As an international student from India, I always wanted to venture out into Australia, explore the wider communications industry and just generally learn about workplace culture. Agent99 gave me this opportunity. To obtain an internship in a PR firm within one year of my degree has been the major highlight of my trip to Australia. With my internship coming to a close, I would like to share some insights into my amazing experience as an intern in Agent99.
Due to the global pandemic, I went through an online interview process and my work experience started by working from home…not really the ‘office’ culture I had expected. This gave me an idea of what the “new normal” could be. However, I was fortunate that soon, we were able to resume coming into the office at least a few days a week.
When I joined Agent99 as an intern, I was not familiar with Australian workplace etiquette and knew very little about the PR industry. I still remember the first day of my internship, barely knowing anything about how a PR agency worked! Many concepts were new to me and I did not even know what a boiler plate was. But today I am much more familiar and comfortable with Australia’s work culture and I can clearly articulate my understanding of PR. Thanks to the wonderful Agent99 team for helping me on this discovery journey.
Throughout the internship, I never felt like the ‘new member’ of the team. The whole Agent99 team was very supportive and helped me cope with potential work anxiety very easily. Eventually I started developing the connection between my work at the agency and my university subjects. This connection helped me get the best of both worlds, as I was able to apply university concepts in the office, and vice versa.
In addition to acquiring field related knowledge, I learnt many other things that changed my perspective towards my career. I discovered that no day in PR would ever quite look the same. But that’s what I had always wished for! Each day I jumped onto different and exciting tasks such as researching, writing social media posts, packing gift boxes and many more.
All these tasks developed my love of working in an office environment. I got a chance to explore many things I never had experienced before and working as an intern at Agent99 brought about a positive change in my personality. Here, every team member of the firm turned out to be my source of inspiration!
My parents always told that hard work is the key to success. At Agent99, I discovered that determination is even more important. Everybody in the team is enthusiastic and determined to work. I remember one of the discussions where the agency’s director Sharon said that we must “thrive and not just survive” in the today’s climate. And the team embodied this, completely thriving during this challenging period, as was obvious through their dedication and passion.
In the end, I am very thankful to the Agent99 team for supporting me and constantly motivating me to take up responsibilities and fulfill those to the best of my ability. In the three months of my internship, I got some lifetime lessons that will help me pave my career path.
Now onto my next adventure!
by Agent Intern Swarali
Agent99 is an award-winning PR and communications agency based in Sydney. For more information about our services, contact us at info@agent99pr.com.
Further reading:
Life as an Intern During COVID-19
3 Things I Learned in my PR Internship
