Hey all,
Having been there and done that as an intern, there were
many times that thoughts of “I wish the school taught me this…” came to me. I
believe we have all had our fair share of boo-boos at work and would like to
bury our head into the ground every time that happens.
As I mark my last post on this blog, I would like to share
the 10 “I wish they taught me…” that went through my head at work in my three
months with Touch Communications. Who knows? Maybe one of the lecturers might
catch upon this and make it a point to kindly share these trade secrets for potential
PR393 interns before they dash off into the real world.
1.
I wish they taught me what a media drop is.
2.
I wish they taught me how to reject cordially.
3.
I wish they taught me when the deadlines for
SPH, Mediacorp and other media outlets are
4.
I wish they taught me when the media centres
published their publications
5.
I wish they taught me how to squirm out of a
tight situation
6.
I wish they taught me how to make intelligent
conversations
7.
I wish they taught me how to hold those conversations
8.
I wish they taught me how to introduce myself
without a namecard
9.
I wish they taught me the different ways to
network during a social event
10.
I wish they taught me how to cope with difficult
situations (e.g. low event RSVP even as event is nearing, zero turnout for
press conferences, etc.)
Personally, I feel that the theory we learnt in school
(except for techniques) is not as useful for the internship as compared to if the
lecturers took time to share with us on more practical examples such as the 10
listed above. It would help to ease transition between school and work,
especially for an intern in a fast-paced industry where time waits for no man.
While I eventually managed to find out how to deal with the
above, it is not without hard lessons. If I had the slightest inkling of what
to expect, it could have been better handled and consequences may be less dire!
Signing off,
Grace Ong
15230928
Curtin Singapore
Grace Ong
15230928
Curtin Singapore
