Amanda Doellinger
Publicist, Brisbane Powerhouse
Written by Rebecca Smith on 2011-10-20
Amanda Doellinger is the Publicist for Brisbane Powerhouse and has also worked for Queensland Theatre Company as Publicity and Communications Coordinator. She has a Bachelor of Creative Industries majoring in Public Relations from QUT. Amanda has also undertaken Youth Arts Queensland’s Young Artist Mentoring Program in addition to working as the Marketing Coordinator for 2high Festival 2006 and participating in other arts events and festivals.
Do you offer internships / work-experience?
Yes. We currently have two marketing and communications interns in the team which has been great.
What do you find is the most common mistake a graduate can make?
I do not think I would call it a ‘mistake’ but graduates can quite heavily rely on theory and not their own personal communication skills.
PR focuses on developing and maintaining relationships so it is important to be confident and authentic – pick up the phone and make the pitch, do not always communicate via email. It can be tempting to spend hours crafting a pitch and email/posting it off but you are more likely to make an impression if you call the person, as you can adapt the pitch in relation to their response.
Plans are important however when dealing with media flexibility and seizing opportunities is more important – when you have a great story or angle which is time sensitive you need to move fast.
What are some misconceptions about hiring graduates? How important are GPA’s?
GPAs are important for many employers but work experience is very important – did you do volunteer work? Assist in a friend’s business? Undertake a secondment? A good GPA combined with industry experience is more impressive than a perfect GPA and no or little work experience. Particularly in the arts industry it is expected that graduates and job applicants for marketing and PR roles have spent time in the industry as a volunteer or doing smaller projects as there are many opportunities available.
If someone could have given you one piece of advice at the beginning of your career, what should it have been?
Learn to multitask.
What are the significant steps you took in creating the career you have today?
Finding great mentors and doing as much volunteer work as I could at university.
What are the largest challenges with dealing with the media and artists?
At the moment it is connecting with artists who live overseas – the time difference can be tricky when arranging interviews.
Which parts of your career do you enjoy the most?
Dealing with artists and media is great – I draw my enthusiasm and energy from people. Chatting with artists and finding out all the details of their project – what they hope it will achieve and how they have created it, is always interesting. Also talking to media is great – we can determine what interviews they are after and then exchange ideas on what we thought of recent shows and exhibitions around town. If you ever want to know which is the best show, which restaurant has the best food or even which bar has the biggest cocktail list ask a journalist (particularly arts and entertainment journalists) – they are incredibly informed on all matters.