Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous!
Those were the exact words I said to myself throughout the first week of my internship, and guess what, I was still so nervous! The reason for my nerves is my internship is in a team I have wanted to join for some time. I will be based in the Social Investment team within the Communities and Social Performance function at Rio Tinto, so this opportunity means a lot to me.
Communities and Social Performance focuses on the way Rio Tinto engages with its communities which includes regional communities in the Pilbara where the mining operations are based and the fly in fly out regional community hubs. Its framework outlines the way in which the business must operate during projects ensuring communities are better for hosting Rio Tinto, from a social, environmental, cultural, and economic standpoint. The Social Investment team works with the community, providing voluntary contributions in the form of money or in-kind actions that support positive community outcomes in line with the UNs Sustainable Development Goals. For those still curious further information is available at https://www.riotinto.com/en/sustainability/communities.
My first week within Social Investment consisted of me learning about the team, its strategy, how this strategy fits within the broader business, and the current social investment partnerships that Rio is supporting. I was tasked with drafting a communications plan for one of the partnerships, creating social media and digital screen slides to promote the Red Earth Arts Festival (https://reaf.karratha.wa.gov.au) of which Rio is a sponsor, and reviewing and adding suggestions to draft promotional videos that celebrate thriving communities.
Throughout my degree, there has been an emphasis on communications with PR professionals needing to communicate simply, effectively, and effortlessly with stakeholders on behalf of the business. Professionalism is essential when drafting and sharing communications as sensitive topics need to be handled with care and messages conveyed in an appropriate manner. I learned firsthand about sharing accurate and appropriate communications when drafting promotional material for the Red Earth Arts Festival. My supervisor noted that a name had been spelt differently on the ticket blurb and the poster which left us having to make a decision of what spelling was appropriate, noting that we had supported the partnership, so it was important for us to get it right. We decided to go with the name on the poster as we couldn’t change the imagery and I have sent it to the partnership manager for approval, prior to sharing. Whilst nothing negative has occurred from this, it could have, and it was an important lesson for me to always check my communications thoroughly.
I am sure I will face many more challenges throughout my internship where my PR learnings will guide me on best practice methods. But for now, I need to get over my nerves and appreciate each day, as my internship is going too quickly!
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!!!
GOING UP, UP AND UP
From my first few weeks in my Internship, I have taken a big STEP. I have advanced further up into the world of Public Relations and Marketing. Over the last few weeks we focused on the big word starting with W their WEBSITE.
I launched a whole new website… and I will be honest it wasn’t easy.
The other interns and myself had the tedious task of developing a whole new and improved website for the company.
What a big job… I know!! And the best tool for the job as we all know is WIX.
Throughout my Public Relations and Marketing degree we have learned how to use WIX, even having to develop a website on ourselves, as I’m sure we all remember from Digital Communication Management. I managed to pull all my knowledge that I learned from the unit, which I completed over a year ago and you could say I was a wiz.
But this wasn’t just a university assignment! This was a professional website that was going to be viewed by THOUSANDS of people and yes, I said THOUSANDS.
It was my job using my PR and Marketing knowledge to design and transfer all the information over onto the new WIX site.
It was like painting a wall
BEFORE you ask… Let me explain!!!
You start with a blank wall, you then have the job of repeating the same task of painting the wall over and over again, waiting for each coat of paint to dry. The last coat is the most important and has to be perfect, making sure the wall looks seamless.
Well that’s the exact same process that I followed. I transferred all the old relevant information onto the new website, which I will say was quite time consuming. It was a repetitive task just like painting each coat on the wall. After each section of information was transferred I would edit and rearrange the page before going onto the next chunk…. It felt like the content was endless and I must say at times I thought it was never going to end.
The last and most important part was the final run through with the Executive Officer. She was amazed at the work we had achieved and helped us to finalise the website before it launched.
Just like the final coat of paint on the wall, making sure the website was PERFECT.
AND THEN IT WAS LIVE.
I don’t know about you but the letter big letter W – The website, is the most part of an organisation and it’s where existing and potential customers and clients seek information. As Sherman states in a blog written for LYFE Marketing, as companies’ the website is the backbone of your organisation and helps build success and credibility (Sherman 2019), with 88% of people researching a company and seeking information from their online presents (Sherman 2019).
Some organisations can get caught up in the business world and wanting to make their website the biggest and best thing, however I believe simplicity is key.
The three best things to think about when constructing a website is
#1. Be consistent, balancing your design
#2. Have a call for action on almost every page – This gets the public to interact with your website
#3. Let pictures help tell your story, This one if my FAVOURITE !!
What do you think?
A picture tells thousand words… as they say. Using visual cues/images and the right images can make or break your website, breaking it down to be less text heavy.
I have seen how technology has played an important part in my companies operations, especially due to current times. I was privileged enough to listen in on a CEO Summit online event, where high power CEOs had conversations around gender equity sparking discussions on how organisations can use gender equity as a business strategy.
Even if it was indirectly this was an amazing opportunity, getting involved in my first ever event watching how it all runs. It gave me flash forward to what I could potentially be directly involved in, in the future.
Not only am I going up in my workplace but I must say I’m getting used to the amazing view from my office desk looking over Perth City and the Swan River, from way up of the South32 building…which I must say, looking at it for the first time was quite scary. To think I’ll be potentially working on one of those 50 floors. But I will say if you’re afraid of heights, this may not be a job for you!!!
Throughout my weeks I have come across this quote and I thought It was a perfect way to describe how my internship has been going so far. Nelson Mandela says ‘’I never loose, I either win or learn’’ and this is exactly how I feel from the busy past weeks. I have continued to hit speed bumps and learn but I never thought in a million years I would be doing the work I am and so independently.
References
Sherman, 2019. ‘’ The Importance of a Website for Your Business Success.’’ LYFE Marketing(Blog), October 4th, 2019. https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/importance-of-a-website/
You Decide How You Wanna Ride On Your Experience – So Long XMC
Seven weeks of the internship has finally come to an end. When I say FINALLY, I really meant it.
For the past few weeks, I must admit they have really challenged me mentally. There are days I could not come up with article topics, even after turning GOOGLE upside down, I still couldn’t get content ideas to write about. There are days when I’ve drafted captions and visuals, my heart is in my mouth the moment I click send on my email to my boss. There are days after I get scolded by my boss, my cheap tears be rolling down my face without any warning.
But there’s always two sides for everything, even if this is not the industry that I wish to work in, I’m grateful and have grown personally. I’ve met some wonderful people, expanded a new network. Never have I imagined myself getting so attached to a bunch of people that I’ve just met for seven weeks, my colleagues have definitely lightened up my whole internship experience and made it worthwhile. Plus, I’ve gained a better understanding of myself, in terms of recognizing my forte and identifying my shortcomings. I am passionate about learning and I am lucky to have two seniors that actually teach and guides me patiently. I appreciate them – especially under the circumstance where my boss fails to lead by example. I appreciate them very much.
Your attitude decides the kind of experience you will have. You can either enjoy solving problems and feel accomplished or complain about why are the problems there in the first place. You can either work happily with your colleagues and enjoy the most out of it or be grumpy every day to work because the job isn’t what you wish for. They say you can’t always get what you want. But you can keep your head up and learn how to deal with disappointments.
Few things I’ve learned throughout my internship are:
- Don’t fear to ask questions, don’t fear to let people feel that you’re not smart enough because the truth is no one knows it all, and we’re all created to complement each other.
- How to make your every day/repetitive working life more interesting is really up to you to decide. A positive attitude can be great to start with! (Or else a day could actually felt like a year, not even joking)
- Learn how to filter people’s opinions. Not all the comments you received are relevant, some just enjoy sharing pessimistic and senseless opinions. Learn to be selective and consider only the advice from authentic people, NEVER accept negative and destructive comments or even allow it to get into your head.
- Invest in positive relationships at work to create more meaning. Constantly encourage one another and be honest/transparent while not losing professionality is the key. I value the people I have met at work and came to understand the importance of nurturing bonds with my colleagues – Not only it benefits your career in the future but also expands your network!
My dearest colleagues.
Before my departure, I have written an appreciation letter for each and one of my colleagues to express my gratitude for supporting me throughout my internship journey. As Ms. Veronica has suggested to us early this semester to buy or make a small gift for our supervisors and thank them for the opportunity given to us. I believe this is a nice gesture to show your gratitude towards your colleagues and also reflect an appreciative personality of yourself.
For better or worse, the past seven weeks have changed my perspective of working life. Overall, I’m grateful for my experience and I see it as an interesting learning process! So Long Xavier Mah Consultancy!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
About a month into my internship at Perception Management, no doubt Christmas is coming. This means more work to be done before Christmas as clients introduce more campaigns and events beforehand .
The piling amount of work required the executives and senior executives to ask for my assistance as to speed things up. Firstly, the 2 weeks leading up to Christmas consisted of a tremendously amount of media calls. I had to call the media as to perform coverage for Metrojaya’s Christmas event. I discovered all sorts of different newspaper companies in Malaysia I never heard of such as Makkal Osai, Harian Metro, and Focus Malaysia! I also learnt to call at specific times such as an hour before lunchtime, or 3p.m. onwards because that’s when the media pick up their phones.
Calling the media can be really tricky as to determine when they pick up, what type of coverage they do, who picks up and how to get them to undergo coverage for your client. You kind of have to “sweet talk” the media into thinking your pitch is important and exciting enough for them to put it into their newspapers. Through the tough hours of calls, I learnt how to speak professionally on a phone, and moreover acquiring the skills of “sweet talking” or rather “marketing” my pitch to media for coverage. I guess this is the more verbal side of public relations, right? Trust me, when you wake up the next day seeing your client’s coverage in the newspapers, you get a sense of satisfaction that it’s your calls that made it happen. Calls may be tedious work, but it sure is fulfilling!
If you work hard, you play hard too, right? A week prior to Christmas Day, our company had a Christmas luncheon in our boss’ house.
We had loads of drinks and dancing, lamb, veggies, salmon pinwheel, crab and loads of other tasty food! On top of that, we had gift exchange, games and Christmas crackers -something I’ve never done before in my life!
It was a relaxed day of fun, dirty jokes and full stomachs, without a care of work and toil. This day helped me to get closer to my colleagues and be more of myself in the office. This is the best representation of a company that acts like a close-knit family, squashing beef and work competitions among each other. I can’t wait to see what Perception Management has in store for me for the next 2 months! With that being said, I wish a Merry Christmas to you!
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Thought of dreaming the moment Agregory PR accepting my internship still lingers in my mind. It happens when I’ve heard the opportunity at Agregory PR Agency (PR Agency based in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia) inclined that their agency taking an intern. With my heart pounding faster than normal and I can’t think of anything else when accepting this chance and requested me for an interview.
Ms Agnes Nyelang, the founders and branding director of the agency which I met the day after conduct an interview prior to what I’ve learned theoretically and decides the level of understanding I’ve got from the perspectives of a public relations. Involve herself in the public relations environment for more than 10 years of experience, along the way of the interview, Ms Agnes shares her insight of how PR has changed over the years and how the PR market dimension in this city has grown over the decades of development.
It was a productive interview with the knowledge I had gained and insight into what it feels like to be in the working field. Ms Agnes explicitly mentioned that this will be an unpaid internship, but the experience you will gain far more valuable than monetary value. Personally, for me it is not big of a deal with such opportunity to undergo my internship as Public Relations trainee is more than enough and the experience, I gain will be far more valuable. Hours passed by, Ms Agnes come to her conclusion and accepted my applications to which she agreed to hire me as one of the Agregory PR Solutions trainee/interns.
The excitement doesn’t stop there, to my surprise she decides to involve me and the other intern which will become my colleague for the rest of my internship on a project. Our client is a start-up content creator company that aimed to penetrate the local market by giving fresh digital content (cultural awareness) relatable towards local audience. To a certain extent, it is exuberating in a way where we will be involved in the first step process to promote and create awareness of the client digital presence.
More updates coming soon…
First project meeting with Ms Agnes at local Starbuck Cafe
Intern Tips: Overcome The Fear of Feedback!!!
I can confidently say when I first started my internship, I absolutely HATED getting my work reviewed. There’s something about getting my work analysed then changing it to ‘make it better’.
I think it’s a part of my brain thinking that I’ve failed since I didn’t get it right the first time.
This train of thought seems so outrageous when I write it out and read it back in a normal state of mind. I know that no one is perfect and there is always something to improve on. But when I’m in that situation, I really do think I’ve failed!
Am I the only one who struggled with this?
It wasn’t until I changed my mindset on feedback when I fully embraced what my team and supervisor had to say. I had to understand that they weren’t being critical of my writing ability but they were trying to strengthen the message of the text I was working on.
I did bring this up with my supervisor as well and she affirmed to me that she wasn’t critically analysing my skill for writing but it was changing the words to convey a unified message on the text.
She explained to me that she did notice that I was very reserved when I was asking for feedback but she took the time out of her day to reassure me that feedback is very valuable for not only personal growth but for professional growth too. It builds resiliency, improves your writing and it helps the company message too.
I still battle with this and I have to constantly remind myself that ‘feedback is not an attack on your ability but is a way to improve’. I really wish I had changed my mindset on feedback sooner so I could have fully embraced the comments to improve my work and the time I could have saved constantly re-reading the same thing over and over again to see how I could improve it.
Do you guys have any tips to deal with feedback?
Take care,
Emily
Bad thing may happen to you but it does not stop you from passing positive vibes on to others
Returning back to Perth after 3 months undertaking internship abroad and traveling around my motherland, I am eager for the new semester and a real ‘Aussie experience’ as I want to apply for another internship in Perth (but probably during winter break). Got an internship offer from the Curtin Place Activation in week 4, it is unexpected yet exciting, definitely a good sign at the beginning of the semester.
Research on background of the organization, check.
Scroll through their Facebook and Instagram page to get a snapshot of what the team is currently doing, check.
Buy ‘proper’ office clothes, unnecessary but still, check.
All set before my first day at the office.
Then bang, a guy hit me and ran off, leaving me desperately with a broken car in the middle of the night. I am not severely injured (thank God) but completely shocked. It is just 8 hours before my first day, GREAT.
Wake up early that day with a terrible feeling and pain around my neck and shoulder, I remind myself (more than 10 times) to be positive and to perform the best I can. I decide to come early, drop by Aroma Café to buy 4 cups of takeaway coffee and a bag full of banana bread for everyone in the team. I believe, If my happiness (in this case, my car) is taken away by someone, the best way to lift myself up is to bring happiness or motivation to others.
First step into the office and I be like “Wow”, everyone looks so ‘professional’, phone calls keep ringing every 5 10 minutes and there are meeting rooms, discussion boards, printing and design rooms. I am introduced to the team and everyone seems so welcoming and exciting (perhaps because of coffee and banana bread). Then my supervisor shows me my own desk, walks me around the office and campus, explaining all its amenities as well as different locations where we have specific events happen throughout the semester.
We get back to the office after a 30 minute tour and break-the-ice conversation with my supervisor, then she carefully runs through handover and checklist for daily tasks and outlines my role in monitoring social media platforms, assisting in events and working on video production for Explore Curtin. I am also handed ongoing guide for staffs and got my access to the all platforms, social media accounts and staff email. My supervisor gives me a brief of what particular activities the team are working on, our goals and vision that foster opportunities, making a more dynamic and engaging environment for Curtin students, staffs and local community. I do feel a bit overwhelmed thus motivated to dive straight into the work. The team is informed about my accident and advises me to leave anytime I need. I decide to stay to help out for the event, which happens next.
As scheduled, we have a gardening workshop located in Atkinson called “Terrarium Take Two” where everyone can come and make their own terrarium jar, I come to give the team a hand to set up the tent, put out jars, fill up soil, charcoal and take photos to promote them on Instagram page. The weather is very bad on that day, and the rain starts pouring immediately after we first introduce the workshop. The best part is everyone stays and waits, I can still spot happy faces around the tiny tent, exciting to build their own terrarium!
The overwhelmed feeling just disappear and I start running around, passing jars and guidance notes for everyone, topping up all ingredients and taking photos for everyone. As quick as I can imagine, we completely sell out after 45 mins. I do help the team to pack up afterwards. This is not my first experience at event, but I must say an unforgettable one!
My supervisor then gives me a call and thank you for my assistance, which I guess something that literally lifts me up after such a crisis and gives me motivation and energy. Here is the thing I learn from my own experience:
“ Sometimes things do not go as planned, crisis can happen anytime but embracing the chaos is the key for us to move forward. We are all responsible for our own choices, change the way we look at things and things we look at will change, allow positive energy in your life, cultivate it and pass it on to others around you. Create a world full of positivity, life will be much easier”
