We have been so fortunate to have Olivia Nolan, a third year Public Relations and Management student from Curtin University, interning with us for the past month. She shares her journey in this beautifully written post below….

“The least of learning is done in the classroom” – Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

I feel as though this quote is a perfect way to sum up what has been a great experience had at Devahasdin PR.

As a high school graduate, and university student, I can never help but feel the immense pressure to achieve high-level grades – as academia is what has been said to define who you became in a career. Well do not get me wrong – my attendance and attentiveness at university has not indefinitely failed me but it most certainly is not what makes a successful intern.

Within four weeks interning at Devahasdin PR I feel I have developed professional, life skills that REALLY matter in the working world. Being mentored by Director Sandra Devahasdin, Account Director Maeve Berry and the small, but let me add dedicated team, at Devahasdin PR, I have developed skills in content marketing, social media strategy, press release writing, media relations and general administration.

Common remarks I received prior to commencing my internship was “Enjoy buying coffees”, “You’ll be cleaning the office”, and “You have to work for free????” This could not have been any further from the truth as I was warmly welcomed as part of the team, delegated tasks especially to enhance my learning experience, and given the chance to have hands on experience with various client accounts.

Here are three precious pieces of advice I will treasure from my time at Devahasdin PR:

– Never let a structured business plan or procedure overshadow your intuition. PR in essence is building and maintaining relationships and it is with genuine feeling that this is achieved (Sandra Devahasdin, Director).

– Getting a job, or graduate position is greatly dependant on your attitude – you can teach skills but not attitude (Lauren Sydoruk, Junior Account Executive).

– You cannot expect to be perfect from day one, but through practise and professional mentoring comes experience and ability (Maeve Berry, Account Director).

As if I was an employee, I would definitely recommend Devahasdin PR to any intern, potential employee or client as it is a professional, charismatic team that I was most privileged to be a part of.

Olivia Nolan