So last Thursday the publishing department ran a Working in Publishing day where people from the industry, many who are alumni of the course, come in and we students were given a chance to ask them questions about getting jobs.
The day started with the usual housekeeping/welcome talk but then we got down to the job hunting skills. There were 4 workshops run in the morning of which you could attend two. I chose one on prospecting employers and then one on how to write a cover letter because I thought these would go pretty well together. It meant I missed out on interview techniques but a friend filled me in later. The workshops were helpful and gave me a few tips I hadn't thought of before as well as introducing me to publishing recruitment agencies. But basically it comes down to be proactive and get out there finding jobs and make sure you can spell. Pretty sound advice really.
After a quick lunchbreak we began the "speed dating" session where we each got 15 minute slots face to face with some of the professionals. It was chaos
The day started with the usual housekeeping/welcome talk but then we got down to the job hunting skills. There were 4 workshops run in the morning of which you could attend two. I chose one on prospecting employers and then one on how to write a cover letter because I thought these would go pretty well together. It meant I missed out on interview techniques but a friend filled me in later. The workshops were helpful and gave me a few tips I hadn't thought of before as well as introducing me to publishing recruitment agencies. But basically it comes down to be proactive and get out there finding jobs and make sure you can spell. Pretty sound advice really.
After a quick lunchbreak we began the "speed dating" session where we each got 15 minute slots face to face with some of the professionals. It was chaos
as 80 odd students tried to fit into a room with 30 odd tables to talk to the professionals. But that aside it was really good. There were a mix of trade, academic, magazine and not-for-profit publishers there as well as some recruitment agencies and careers advisers so something for everyone.
I managed to speak to:
So a busy afternoon. It was really good to hear from the people who have managed it how they got their jobs and the advice they had for us "trainee professionals". Interesting points I took away were: it's never too early to start job hunting, knowledge of open access is key for getting a job in journals at the minute, start in big companies to get experience and then go into smaller companies higher up and, obviously, networking is key!
I think I've got a lot to be getting on with but I feel a bit more confident about finding a job now. Let's just hope it pays off.
I managed to speak to:
- Wiley Blackwell - about the roles in the editorial department of journals publishing
- Tailor and Francis - about the dos and don'ts of recruitment
- Oxford University Press - about career progression and travel opportunities
- Nature Publishing Group - about open access and my dissertation
- Elsevier - about internships and speaking Dutch
- Cambridge University Press - about international jobs and academic publishing
- BookCareers - about when to apply for jobs
- Oxford Publishing Solutions - about where to apply for jobs and career progression
So a busy afternoon. It was really good to hear from the people who have managed it how they got their jobs and the advice they had for us "trainee professionals". Interesting points I took away were: it's never too early to start job hunting, knowledge of open access is key for getting a job in journals at the minute, start in big companies to get experience and then go into smaller companies higher up and, obviously, networking is key!
I think I've got a lot to be getting on with but I feel a bit more confident about finding a job now. Let's just hope it pays off.
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