2014: My Year

I can’t believe that we’ll soon be welcoming another New Year. I don't know about you, but for me, these past 12 months have gone by like a flash! I can safely say that gone are the days of being a newbie grad trying to kick start my career, and instead, it's very much in full swing. Work wise, I’ve got everything that I could have dreamed of having this year. I finally got that new challenge I had been longing for, and I couldn’t be happier.

Undoubtedly, my number one highlight of 2014, is securing my new role as CRM Executive. Despite a couple of teething issues in the initial months, I’m now very much settled in. In the New Year, I know that a lot more challenges will be coming my way, in terms of projects and presentations, but I’m really looking forward to them. I feel as though I’m right where I want to be in my career.

When I reflect on the great year I've had, it's not only because of my career progression, but there are other significant events that have really made my 2014 an amazing one. 
Anyone who follows me on Twitter will probably be familiar with the photos below, but for those that don’t, here are my highlights of 2014...

My Year In Pictures:

March 10^th – Becoming an Aunty for the first time to baby William James

August 17th - Learning a new skill - baking

September 25^th – Signing for the role of CRM Executive at TimeInc UK

October 19th - Stepping outside of my comfort zone - Stealth roller coaster (Thorpe Park)

December 6th - Attending one of my favourite author's Christmas party
 (Carole Matthews) 

December 15^th – Running at an average 4.7 minutes for every 1k

All of the events above have really made my 2014 a very special year, and it certainly comes close to beating my 2012 (when I graduated and secured my first grad role). So I will be heading into the New Year feeling very happy indeed, and who knows, I might even have a better 2015 - if that's even possible?!

Finally, it has been yet another year of writing my blog and I can't believe I've kept it going for this long! I must say a special thank you to anyone who has followed it from the very beginning (back in 2011). Your continued support is much appreciated, and I hope you've found some useful nuggets of wisdom in my blog posts. All I have ever wanted to do is to write something that's thought provoking and inspiring. Thanks for all your lovely emails and testimonials this year. See you in 2015, but until then, I'd like to wish you all a very...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Intern Opportunities: 23 December 2014

Paid internships

• Conde Nast is offering a 4-month paid events internship. 

Graduate opportunities

• Hearst Magazines UK has a vacancy for an editorial assistant, working on Town & Country. 
• Hearst Magazines UK has a vacancy for a fashion assistant working on Town & Country. 
• Little Brown Book Group has a vacancy for a rights assistant. 
• Macmillan has a vacancy for a sales and marketing administrator. 

For more intern opportunities follow me on Twitter @steff_lever

Like Diary of a Publishing Professional on Facebook. 

Intern Opportunities: 16 December 2014

Paid internships

• Telegraph Media Group are offering a 6-month art and entertainment internship. 

Graduate opportunities

• Elle magazine has a vacancy for a fashion assistant. 
• Little Brown Book Group has a vacancy for a rights assistant. 
• Hachette has a vacancy for a digital marketing assistant (deadline today). 
• Penguin has a vacancy for a digital copywriter. 

Opportunity of the week…

Andrew Nurnberg Associates, is offering bright and energetic graduates/under-graduates the opportunity to work within a busy international literary agency, assisting with a wide range of tasks.  This is an ideal position for an enthusiastic candidate with a love of books and an interest in learning the variety of ways in which a typical agency works to support and guide their authors’ careers.

The internships last for 12 weeks and you will work with our agents to gain hands-on experience in selling translation rights and international publishing in general. You should have good administrative skills and a genuine interest in the industry. At least one foreign language would be an advantage.

Internships are unpaid, but there is a contribution of £60 per week towards travel expenses. Working hours are from 9.30 to 5.30 (with an hour for lunch).

If you are interested in the placement, commencing January 2015, please send a copy of your cv and a covering letter to spfannenstiel@nurnberg.co.uk

For more intern opportunities follow me on Twitter @steff_lever

Like Diary of a Publishing Professional on Facebook. 

My Graduate Success: The Journey Continues

I’m going to sound like a broken record as I’m always beginning a new blog post with a phrase about how quickly time has passed, but it’s true, time really is flying by for me! It has been months since my previous blog post. For those who haven’t been keeping up with the diary entries thus far, in my previous post ‘My Graduate Success: The Next Chapter’, I wrote all about my career change as I eagerly awaited the start of my new role as a CRM Executive at Time Inc UK - my fourth role at the company can you believe! It has been quite a journey for me since I started back in June 2012, and luckily it’s still continuing.

I started my new role a few months ago and it has been testing to say the least. Anyone who has been through a change in career might find familiarity in what I’m about to say, because I never envisaged how much of a challenge that a change in career could be. The transition of moving from one job role that you’re comfortable in and know all the ropes, to something that’s completely new and a bit alien, was something I found disconcerting.  It was a feeling that I had never experienced in the workplace before. 

It has been a challenging quarter, and at times I’ve felt like I was on a crash course, trying to learn an abundance of new skills, new software and working with new people. It took a long time to settle down. I would say about two months in total. Honestly, in those first couple of months, I received a lot of feedback that was around development and I was set some challenging objectives. It wasn’t an easy time for me and on reflection, I think I probably put a lot of pressure on myself. There were times where I could have easily thrown the towel in. However, I chose to work hard and to change my perspective, because the feedback I got, although it wasn't best received at first, it has played a crucial role in my development, which I can only be thankful for. Feedback that is positive or not so positive, I now see as a real learning mechanism, and a vehicle for development and progression. 

So over the past few months, despite the challenging moments, I've continued to work hard. I've adjusted my perspective and most of all, I have learnt a lot. A few months in, and I can honestly say that I’m very much settled in my new team. I’m exited for the prospect of more challenges in 2015. Company wise, role wise, career wise - I’m satisfied that I’m exactly where I want to be.      

Intern Opportunities: 10 December 2014

Paid Internships:

• London Evening Standard is offering a paid promotions internship. 
• Tatler magazine is offering a paid fashion internship. 
• Glamour magazine is offering a paid fashion internship. 
• Good Things magazine is offering a paid journalism internship. 

Graduate Vacancies:

• Random House has two vacancies for editorial assistants. 
• Random House has a vacancy for a publicity assistant.  
• Hachette has a vacancy for a digital marketing assistant. 
• Hachette has a vacancy for an editorial assistant. 

Opportunity of the week…

OLDCASTLE BOOKS has a work experience placement available from 5th January 2015 until 31st January 2015. If you’re interested and can attend an interview before Christmas, then click here to apply. 

For more intern opportunities follow me on Twitter @steff_lever

Like Diary of a Publishing Professional on Facebook. 

Intern Opportunities: 02 December 2014

Paid internships

• Penguin is offering a paid editorial internship. 
• GQ is offering a 6-month paid digital internship. 
• Brides magazine is offering a 6-month paid online internship. 

Graduate opportunities

• Random House has a vacancy for a publicity assistant. 
• Penguin has a vacancy for an editorial assistant (Penguin Children’s Media & Entertainment). 
• Penguin has a vacancy for an editorial assistant (Puffin Picture Books). 

For more intern opportunities follow me on Twitter @steff_lever

Like Diary of a Publishing Professional on Facebook.