gaining so much! I am, however, planning on continuing to volunteer in the same role with them for as long as I can!

But today’s blog is a general one- the, “I really am VERY worried about finding a job when I graduate” one.

Does anyone else feel like this?

When this semester first started, I wasn’t too worried about finding a real job. I listened to all the teachers who were saying “people are hiring, it is just not advertised”. But now, I’m panicking!

With just less than a month before I finish my degree (fingers crossed!), it just gets a little disheartening when you speak to people within the industry who say, “Well, no one is really hiring at the moment” !!!!

Good luck to everyone who is graduating this semester- it will be hard for all of us to find places within the industry at the moment, and we ALL deserve them.

Downs, ups and excitements

For the past 4 or so weeks, I have been helping to organise a couple of fundraising events for my work placement.

One, I am very disappointed to say, we have had to cancel. It would have been such an amazing event, but with no ticket sales and the event being so close, my supervisor really had no other option.

This one isn’t even my baby, and I’m bitterly disappointed. BUT, I have learnt a lot- namely, that you can’t pull anything off if the timeframe is too small- it just doesn’t work.

One was this week- and it went off fantastically! It was a networking breakfast, with a guest speaker. I couldn’t be there, but there was not room for another bit of paper, let alone more people, which is really great.

It was pretty stressful right up until the last few days though…

My last event is my baby. I am working so hard- and it is just going to be so much fun!!!! I have been finding venues, and sourcing donations (that’s HARD), and finding entertainment in Perth. It is hard, but it will be fun. I just hope it will be as good as the breakfast…!

Events...

I’ve just finished about a half of my placement, and it is still just a lot of fun.

Last week I spent two entire days on the phone, so I was tired of talking by the end of it… It was hard to go home and talk to everyone!!

Apart from Red Nose Day, SIDS and Kids WA does quite a few events as fundraising. Two of the events they are currently organising are basically being run by others, so I did a bit of background work for them in the second two days of the week. Did you know that there are very few circuses/people who can display circus skills in Perth? I found just about all of them, and that means maybe three!!

And then, on Easter Thursday came some very good news!!

We have the opportunity to run a new event in conjunction with Red Nose Day! And because everyone is so busy, I can basically organise it under direction of my supervisor.

I am really excited by it, but feel a bit like I’m swimming in the deep end. I mean, I missed my own 21st so never even had a 21st party to organise. I’m sure I can do it, but I just need to calm down and think about it for a few minutes before rushing into anything. I am really looking forward to being able to say, “Wasn’t that great?! That was half me!!”

My first 2 days...

(I did write this after my first 2 days, but I had to get it approved first, so its about a week old... But I'll update it soon!)

I finished the first two days of my placement this week, and so far it has been really good. I am doing it at SIDS and Kids WA, so it is a really interesting place and supportive environment to be in.

Everyone I am working with is so kind, and so supportive, that I feel I can’t help but learn and improve in my time there.

My first couple of days I have completed a few tasks that aren’t mind-blowingly interesting, but I loved doing them. My first day, my supervisor asks me to write a proposal for her. I must have given the “deer-in-headlights” look as I was trying frantically to remember had I ever learnt how to write a proposal, when I was told that I wouldn’t be alone. Getting it checked, with ticks and only a few suggested changes was just about the best confirmation that I have actually learnt stuff at uni ever.

Dusting off my VERY rusty Publisher skills was also a lot of fun! And the outcome looks pretty good, if I do say so myself…

The most time consuming task so far has been creating a list of schools that go with each Community newspaper, in order for SIDS and Kids WA to contact them to get some media interest before Red-nose Day. This feels like the most “PR-ish” activity to me, as everything I’ve learnt really points to media involvement. But I’m starting to realise just how important the combination of all facets of PR really is.

So far, I am really enjoying my 393 placement. It feels like the culmination of everything I have learnt at uni, and it’s always fun to feel like you are using what you have learnt.