Intern Profile: Brittany Shanahan

Posted: September 12, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Intern Profiles | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Brittany Shanahan is an aspiring sports journalist. Trying to crack into the sporting world dominated by her male counter parts, Brittany has been successful by interning for several Australian sports organisations.

Brittany, 19, has recently completed a nine-month internship with Cricket Victoria. She is currently doing work experience on a weekly basis for AFL Victoria’s VFL website and Leader Newspaper.

“As the footy season was coming to a close, I jumped on Google and found that Cricket Victoria were after a media intern over the summer” Brittany explains.

Brittany found out about the Cricket Victoria internship with only two days left to apply. She sent in her resume and based on her application, Brittany was invited to Cricket Victoria for an interview.

Brittany felt as though she had “blown it” after her interview but was delighted to find she was successful and started interning with Cricket Victoria in November last year.

Brittany’s work at Cricket Victoria, involved organizing the media coverage for the Victorian Bushrangers. Brittany also wrote articles, recorded press conferences and even attended Cricket games.

“I was the designated photographer at major event such as the Bushrangers Twenty20 and one day games, and the Gala Awards. The most rewarding part was being able to stand on the MCG in the middle of play and take photos,” says Brittany.

She was also required to publish articles and photos on the Victorian Bushrangers website and Facebook pages.

Brittany is well on her way to reaching her goal as becoming a sports journalist. She started her Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) course at Swinburne University in 2010 and decided to create an account for online sports publication, The Roar, where she submits articles of her own opinion.

Brittany also has had her footy match reports published on the Northern Football League (NFL) website and footy record. Her current internship with the VFL involves her attending and reporting on games across Victoria.

Her additional work with the Leader Newspapers also publishes Brittany’s match reports on the Herald Sun’s Local Footy website.

Brittany also has her own sports blog, which contains all her published work and features exclusive to her blog. She has found that her industry experience has improved her sports journalism skills.

“One thing I have learnt so far in my course is that it’s pivotal to have a blog to showcase all your work and capabilities to potential employers” says Brittany.

Brittany says interning has helped her understand how to work in an office and has become more confident with small things like answering phones, to the way she dresses.

Interning has also made Brittany think about her other career options such as marketing or PR. She has found that she isn’t confined to only doing journalism. Ideally she’d like to be a sports journalist for a leading Melbourne newspaper, along with regular sports radio and TV appearances.

Brittany’s sports industry experience is representative of her hard work and persistence to stand out from the rest. Brittany juggles university, a casual retail job, family and a boyfriend, but says the long-term benefits of interning out weigh the cost of having a huge social life.

“It’s all hard work and dedication. If you really want it, you will work hard and things will start to fall into place. It’s by no means easy but people will begin to recognize you and reward you for all your hard work”, says Brittany.

“Get out there and do as many internships/work experience as you can because it will be a huge advantage in the future. Don’t use a lack of time as an excuse because if you really want it you will put the social life aside and get your priorities straight.

You can follow Brittany on twitter. She regularly tweets live from VFL matches.
Don’t forget to check out Brittany’s sports blog and her opinion articles published on The Roar. 

La Trobe University is now offering a Bachelor of Journalism (Sport) because of the high demand for a specialised degree.

Successful Intern Profile: Carlie Bonavia

Posted: September 5, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Intern Profiles | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carlie Bonavia thought her dream job, as Fox FM’s newsreader was unbelievable. She didn’t think working as the newsreader for the Matt and Jo show would come so early in her radio career.

After graduating from Swinburne University in 2005 with a Post Graduate Diploma of Arts/Commercial Radio, Carlie worked in Lismore, NSW. She worked for commercial and talkback radio stations, writing and reading the news.

Carlie spent just over a year in Lismore, but found she wanted to explore more job opportunities. Carlie sent out demo tapes to radio stations, and one particularly to a Brisbane traffic reporter she’d befriended through myspace.

Carlie’s connection ended up referring her on to Nova Brisbane after being impressed with her demo.

“I didn’t think I had a chance in hell really, but I sent him my demo tape – he liked it so [he] decided to pass it on” Carlie explains.

After some phone interviews and a nervous couple of weeks waiting, Carlie got the job at Nova Brisbane. Carlie spent two years in the newsroom before accepting a transfer to Nova/Vega in Sydney.

Carlie stayed for nine months in Sydney before returning home to Melbourne to her current job, reading the morning news for the Matt and Jo show.

In her early high school years, Carlie decided she wanted to work as a journalist, and aimed to study journalism at RMIT. In her final year in high school Carlie found a love for radio, and started volunteering at SYN FM.

At SYN FM, Carlie hosted radio shows, did news shifts, and she helped produce and present on Channel 31.

Carlie’s work experience with SYN FM and Channel 31 would help build her folio in order to get into RMIT. Although Carlie didn’t get into her preferred journalism course, she was accepted into the Public Relations undergraduate course.

Carlie knew that PR wasn’t for her and deferred after a year of study and went on to study Arts/Commercial Radio at Swinburne.

During her time at university, Carlie began volunteering at Fox and Triple M radio stations, while continuing at SYN FM. Carlie was also required to do a two-week placement at a regional or provincial commercial radio station as part of her course.

Because of her volunteer work, Carlie was granted the chance to do some paid shifts with the Fox FM promotional team and helped answer phones on weekends for the Rove Live Radio and Hamish and Andy shows.

Carlie’s years of “loose networking” and building contacts helped her get the job she has today at Fox FM. The Fox news director already knew of Carlie and her talent from past demo tapes she’d sent in.

“Reading the news for Matt and Jo on Fox is the epitome of dream jobs for me” says Carlie.

Carlie’s job requires her waking up at 3am, and says switching her brain out of ‘news mode’ can sometimes be hard.

That’s where Carlie’s interests outside of her job, such as kickboxing and yoga, help her connect with friends and enjoy her life, despite going to bed at the same time as school children.

Carlie says her work experience has opened her eyes to other possible job opportunities, and without it she wouldn’t have discovered that radio was the right career path for her.

“My advice to students interested in radio would be to do as MUCH work experience as they can – not just in the specific areas they think they’re interested in, but other departments too.

A degree is great – but if you don’t have the hands on experience and industry understanding to go with it, you’re not as employable. And don’t just stick to the city stations – regional/provincial radio stations offer just as much valuable experience, even more so as you can be much more hands on there,” says Carlie.

“Facebook/Twitter is a great networking tool, when used in the right way. Don’t pester, don’t be put off if people don’t ‘add’ you – we like our privacy, email I think is the best way to be contacting radio people for feedback/advice – take on board what they say – show you’ve ‘actioned’ some of the advice they’ve given you and they’ll be more inclined to help you the next time.”

You can follow Carlie and the Matt and Jo show on twitter. 
If you are looking to gain some work experience, Carlie recommends contacting SYN FM and Channel 31. 

Successful Intern Profile: Anthony Alsop

Posted: August 29, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Intern Profiles | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anthony Alsop has found his experiences as an intern, landed him to the dream job that he has today. Anthony is the Digital Marketing Coordinator at the Richmond Football Club and is able to combine his passions for technology and sport in his every day professional life.

After being an intern at the Melbourne Tigers Basketball Club (NBL) and Essendon Football Club (AFL), Anthony now finds himself hiring interns to help him with his job at Richmond FC.

Anthony interned with the NBL Melbourne Tigers for three years, while studying a Bachelor of Business (Ecommerce) at Swinburne University.

On his first day at the Melbourne Tigers, Anthony got to work straight away by doing admin for the basketball club, something he didn’t expect.

“I was a bit under whelmed by the facilities there, but that only made me realize how much more they needed interns like myself”, says Anthony.

He helped out at the basketball club once a week and then started working on game nights. Anthony had an incredible time working with the Melbourne Tigers, learning about the inner workings of a sport organisation. He also got the chance to meet some of his basketball idols like Andrew Gaze, Lanard Copeland and Chris Anstey.

In 2007 Anthony graduated from university and worked in IT for two years, but felt that his passion for sport was urging him to reconsider his chosen career path.

After leaving his IT job and a brief trip overseas, Anthony found that he could combine his passions for technology and sport by working at a sport organisation.

Anthony realised that one internship wasn’t enough, so he emailed the Essendon Football Club to apply for an intern position. He says that his three years experience with the Melbourne Tigers helped his application stand out from the rest.

Even without a sports degree, Anthony’s references and real world experience granted him the opportunity to intern at Essendon FC for six months in their digital department.

“My internships made me realize how hard it can be to get a job in the industry you love. Landing that dream job is a combination of hard work, luck, the right time [and] who you know all working at once”, Anthony explains.

On a day-to-day basis Anthony looks after all of the Richmond FC social media, like Twitter, Facebook and youtube, the official Richmond Football Club website, three weekly newsletters for members, forums, videos and photos.

Anthony has two interns come in once a week to help produce videos for the Richmond FC website. The Richmond footy club posted video internship positions on Twitter and on university job boards. However, Anthony says another intern emailed Richmond FC and they were given a position based on their application.

Anthony tries to make his interns experience at Richmond FC as enjoyable as possible, because of his own experience as an intern.

“I try to get them to meet the players, or get them into some behind the scenes areas they wouldn’t normally get into. We can’t afford to give these guys a wage but we try and say thanks with tickets, merchandise, etc where we can.”

Anthony’s advice to students looking to intern at a sport organisation recommends using social media as a way to create your expert online identity. He says using Twitter, LinkedIn and having a blog can help students network and connect with organisations that they want to work for in the future.

But most of all, Anthony recommends getting out there and putting your degree into practice by interning.

“[I] can’t stress enough how much I think it helps you elevate yourself from your competitors for that dream job,” Says Anthony. “You need to not only know the right people but once you’re there you need to know your stuff too, get as much real work experience as you can because that is what will stay on your resume forever. And while everyone has their different stories, I wouldn’t be working where I am today without my two stops interning.”

You can follow Anthony and Richmond Football Club on Twitter. You can also connect with Anthony on his LinkedIn profile.
 

Anthony also has a blog called Sports Spiel, that organises the Digital Sport Summit, Australia’s premiere sport and digital media event.

For students wanting to apply to intern at the Digital Sport Summit, please email info@digitalsport.com.au