Hi Everyone!
My name's Kelsey Puren and I was lucky enough to be taken on by Cancer Support WA in the Marketing and Communications Department for my Public Relations Internship this semester.
If you're unfamiliar with CSWA the organisation provides Australia's only 24 hour Cancer Support phone line, resources and wellness packages and is largely focused on the promotion of complementary therapies.
Last Thursday marked day 10 and I can't believe I've already reached the half way mark; this semester has flown by and there's been a lot to take in.
My first day on the job you could say was more than a little intimidating. Having only the theoretical knowledge of Public Relations that I'd developed over the last couple of years and no previous hands on experience in the industry I felt very under-prepared going in that first morning.
Not because I didn't understand the content I'd studied, just because the hypothetical situations and assignments you're given at university can only prepare you so much. When you try and apply your knowledge in the real world there's potential for huge disparity.
I'd say after about my third day with Cancer Support WA I started to find my feet and realised I'd definitely gotten myself a little unnecessarily worked up.
On day one my supervisor gave an overview of my expectations for the next 20 days and the basics of it are that I am to take on a preexisting fundraising campaign called Pet Project.
It's a photo exhibition being run by some local Perth photographers raising funds for the work of Cancer Support WA and while the project had some success when it was first launched it has reached a bit of a plateau, gaining fewer participants and dwindling donations.
So essentially my task is to develop a range of public relations tools like a new public relations plan, media strategy, media kit and social media strategy and use them as a way to gain more awareness and support.
I'm really appreciative of how much thought my supervisor put into choosing my tasks because so much of it matches what we have been studying and it's great to be able to compare theory and practice, and it's also given me a much better understanding of how they all work together simultaneously - rather than just focusing on one aspect at a time.
Not only that, by being assigned the one big project I get to follow it's development and see just how my actions directly affect its success, which while daunting is also highly motivating.
Looking forward to the next 10 days, hope everyone else's placements are going well.
Kelsey
