A Bittersweet Farewell

Beginning this placement, I saw it for what it was - working in a professional environment alongside my colleagues. But actually having to say goodbye to my supervisor and two intern buddies was more bittersweet than I could've imagined. 

Driving home that last Thursday, I was left with the strangest combination of emotions. Firstly sad that one of the most fun and positive experiences of my life had come to an end and I would never be able to recreate it again. But also elated because I had just finished what I considered to be an internship invaluable to my learning and had gained all these skills, and I had some of the best times with these people that I wouldn't have met otherwise. 

As mentioned in previous posts, my supervisor acts more as a mentor for her interns than an employer. This allowed a much more relaxed environment and positively impacted my learning immensely. It also allowed us the freedom to design our workday - especially our last day.

Having finished all of our assigned tasks, our last day of work consisted of me and my two intern buddies working from our supervisors home office and completing tasks for her health food business. This meant researching and writing, but also chopping up mangoes, styling smoothie bowls for photoshoots, counting and ordering stock. As well as fresh scones with homemade jam, and chicken wraps for lunch lovingly cooked by our supervisor herself - how many interns can say that??

To celebrate the end of our placement, we also finished up early and took the three border collies to the park and played with them, it was a perfect way to wrap things up. 

I wanted to take this opportunity to express how grateful I am for the style of internship I secured and how much it benefit my learning. The creative and easygoing environment we worked in meant I was excited to come to work and push myself harder than before. It also allowed me to make three great friends I would not have met otherwise. 

Thanks for reading! And I hope you enjoyed your placements as much as I did!

Bianca

Exceeding Expectations

We all went into our internships knowing what the overall aim was - being to develop our professional skills and prepare us for a career in the 'real world'. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that the experience has done more than improve our skills, but instead has improved our  overall confidence in a way that never would have been possible in-side a classroom.

Granted we do work in teams for assignments, and we know how to interpret a brief and work toward an end product or goal. But the variety of jobs we undertook and the initiative we had no choice but to develop and use showed us that, combined with the theoretical knowledge we gained during our studies, we are more capable than we thought. 

Jobs I had never done before, and as such had no plan to follow or experience to derive information from, forced me to think critically, research, analyse and formulate a working style that allowed me to get the job done. For example writing for someone other than myself was challenging,  but had I never done so before entering the workforce, I wouldn't have developed the skills or work ethic that are now so valuable to me.

Some days I would come into the workplace and my supervisor would have new jobs for me that hadn't been previously set out in my brief, forcing me to think on my feet and work effectively - previously a weakness of mine. 

Working on jobs outside my industry or typical job description also helped me feel confident taking on jobs I wasn't normally used to or comfortable with. E.g. researching/tracking down tech equipment for the business and photography.

And of course no internship would be complete without its fair share of 'crappy jobs' as my supervisor liked to call them - which included invoicing for two of her three businesses. 

Interning definitely exceeded my expectations and benefited me in more ways than I anticipated, how about you?

Thanks for reading!

Bianca

The end. (is it really though?)

Coming into my last few days with the Coogee Beach Surf Life Saving Club. I am currently compiling a final report for the board of directors and also a 'quick' guide on how to social media / newsletter, for the employees there to continue the work that I've been doing. To be completely frank, I initially thought that this internship will be pretty straightforward - since most of the tasks are eerily similar to my actual job. But oh boy - I am wrong. Thinking that since the field of work is also in the sporting industry, the same nature (read: not for profit) and my task was to manage the social media and newsletter aspect of it, I will not encounter many road blocks or detours.

I quickly learnt that even though the job description is very familiar, the working environment and the nature of the job are completely different. I had to 'adjust' to their norms and their organisation's values, which I have to admit is a little bit hard, as I do not agree 100% with how they roll. But then again, there is only so much I can do to change this. I am very grateful that my two supervisors are very open minded and encourage me to voice my opinion and thoughts on the organisation - after having heaps of meetings with them, they told me that I have pretty much observed and analysed their whole organisation within a week, where it took them two years to realise the hurdles. This has brought a massive spark within. My internship was meant to end two weeks ago, but I quickly realise that there are heaps of loopholes that needs to be filled - thus, I decided to extend my internship. It is not my intention at all to 'drag' the internship to this extent, however as mentioned in my previous blog posts: I do not want to leave the internship placement, just because the 20 days minimum requirement is over.

I have offered the surf life saving club my 'services' until whenever they think they internal employees won't need me. This could (and probably) drag on for the next few months. However, I personally do not mind this, as I know that the changes and alterations that I made within the club, needs to be sustainable and efficient; I don't want to be that 'other intern'. This great internship experience is not something that comes by knocking on your door every day, thus it is really important for me to leave positive footprints.

This may be my last blog post, but you will never know what might pop in to this brain of mine. But let me leave you with this quote:

 “Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent.” –Sophia Loren

Cue Reality Check

To say that I have been thrown in the deep end would be an understatement.

But it's not the workload that has me shook, nor is it the environment I find myself in each week. It is instead what I have discovered about myself just four weeks into my placement with Mikayla and my two intern buddies; I have learnt more about myself than ever.

Working at a boutique consultancy and for Mikayla’s own businesses I have been given an invaluable insight into what is actually involved in not only running your own business, but an in-depth knowledge of what PR involves in a ‘real world’ situation.

Aside from what I’m quickly learning about the industry, my placement has also forced me to learn a lot about myself and how I operate in a professional environment after 2.5 years in a classroom environment. The most standout realisation is that I have some serious time management issues, something that I once thought was a strength of mine. This realisation meant a not so productive first two weeks and resulted in only productive weeks from then on, which I can appreciate as it meant I had no choice but to focus, re-evaluate my work habits and make some changes for the long-term.

The dynamic in our workspace is more relaxed than a typical professional environment which means Mikayla is able to work alongside us as more of a mentor and relay her experiences as a Marketing/PR professional which has been invaluable. Her emphasis on the importance of both social media and organisation have helped influences decisions I make while working with her, and everything social-media related we’ve learned from Curtin is starting to make sense to me now. No wonder every assignment involved a social media aspect or we took a unit dedicated to the use of different social media platforms (Transmedia Storytelling).

I’m eager to continue my internship and see more of what I’ve learned in theory come to life in front of me as PR in the ‘real world’. 

See attached: our very cute, very authentic workspace decor. One of Mikayla's brands Broadspace is a communal workspace which is currently where we work. 

Unconventional workspace(s)

I have been very fortunate and grateful to been offered an internship position in Coogee Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Not because I can *finally* find an internship placement, but because it is an area in which I know I am familiar with and also a field in which I am passionate in. I knew from day one of enrolling to this PR internship unit, that I want to have a placement in which I am passionate in; not just another placement to gain the marks and graduate in. Even though my current job as a state teams manager and project officer at Rowing WA can probably count as an internship placement, I want to open up my opportunities for the future.

Similarly to the current job, it is a sporting organisation in which dedicated volunteers and part-time staffs is the main key to the success of this entity. This means that mainstream work-spaces (read: cubicles) is not an option and you will have to do tasks in which are not in your job description. For some, this may be troublesome... but not for me. Am up for the challenge. I guess my current job and other past experiences have set me up for this mentality, in which I am extremely thankful for. Over the past couple of weeks, I find myself trying to juggle both of these jobs and also other club committee stuff that I am involved in. If I say it has been a smooth sailing week, then I will be lying. However, I have managed to find a way in which can satisfy all parties (and bosses) - with the permission of supervisors and due to the limited space in my internship placement venue, I have been working away and reporting back on a regular basis. A lot of people have recommended me to do my internship tasks whilst I'm at work, as this may seem as the most practical thing to do. However, I have committed that if I am at work, I'm going to focus on my job and nothing else. This leads to me digging deep into my creativity zone. Snapshots of some of my workspaces over the past couple of weeks (or follow me on twitter here):

University Abacus Lab - free high speed internet and arguably comfortable chairs. perfect. 

Balcony - away from the six months old puppy

Dining table - because who needs to eat anyways?

As you can tell by now, it's not exactly your mainstream office space cubicle. By working from different coffee shops, home office and Abacus labs, I have been able to do both jobs at the same time. If I ran out of energy or focus on one of the jobs, I bounce off to the other without feeling guilty nor inefficient. A few coffee shops have been transformed into my workspace and meeting spaces. A lot of long blacks have been and waiting to be consumed.

First week down. Two bosses to impress. Three more weeks to go. 10000000 more unconventional work spaces waiting to be set up. Any tips on how to multitask?

Looking within and beyond!

Internal communications is of upmost importance during a time of change within an organisation; effective communication at all levels ensures employees are familiar with organisational strategic imperatives and that they have the information required to perform effectively in their roles in support of these changes.

In the beginning of the year, the Australian arm that operated international denim brand G-Star Raw known as Denim Enterprises (DE) entered voluntary administration. Across Australia, DE operated 21 mono brand stores and had approximately 200 staff within their business. Although stores functioned as per usual, on an internal level there was apparent disruption in communication during the handover to the administrators, and subsequently to new partners.

However by providing constant communication to the employees during the administration through the use of formal tools such as 'RAW news', the company's weekly newsletter, and top down communication from state managers to part-time associates, a sense of community was formed and more than 80% of the employees stayed on. In the next couple of months, G-Star Raw acted upon the change and took it upon themselves to continue to operate the Australian stores; similarly G-Star approached Denim HQ (the company I work for) to run the WA stores. To sustain the change and continue building relationships with its employees by encouraging a sense of community, they recently conducted the first of a series of training nights around the country. During my last days as an intern with DHQ, I was fortunate enough to attend one of these trainings and witness how the company has managed the change through communication points.

These points were:

1. Background of G-Star Raw in Australia and changes during administration
2. New operational teams and points of contacts
3. Communication points to convey to customers
4. PR and media campaigns
5. New products
6. Q & A

Denim HQ training night with G-Star representatives

Therefore it is with great sadness that my time as an intern with DHQ has come to an end, however nonetheless I am grateful for all that I have learned with this start-up company and incredible brand. Until next time! 

Kim 

BLOG ENTRY FOUR: CHEERS TO WHAT ONLY IS THE VERY BEGINNING

Okay, so I have no idea where the time went! How was that a month? 

I fell into the London routine very quickly and within a blink of an eye, I am on my way back to Australia on a trip that will take me almost 2 days!! I couldn’t have been more grateful for this opportunity. Not only was it life changing, but also I made the most incredible friends and relationships with my work colleagues. Not to mention the international contacts that I made. 

Our last day was a very special day, where our two bosses at The Movement took us out for champagne during our lunch break to celebrate the end of our internship!

I feel so privileged to have worked with the most amazing team and internship partner. I learnt that no matter how organised you are, things can always happen, but as long as you have a well thought-out plan, you will be able to source a solution.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable yet challenging time during his or her experience of a PR placement, it was definitely an experience I will never forget!

Emma

BLOG ENTRY TWO: LADY GAGA MY NEW BEST FRIEND? #STARSTRUCK

This week has been a very very good week in particular. 

Two reasons, one: we are in London (duh), two: my partner and I have realised the exclusivity of our client’s business. After researching their current situational analysis and possible opportunities and weaknesses, we came across the list of cliental at So Hot Yoga. This included Lady GaGa, Michelle Rodriguez and Clifford Joseph Price AKA Goldie. This news turns any Monday into a good Monday, however my partner and I were set for new challenges this week.

The client’s main focus and drive this week was for an increased social media presence and following. My partner and I are working in-house representing The Movement, thus our team devised a list of possible strategies and tactics to help achieve this goal. However, this task happened to be slightly difficult when working within the wishes of our client. Despite our client wanting to achieve a goal, he wasn’t fond of the ways in which to achieve the goal, simply due to his lack of knowledge on the subject. This created set back not only in time but in progress, which we found frustrating since my partner and I were only in the UK for a limited period of time. In order to over-come this internal challenge, and in discussion with our team leader, we were able to set up a meeting with the CEO and Creative Director to explain the process with cases, illustrating the process and back up our strategies. This experience taught my partner and I never to assume.

“Don’t build roadblocks out of assumptions.”

― Lorii Myers, Targeting Success, Develop the Right Business Attitude to be Successful in the Workplace

Soon after, the CEO and Creative Director were on board. Our team was now on track and ready to go with their person social media kit that we created. Within 4 days, our client had an increase of 255 followers, with most posts receiving an increase in 150 likes. 

How is everyone else feeling after week two? Half way there!

Emma

 

BLOG ENTRY ONE: LONDON TOWN

My first blog post ever! 

My name is Emma Ferguson; I am Journalism and Public Relations soon to be graduate (fingers crossed) at Curtin University.

Week one into my internship and I am feeling absolutely exhausted. At this stage I am not too sure if it’s the jet lag, the internship or the fact that it doesn’t get dark until 10:30pm over here, either way I love it. My overseas industry placement is with lifestyle and entertainment communications company The Movement. My internship partner and myself had been set the task to work in-house for an exclusive bikram yoga studio, So Hot Yoga based in So-Ho and Victoria.

It took only days for me to realise how fast pace and overwhelming (in a good way) my internship and the next 4 weeks are going to be! Working as a full-time intern doesn’t allow any time for rest or relaxation. I know they call New York the city that never sleeps, but London is close to second best. My partner and I have quickly learnt that preparation is key. After understanding the public transport system and the London way of life with a bit of help from our supervisor we are fitting in quite nicely. If you can already tell, yes I never want to go home. Day one included meeting our client, the owner and creative director of So Hot Bikram Yoga Studios Bill and Elaine. I have to say my partner and I are not complaining about the client. Working with calm vegan yogi’s is probably as calm as it goes, where bare feet are compulsory. 

After learning are tasks and goals for our placement, my partner and I begin drafting up our first task, our social media plan. Our client’s main focus is social media engagement through a variety of streams and platforms. Not only to engage their clients, but staff as well.

I am fitting into my work routine with the added bonus of enjoying the London life. Did I mention we have been given a bikram yoga membership for the time of our placement? Bonus!

Hope you are all enjoying this whirlwind as much as I am?

Emma

Stop and Listen

So, I’m currently nearing day 10, and I find myself thoroughly immersed in office life! At the moment I am responsible for the task of composing a detailed proposal document. This document outlines the suggested plans for the facility’s exhibition space. The proposed suggestions detail the goals, outcomes, and risks associated with each pragmatic idea. The document also contains an audience analysis, which details the importance of each goal and proposed idea in relation to the audience group and their importance to the facility, followed by realistic event proposals, their costs, benefits and risks for the organisation. It is then presented to the organisation’s managing director for review…

The completion of this proposal document proves to be a challenging task, as it requires the accelerative knowledge from areas of sales techniques, creative event proposals despite the space and resource constraints, stakeholder analysis, risk analysis and crisis management analysis. Given my lack of experience in the nature of events within the WA science community, proposing event ideas and the subsequent facility, versus audience outcomes proves to be a challenging task. Judging the appropriateness and feasibility of space suggestions proves to be a tricky task than one may originally think. Without the context to consider the successfulness or unsuccessful components of past events, and adjust ideas accordingly, making realistic suggestions is challenging. It has become quite apparent to me that we graduate with the ability to communicate, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we know what we need to be communicating. Working within the computational sector has shown me that we, as communicators by trade, have to be adaptable.

From what I have read from other blog posts, it is not uncommon to observe that one of the perks of working within a small department is that my internship experience is particularly hands on. I feel a deep sense of privilege that my experience is shaping up to legitimately prepare me for full-time PR work, and that my supervisors have the level of faith in me to trust that I have the capabilities to construct this document. I suppose after three years of study, it shouldn’t come as that much of a shock to me that I possess the capable skills set. They value my opinions and my perspective, despite my inexperience within the communications industry, let alone the science sector.

If interning has taught me anything, it is that those within the communications industry need to have a broad range of communications skills, outside of PR and marketing. We need to know how to communicate, but more than that, we also need to know how to stop and listen. Communicating comes easily to us. We wouldn’t be here if it didn’t. But understanding what you’re really writing about, now that takes some skill.