JANELLE ALAWABDEH

This semester I have been given a wonderful opportunity to undertake my public relations internship at Tamblyn Management from August 20 to September 22. I have completed a total of 80 hours over a five-week period working on Wednesday’s, Thursday’s and sometimes Tuesday’s for the following five weeks. During my internship, I completed a wide range of tasks. Some of these work samples included profiling and managing client’s profiles, model images, contract forms, personal details and stats and filing them in alphabetic order. I also contributed to saving new model images using the model images procedure checklist and web converting the images for them to be uploaded on Portfolio Pad and Tamblyn Models new website. Moreover, I have learnt how to use and navigate through folders on their s drive and identified which division should the model/talent be placed in.

 

Completing this internship has taught me a valuable lesson in how to cope with real life situations and in taking responsibility. Some apparent responsibilities included being on time, dressing professionally and reacting quickly to arising problems. Communication and self-independence was also another valuable lesson and apparent skill that I have learnt and improved on during my time at Tamblyn Management where I developed a range of skills in learning how to work as a team and individually in the workforce. Other aspects that I have improved during my time at the internship are self-discipline and time management where I was able to complete tasks in a fast and efficient manner in a productive workplace environment. In gaining this internship experience, it can help develop self-recognition and a positive attitude as well as enhance interpersonal relationships and practical skills (Regmi & Thapa 2015, p.19).

 

Before starting my internship at Tamblyn Management, I predicted what kind of work I would complete there in advance as I did my research about the company’s background before I began interning. Rothman and Sisman (2016) state that through gaining experience, it can also confirm or disconfirm expectations regarding what it would be like to be employed in a particular profession or industry (p.1004). 

 

My knowledge in different areas of specialisation has highly improved over time and I was able to apply my academic learning and skills to the internship through a high ethical work standard. Due to doing a double degree in journalism and business, I was able to experience what’s it like working in a company that deals with real clients and take on a role in working in both fields of marketing and public relations. Through learning about the ethics and laws of journalism at university, I had to be responsible for the client’s contract forms and making sure their personal information is inserted correctly and remained confidential. In making sure the information was correct, I would constantly keep cross-checking my work through the spreadsheets and contract forms with all their details.

 

Multitasking, completing tasks to a deadline, communicating and learning to deal with diversity was also an academic skill that was applied at the internship from what I learnt from doing group assignments at university which was very helpful in the real world industry. At the internship, I worked with a positive diverse team that have different mindsets, perspectives, values, attitudes and beliefs in the industry and we were striving to achieve the same goal in our work performance (Knippenberg, Ginkel & Homan 2013). Working in a diverse workplace can be beneficial as we can learn to accept others’ differences and represent a minority viewpoint by expressing our views openly about a certain topic (Grensing-Pophal 1997, p.78). These elements include contributing to ideas from different perspectives and adapting an analytical approach to problem solving and decision making as well as performing tasks in an efficient and proficient manner. In Thurmond’s (2016) article, he discusses how academic learning can be applied to real life situations. The article further discusses that practitioners and cognitive skills are essential in a workplace as it teaches us theories, concepts, frameworks and drives profession based on experiences from a workplace.

 

My impression of Tamblyn Management itself was a professional and positive work environment. The workplace would be sometimes very busy and there would constantly be work to be done. The very first two weeks of working there, I was still getting familiar with the workplace and how things worked. As time went by, I was a bit more comfortable and my colleagues left a good impression on me as they were understanding, approachable and easy to talk to. They made sure that I was a valuable team member to their team which gave me reassurance as well as they made sure I understood the instructions that were given. According to Roberts, Cha and Kim (2014), they state that individuals must learn how to effectively navigate interracial interaction in an increasingly diverse organisation in order to construct a positive and professional image as well as strong work relationships. It is essential to understand the basis of worker’s impressions of one another in any workplace as these impressions impact how the employees work together (Johri 2015, p.44). Most workplace decisions are largely based on how we perceive others. This depends on whether it is assigning a task, asking for assistance, or deciding to personally interact with others (Johri 2015, p.44). As such, teams are formed primarily with the intention to leverage job experiences and diverse disciplinary backgrounds (Johri 2015, p.44).

 

During my time at Tamblyn Management, I didn’t really encounter any major issues at the internship due to it being a casual and comfortable workplace. Elke who was supervising me for the first two weeks had to temporarily leave work. However, it did not adversely have an effect as Sallie who is the director and manager of Tamblyn Models and also my colleague Dani supervised me, gave me instructions and provided me with feedback which was very helpful. They would consistently check on my progress and were accessible when I needed assistance or I needed to ask questions regarding the work that needs to be done. When working, I also constantly asked questions and felt highly motivated to work and complete any task that was given.

 

Overall, I enjoyed interning at Tamblyn Management as it was a positive learning experience that has helped me reinforce my career choice and advance my skills in marketing and public relations. Through having this internship experience, it can be used to clarify possible job interests regarding career paths after graduation (Rothman & Sisman 2016, p.1004). My goal in improving work ethic was reached by the time my internship has come to an end and I have gained so much valuable experience and knowledge about working in an industry which is beneficial for my future career success. It also has improved my interpersonal and communication skills and has helped me become more confident.

 

Unfortunately, one thing I would have liked to do more at the internship was more social media posting, however, I did get a chance to interview a model and write a blog about her which also was valuable for my portfolio of work. I am considering starting my journalism career at Tamblyn Management as I have a passion and interest in fashion and beauty as well as designing and I hope to focus and pursue my career in marketing and public relations through my journalism and business degree. The internship experience that I have attained has opened my eyes to the real world industry and my passion for being a journalist has grown and it helped me realise and identify the potential abilities I can achieve in my future career.

 

 

REFERENCE CITED

 

Grensing-Pophal, L 1997, ‘Dealing with Diversity in The Workplace’, Nursing, vol.27, no.9, pp.78.

 

Johri, A 2015, ‘Impressions in Action: The Socially Situated Construction of Expertise in The Workplace’, Journal of Organisational Ethnography, vol.4, no.1, pp.46-63.

 

Knippenberg, D.V, Ginkel, W.P & Homan, A.C 2013, ‘Diversity Mindsets and The Performance of Diverse Teams’, Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, vol. 121 no. 2, pp. 183-193.

 

Regmi, D & Thapa, A 2015, ‘Effectiveness of Internship on Bachelors Students’, Pranjana: The Journal of Management Awareness, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 19.

 

Roberts, L.M, Cha, S.E & Kim S.S 2014, ‘Strategies for Managing Impressions of Racial Identity in The Workplace, Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, vol. 20, no.4, pp.529-540.

 

Rothman, M & Sisman, R 2016, ‘Internship Impact on Career Consideration Among Business Students’, Education & Training, vol. 58, no. 9, pp. 1003-1013.

 

Thurmond, J 2017, ‘Rebuttal: Why Academics Matter: Cognitive Skills Make Sense of Workplace Experiences’, Public Management, vol.99, no.4, pp.27.