Finally!!! Last day of work!!!
During my last day of work, I was so happy but sad at the same time as I have to leave the company and go ahead into my future which I am clueless and freak out. I think this happens to everyone when they finished their internship. My supervisor even order McDonalds for me to congrats and celebrate on my last day of work. I really appreciated all the help that I received from colleagues and supervisor, they really teach me a lot.
Let me show you the McDonald that my supervisor give to me after work
During my last job assigned, I have to send emails to inform them about the sudden closure of the office because of disinfection and all employees are request to do the swab test together. The email has to include the dates and the reason clearly and apologized if the is any inconvenient caused. This has also caused some delay to some project which another email is issued to apologized for this unseen occasion and hope they can understand.
Lastly, I really want to thank all of my team and because of them I have learn new things that allows me to bring forward to my future career. It is hard to say goodbye, but goodbye are not forever and I believe that we will meet again after this whole pandemic has ended and who knows I might join the company as a permanent employee.
Congratulation to myself and everyone and wish everyone take care and stay safe.
Here we go again…. Moving into new movement control
Covid-19 is the most concern topic now in the community especially Malaysia situation has worsened since April. Due to this pandemic, sometimes I was assigned to work from home which I do not need to go to office. Well there is some benefits and disadvantages to work online. Let me tell you how.
- Being Safe
For PR related work all we need is the right tools and we can work from home. The most important thing is your Wi-Fi connection and Malaysia lines is really poor! Sometimes I have to use my own data when the Wi-Fi is not working which I think most of my fellow friends also face this problem.
- Flexible Hours
When you work from home you have better time management as you can work at the time which you prefer maybe some are morning others might be night time. Of course, it comes with negative side for people that find difficult to stay focused on work without a schedule. If you face this situation, you can make your own schedule which is more flexible.
- Productivity
Lastly, when you work from home you cannot expect you do your job like back in office which you can ask your supervisor when she/he is in his office. Sometime, my supervisor is not responsive as she has a lot of workloads which she will reply back to me after hours. So, I have to do some decision making on my own which I am scared that it do not reach the expectation. It has increased my productivity which I can focus more when I am alone. It is also much easier to finish my work before deadlines.
Are you ready? Officially on duty.
Well the internship has start for almost a week, everything has been great with nice colleagues and supervisor. I have start learning the tricks to manage social media accounts, preparing media release. I was hard for me especially my writing skills is not that good, a lot of mistake was corrected by supervisor and people in office is also nice enough to help.
Well I have learned tips to share with you guys when you are handling social media posting.
- Keep it simple and attractive
Human are visual animals which we are always attracted by colorful and new things. A good post draws people attention and deliver a strong message without much advertising. People also value their time so in order for your audience to give you their attention, it will be much easier by using heading, bullets and lists and keeping your paragraphs to only few sentences.
- Use image and video
Visual content is always more engaging to the audience as you can deliver your message using images and videos to tell a story. You can connect better with your audience with video and people respond well to video. It is best for you to optimize your posting to ensure your message is being shared and looks professionally.
- Do your research
Lastly, if you wish your audience to notice and engage with you post, the more relevant your posts the more success you will be. You need to take time to understand your audience and start for with general information moving to more professional. Share something that audience is concern or important to them now, this helps to connect with your audience.
And that’s a wrap!
It seems like I walked through Ability Centre’s front door for the first time last week. My internship journey lasted 10 weeks and many friendships were made – it’s sad knowing I won’t see a lot of these people again!
During my last day, the communications team took me out for lunch which was so nice! While out eating my ham, cheese and salad baguette, MEGAN OFFERED ME A JOB! I almost chocked – I couldn’t believe it! When we got back in the office, Megan sat me down and had a professional 1 on 1 discussion about the job opportunity… She mentioned that there will be a new financial officer in the new year (I finished the internship late December), and if they approve, then she will happily offer me a part time position to overlook the Containers for Change scheme.
Unfortunately I received a phone call late January from a very apologetic Megan, saying that there isn’t sufficient funding to create a new position in the communications team… These things happen guys! Although this wasn’t good news, a few weeks later I received a phone call from a Director of a PR Agency in Subiaco, who said they heard good things about me from my supervisor Megan and wanted to catch up for a coffee. After that chat, a few weeks later I got called into the agency to have another meeting, where they offered me a full time position!
What I’m trying to get at here is that just because something looks like it hasn’t worked out, there are still good things to take away from it. If you don’t succeed – try again! In my case, even though I was shattered that I didn’t get the first job, I had created networks with people in the industry which is very valuable!
I wish all the best for you all and I hope to work with you in the future!
OMG!! First day reporting to work!
First day reporting to work are so nervous as I am entering a new phase and unfamiliar environment. There are some tips for everyone for your first day of work.
- Show up early and enter the office on time
Well you need to give a good impression to your colleague especially on your first day. It shows your commitment towards the work and let yourselves to prepare for unknown situation. Trust me being early is always better than late.
- Prepare an elevator pitch
Get ready for a 30 seconds of personal introduction when you are introducing to your colleagues. People are always curious when there is fresh blood joining the company, they will ask you some question and it is best to prepare yourselves beforehand to prevent awkward situation.
- Relax and smile
A prefect smile definitely save you from a lots of situation and it shows friendliness to everyone. First impression is defiantly the most important thing, greets your colleagues, shake their hand and remember to be polite and show your energy.
- Show good attitude
The last thing to do is to stay a good attitude, it is hard to blend a new environment but take your time and keep learning and improving throughout your work. Now remember you should always do your best and solve challenges.
It’s been a good experience but I don’t think I’ll miss it
It’s crazy how fast time flies. Over the last 3 months of working with Togoparts, I have learned countless things and gained valuable experiences. However, if you were to ask me if I see myself doing this in the future? I may need to think about it.
Although I may not see myself doing this in the future, here are a few highlights of my favourite moments.
- Working with non- profit organizations
I had a chance to be in a zoom meeting with representatives from WWF Malaysia and Singapore. Where we talked about partnership opportunities for Earth day and Earth Hour. It was an eye-opening experience as I have always seen myself working with like-minded people who are working towards creating a better and sustainable way for the environment.
- Working with colleagues from different parts of the world.
Togoparts is an organisation that has been working remotely even pre-pandemic. With that being said, they are able to recruit employees from all over the world. Being able to work with colleagues from different nationalities and backgrounds. The countries that the employees are from includes, Malaysia, Singapore, India and the Philippines.
- Fast pace working style
It was never to my surprise that Singapore Company tends to be extremely competitive in the industry. Due to that, all tasks that were assigned were required to be done at 2x speed. The first 2 weeks were stressful however as time went back I have learned to adapt.
Lessons i have learn
A few of the key lessons that I’ve learned! During my time at Togoparts included.
- Being Empathy
During my time at Togoparts, I’ve dealt with customer service alot. As T ogoparts, runs a couple of virtual cycling events over the year across the world. Being a social media manager for the company, it comes with the responsibility that I am required to assist with customer service which includes answering questions on a daily basis regarding the event.
The main issue that I felt was, there are people out there who aren’t the nicest of them all. They could be rude and demanding at the same time. However, it has made me realise that all these people wanted was just some of my attention and for me to assist them in their requirements. I have tried my best to have empathy.
- Celebrate little things/achievement
The main thing that kept me going for the last 3 months was when I told myself that I was going to celebrate little achievements from time to time. Regardless if it’s just treating myself with an ice cream cone or with a cup of boba. That has definitely kept me going. Disputes days that are close and demotivating.
COMING TO A CLOSE.
To say that this experience was invaluable is an understatement. I feel incredibly fortunate that I could do my internship through my current employer because realistically my last day won’t actually be my last day. In my last meeting with my supervisor we agreed that I would continue working very closely with the Communications & […]
Part Of The Journey Is The End
This morning I woke up with a weird feeling, It was it. The end! well not the end of life but the last day of my internship. I was looking up to my ceiling and reminiscing all my internship’s good and bad days. It was absolutely heartfelt, I believe I cried a little bit, but most importantly the sweat and blood I put into the work have come to an end.
I gathered myself up. Got ready and went to work. As soon as I entered the office my colleagues greeted me and said their prayers and peace with me. I tried very hard not to cry. But it was apparent on my face.
I went to my desk continued my daily work. Until my CEO came into office, and he said that he would like to meet me in his office. I obliged went to his room he asked me to close the door. I did, Next, he Congratulated me for all the work. He wished me farewell for what was to come ahead of my life. Overall he was satisfied with my performance despite there were instances where I did not. His last remark was the day is still not over and you still have to go back and do your work with all your might. I know you will do a splendid job. That was it, I thanked him and went back to my desk.
I almost finished my work, and one of my supervisors came and asked me favour because one of her employees left due to some circumstances. My supervisor asked me to make a PR plan for the next month for one of our customers. At first, I got scared as I had very limited experience in it. My experience was limited to my university.
However, my supervisor provided me with prior documents that would help me in getting the work done. She told me I trust you can do a great job. I went on doing my job which was very technical and time-consuming, but I was adamant to get through this.
At the launch time, my office bought me a launch we enjoyed. I was really happy with the people I worked with and they looked out for me. As the day came to an end. I did my appointed job. I was called to the CEO’s office where I received my Cheque and appreciation letter. I bid farewell to everyone. I went out of that door my head held high and into the world for my next hurdles to face.
To conclude I learned a great deal of work at my employment from entering data in worksheets to creating content, Proposal plans, PR proposals, Medial releases, I was taken to shoots, How to manage social media accounts. I take all this knowledge to heart. Until next time Bon voyage!!!
An Ode To The Last Four Years And A Half Years.
It is always emotionally hard to reminisce on a part of your life that absorbed your every waking minute…hang on, scratch the “waking” university life is notoriously known for giving students nightmares even when they are asleep. In saying that, I promised myself I will not let a tear shed, I will be strong and embrace that change, even though that last sentence wasn’t convincing anybody. here I go;
The warm summers day, nerves jittering, the scorching heat, $50 Kikiki K notebook in my hand, matching $60 pen hanging off the front page, money shockingly spent but no time to think about my finances, knee-deep in a student loan and haven’t even attended my first tutorial, and there I am. The first day at uni, not knowing what I am about to be in for, excitement and terror all mushed up in a fun ball of crazy I call feelings.
It all started from that day, my whole life changed, university was what I breathed day in and day out for 4 and a half years. It became my way of life. Attending classes, going to the library to study, mingling with students, making lifelong relationships, and striving towards my ultimate goal of graduating (well actually, I really just couldn’t wait to throw that top hat up in the air as they do in all the movies).
I had enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Public Relations and Management. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do until I had researched Public Relations and realised that everything about that course was me.
I grew a sense of euphoric motivation, that lead me to open different doors where Public Relations had a huge influence. I wanted to get myself involved in internships, to be able to mold myself into this Public Relations person that I knew I can become. I had the will and motivation and I knew that it would pay off.
My determination landed me four internship experiences, one of them being HUSH Communications which as you know if you have been reading my blogs, is currently where I am interning. It is crazy to me how my skillset has strengthened since interning remotely. My time management skills, writing skills, communication skills, and creativity skills have definitely been put to the test and for that, I am grateful. I was eager and willing to learn everything I can, listen and watch the PR professionals hard at work, pick up on their ethics and really study the art of Public Relations. I feel so blessed to be able to have landed myself four internships where I got to take a piece of each company with me and the experience that I lived through. The opportunity to be able to participate in these internships definitely had a huge impact on me as a striving Public Relations Professional. The difference from when I first walked through the door at the internships, with limited knowledge, no experience, to walking out of uni, head up high, knowledgeable in my Public Relations area and swarming with experience from the internships, is a huge achievement,
I learned an ample amount when I put theory into practice at the internships. It really shaped the Public Relations Professional that I can confidently say I am today. Without the two ingredients of theory and practicality, I wouldn’t be beaming with the confidence that I have in myself today. I know I have chosen the right career path and I am eager to see where that path leads to in my future endeavours and the challenges that I will face. I know I can tackle anything that comes my way. (I just pray it isn’t a yellow brick road path like Dorothy – that I really can’t handle right now).
Concluding my emotional reflection blog, I am ready to move forward. It has been an amazing four and a half years but I know it will be a lifetime of amazing moments that await my journey ahead. I am thankful for my internships, every experience has been mentally noted and absorbed into my new way of life. Lastly, thank you university, you have been amazing and stressful all at the same time.
Now if you will excuse me, I may need that tissue after all….
Eleonora
Useful programs and tools to add to your PR toolkit
The Marketing Team at my internship is a bunch of inspiring, creative and talented bunch of people. Not only have I learnt a thing or two from the projects I have been involved in, but also the surrounding staff. As a part of their role, they spend most of their time on the computer creating social media posts, marketing campaigns, occasional event planning etc. In order to achieve the best result possible, they have a couple of programs up their sleeves to help with the job. Some of them I was familiar with already, but there were some that were new to me. Either way, it was interesting to see how it is used in the real world. Below are some of the programs I encountered at my internship and perhaps you recognise some of them as well!
Adobe Colours
If I wish I knew anything sooner, it would be Adobe Colours – this program is a life hack. It is a free and accessible web page where you can create and share colour schemes. This program is very helpful when it comes to creating advertising and marketing material to make it look cohesive or to have a better understanding of which colour works with what. Since each school is different to one another, they have their own style guide. Using Adobe Colours has been useful as marketing officers are able to identify which colours are working with the ones in their style guide. I definitely see myself using this program in the future, whether it be for professional life or personal life.
https://color.adobe.com/
Adobe InDesign
This was hands down one of the biggest challenges I faced at my internship. During the course of my tertiary education, I have used Canva for a majority of my assignments because it was free and easily accessible. However, InDesign was the main program that was used at my internship as marketers at the schools create their material from scratch. Though the two programs serve the same purpose, there are some functions that are better than others. For example, there are a wider range of typography styles, text wrapping and so much more complex functions that Canva cannot offer. In saying that, I will most likely choose Canva over InDesign simply because of the convenience of accessibility and pricing.
Facebook Business Suite
Since all the schools at SCEA use Facebook as one of their main channels to communicate with its publics, using Facebook Business Suite is an essential tool to monitor, measure and evaluate the engagement and response. Facebook is a channel that works very well with its target audience (mainly parents and the greater community).
https://www.facebook.com/business/help/205614130852988?id=765488040896522
No matter which career path you choose, you will encounter some sort of program. Might be some of the ones I have listed above, or different ones. Whichever ones you have to use, despite how tricky it may seem at first, it’s a great return on investment as you may find yourself using it somewhere else. I am definitely grateful that I have come across the Adobe programs during my internship because now I feel more confident knowing that I have them under my PR toolkit. Though I am not an A-grade graphic designer during InDesign, I’m sure I will be confident enough in the future if I were to put the effort in to learning the program.
I’m so grateful for the industry and life lessons this internship has taught me, and for providing me with a glimpse of the real world post-uni. Also from reading everyone’s blog posts, it goes to show how vast the public relations industry is and the different paths you can go into.
Hope everyone has enjoyed their internship as much as I did. Wishing everyone all the best for the future with studies and career! I’m certain all of you will go far 🙂
Jasmine
We are all in this together
Does working in an NGO provide a real opportunity to learn and grow as a PR practitioner? How?
Honestly, the three months of the internship was not enough as some of GSS projects had delayed due to the pandemic. However, I learned that there are a lot of opportunities for young people in the NGO field. I am grateful to work with both the younger and older generation to address social issues and champion causes. Since Good Shepherd Services work with a dynamic team, employees tend to cover multiple roles and therefore equipped with a diverse range of work. This allows the NGO to grow passionate and skilful individuals who want to make a positive change in this world. Not only that, working in a team has helped me to understand better my weakness, strengths as well as how can I improve.
It was exciting to come out with YPC community engagement strategy for the youths in Kiulu. Where I got to apply IAP2 Spectrum as a guide. Moreover, I get to propose new workshops such as financial literacy, career and skills development in their recent project. Although my internship wasn’t long, I was able to help assess the effectiveness of the programmes and get a glimpse of how YPC fortifies youth resilience.
On my last day of internship, I got the chance to join GSS team to bake 400 hot cross buns from scratch as a fundraiser for GSS’s shelter home. Poh Choo GSS’s executive director was there to led the team. And, it was tiring after hours of rolling the doughs but, it was memorable baking with the team. After that, we got to celebrate and I was touched as they sang a song of blessing.
Lastly, I would like to end with few tips on how we can make the most out of our internship or future career journey.
- Take the initiative, but accept guidance. Don’t be afraid of asking questions and learn from mistakes.
- Build new connections. Make time to connect with your colleagues during lunch breaks etc.
- Be respectful and brave. Learn to speak up if you feel that you are being taken advantage of.
- Be grateful. Always try to give thanks in the good and bad times. As it not only helps our mental wellbeing but also affects the people around us.
- Challenge yourself. Try to challenge yourself in doing something you have never done before. Like what PT Barnum said: “Comfort is the enemy of progress.” We can only see growth take place when we step out of our comfort zone.
All the best to everyone in your journey!
Till next time, goodbye!
Ashley