Revinesh Kanaiah shares his internship experience with us!
Hi everyone, I am Revinesh and I’m currently an intern at Bask Communications. Internships are pretty enriching in terms of skills and experience. As a marketing undergrad, I decided to challenge myself by taking up a second internship in a different field - public relations. I was excited about the opportunities that the internship had to offer, along with the start-up environment and learning directly from Lay Peng, the founder of Bask Communications.
In the past five months, there have been many key moments that will remain with me, ranging from hosting the media tour for a large scale event at PetExpo 2018 to the opportunity to work on SPARK Fest 2018: Asia’s 1st Sexual Wellness Festival.
For the former, I have to admit to being very nervous even though we had thoroughly prepared ourselves prior to the event. However, as time went by and with the opportunities to chat with the media from the start of the registration through to the tour, I gained confidence in becoming a media host, answering questions and making conversations. The simple “thank you” from the media at the end of the event made all the efforts worth it.
As a guy, I must admit that it felt a bit strange to be working on a sexual wellness festival but I stepped into this project with an open mind. In the lead up to the event, we held numerous media interviews together with Erin Chen, Founder of SPARK Fest Asia. It was then when I truly understood the purpose of the festival and was inspired that we are working directly with the game changers trying to #breakthewall to normalise conversations about sex in Asia. Through our project with SPARK Fest Asia, it opened my eyes to the world of sexual wellness, and I was surprised to see how people can be open-minded about the topic when they are encouraged to talk about it.
It’s back to university in July, but here are so key learnings I’ve made in my internship so far.
1) Do not be afraid to ask questions
Asking questions provides clarity on tasks, prevent avoidable mistakes (and a waste of time), and a guide on how to accomplish it. In the PR industry, every piece of information is crucial to writing an accurate press release which will reach the eyes of both the press and public. Asking questions helped me to explore different ways of completing a task. For example, I was tasked to come up with a proposal for a client. Initially, I had mixed feelings of excitement and confusion as it was one of my first few tasks and I was unsure of what information to include or exclude. However, taking a step to ask has allowed me to tailor the solutions according to the client’s needs.
2) Step up to the plate
The responsibility of an intern goes beyond assisting your colleagues. It involves taking charge of certain situations and making decisions on the spot. Even when conducting media drops, the process of logistical arrangements and media interaction has allowed me to explore alternative perspectives in handling different situations.
3) Multitasking becomes a part of you
In the PR Industry, you have to be updated on what’s happening out there while managing our clients as well. One moment, you could be writing an email to a client, another moment you could be on the phone talking to another. Therefore, learn to set priorities according to deadlines and hone the ability to multitask.
Overall, this has been fulfilling and as promised by Lay Peng, no two days are the same. It has definitely opened my eyes to the world of public relations.