Public Affairs

Name: Michael Valvo
Title: Public Affairs
Company: Toyota Australia

I completed my Public Relations degree at the end of 2001 and have since started to develop a career in communications in the automotive industry.

I never really considered working in the automotive industry until I saw an opportunity to join Toyota Australia's graduate program specialising in public affairs.

Upon starting at Toyota, I quickly began to realise the excitement of the automotive industry and the great opportunities it presented.

Communications in the automotive industry is very exciting. Australians love cars and this passion makes the automotive sector a high profile industry.

Working in the public affairs team at Toyota Australia exposes me to many different functions of the company and the industry.

My public affairs role at Toyota Australia involves working with the Public Affairs team and my duties include preparation and distribution of media releases, liaising with media, coordinating information requests from key stakeholders, event management, internal communication writing and preparing presentations and speeches for senior executives.

While I was at university, I gained experience by doing internships with a PR consultancy and within a communications department of a company. I wanted to see if I would prefer working in-house or for a consultancy. Although there are advantages for both, I believed I would be suited to working within a company.

Making the transition to the working world after uni is an interesting experience. You learn more in your first year of work than you do at your entire university course.

The more experience you can gain while at uni the better - putting into practice the theory is the best way to learn.