We spoke to Hannah Bond, who works with our friends at Bookouture – a global digital publisher of all kinds of commercial fiction that is part of Hachette UK. She shares with us her top tips for getting into the publishing industry

1. Do your research

If you’re applying for a job at a publishing house, learn as much about them as you possibly can before you write your cover letter. You’ll find plenty on their website, but also look at the Twitter feeds (most people in publishing are on Twitter…) of key people from the organisation to see what books they are excited about and what authors they’ve been signing. You should know all the big hitters for the company you’re applying to work at.

2. Be specific

Armed with all that excellent research, use it in your application and, if you reach the interview stage, in person. After you’ve read as much as you can about the company, explain to them why you want to work for them – whether that’s because you like the kind of books they publish, or think your transferable skills would be a good fit. Don’t just say you’ve always loved books – talk about things that the company has published that you love, and why. Never, ever use the same cover letter for more than one job application: if your cover letters could work for more than one job, you’re not being specific enough when you write them.

3. Be yourself

Lots of the people applying for publishing jobs have the same sorts of skills and experience, so you need to think about what you can use to make your application stand out from the pack. You might be fresh out of college and feel like you don’t have any interesting experience to bring to the table, but even if you haven’t got very far in your career yet, you’ll still have passions and opinions – let those shine through. Think about transferable skills you might have, even if those are from a Saturday job at a supermarket or running a society at university. Highlight the things that are going to make you attractive to this role, rather than focussing on the usual buzzwords like ‘team player’ without evidence.

4. Be passionate – and let it show!

Hopefully, you’re applying for a job in publishing because you’re really keen to work in the industry. Make sure the people assessing your application know that! Don’t be afraid to be excited and enthusiastic: publishing is a fairly informal industry, and it’s definitely appropriate to let your personality shine through. The hiring manager will be looking for someone genuinely keen to work at their company.

5. Be open-minded

There are lots of fascinating areas of publishing and more great jobs available than people realise. Even if, ultimately, you’re sure you want to work in Publicity, for example, don’t let that stop you from considering entry-level roles in, say, Contracts, Sales, or Production. Those areas of the business are less visible, so fewer people know about them and apply for them, but they are excellent ways to get into the publishing industry and will give you lots of transferable skills and knowledge of how the company works that will put you in an advantageous position when that next job comes up. You might even find you love the area you start in and don’t want to leave! In the same vein, even if your goal is to work for a big trade publisher, look at smaller publishers, academic publishers, and agencies when you’re starting out too.

You could also consider working in a different industry and then moving sideways. If you want to work in Marketing, for example, you could always look to get an entry-level marketing role in another industry, then apply for Marketing jobs in publishing when you have more experience.

6. Make the most of every opportunity

People in publishing are, generally, really friendly and happy to answer questions and chat to people who want to get into the industry. If there’s someone you really admire on Twitter, drop them a message and ask if you can email them or have a chat on the phone about their role. If a publishing house is running a talk or an event, go along if you can and talk to the people running it about the place they work. If you manage to get an internship or work experience, talk to everyone around you and soak up as much knowledge as possible.

7. Don’t get disheartened

Getting into publishing can be tough: it’s a competitive industry and it’s not unusual for there to be hundreds of applications for every position. It might take you a while to get that first job, but don’t give up if it’s what you really want to do. If you’re not getting through to interview stage, it’s a sign your cover letters and CV need work. If you’re getting through to interview stage regularly but not getting the job in the end, make sure you ask your interviewers for specific feedback – they will be happy to give it. As you refine your applications, you might get to the stage when you hear that you’re a really strong applicant, but someone else pipped you to the post: that means it’s just a matter of time, and at some point, everything will click and you’ll be the right person for a position.

It is evident that young people from under-represented communities are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic; more likely to be furloughed, have work canceled or postponed; more likely to be affected by the COVID virus itself, and more likely to be impacted by the longstanding structural inequality within the creative industries. Now more than ever there is a need for diverse voices to be heard and amplified. As a sector that aims to represent society, the creative industries have a responsibility to address this issue.

If you’re serious about becoming a diverse workplace is this explicitly stated in your core values? Diversity is not an add-on, it is at the heart of your brand culture.

Look at your data; can you attract, recruit, develop and retain underrepresented workers? Watch out for micro inequities in existing teams. Are there patterns to who is included and whoʼs being left behind? Where there are weaknesses, figure out why and what you can do to solve this.

Conduct regular anonymous surveys, determine where your short comings are, and respond to feedback. Gaining insight on how to improve your workplace from employees is a crucial step towards diversity.

Discuss the challenges and solutions, hold your company accountable to your targets and ensure momentum is maintained over time.

Be transparent about what change you want to achieve, over what period of time, and how you will be accountable. Book in regular review meetings.

Change your hiring process so you are actively recruiting from under-represented communities. Avoid hiring by word of mouth. Advertise opportunities across a range of platforms to enable a broader range of candidates to find your role and apply.

Review your website, job descriptions, imagery and language used to make sure youʼre as welcoming to all. Mix up who you follow on social media and which places you post to.

Invest in your team; support their retention and progression. Encourage staff forums and offer support structures and opportunities for sponsorship and mentoring. Ensure reasonable adjustments to make sure workers with disabilities, or physical or mental health conditions, aren’t substantially disadvantaged when applying for roles and doing their jobs.

Help people to understand the benefits of a diverse workforce, identify and overcome their unconscious biases and become allies. Become a role model and take personal responsibility for leading change. Invite external speakers and set up industry related networking opportunities to hear new perspectives which challenge your thinking.

Workers from all backgrounds should feel comfortable in their workplace. Recognise and celebrate special days in the calendar to make every team member feel seen and included.

Any organisations wishing to collaborate with Creative Access on delivering the above can contact the team here.

We caught up with our former intern-turned Economics reporter at The Telegraph, Lizzy Burden, to learn about her journey into newspaper journalism and hear her top tips for getting started in the industry.

Filipina-English by birth, Lizzy has lived all over the world, having worked as a fashion model for eight years before becoming a journalist, including walking the fashion weeks of New York, London, Milan and Paris. She’s now economics reporter at The Telegraph, with a focus on international trade. She covers protectionism in the Covid-19 crisis, developments in the post-Brexit ‘Global Britain’ project and trade wars between the world’s biggest economies.

Head to our YouTube channel to listen to Lizzy’s top tips or read them below…

Hello, I’m Lizzy Burden, Economics reporter at The Telegraph. I started my career as a Creative Access intern at The Times, so I wanted to share with you a few things that I’ve learned along the way.

When I did The Times internship on the home and foreign news desks, I had no experience in journalism except on my student paper, so it was during those six weeks that I learned to write a news story. I started off turning copy from wires like Reuters into Times-style stories, and then graduated onto writing my own stories that editors would ask me to write, maybe following up on something another paper had written to find a new angle, or turning a press release into a story. Then I was sent out to cover stories like the Salisbury poisoning and Notting Hill carnival, and finally I started pitching my own news to editors. I loved feeling like I was at the helm of what was happening in the world and being around all the savagely witty characters of the newsroom, and I decided that I didn’t want to leave.

I applied for funding from the journalism diversity fund to complete a fast-track NCTJ which is where I learned short-hand media law and more about writing journalistically. Not spending a whole year on a masters meant I could get back to the newsroom faster, which I found much more beneficial than sitting in a classroom, and during the course I was constantly keeping an eye on the next step. As soon as I finished, I did another two internships at Reuters and Bloomberg, then worked as a producer at the BBC on the daily politics programme, and at the same time I would do night shifts as a reporter with The Times. I was knackered. Then I joined The Times as a grad trainee, where I rotated through the Glasgow office on the Scottish edition of the paper, the business desk and the sub editing team.

I then moved to The Telegraph, where I am an economics reporter specialising in trade, which I love, because my beat sits at the intersection of business, foreign and politics. When I arrived, the biggest issues of the day were Brexit and the US-China trade war, and now I’m covering the biggest economic crisis in centuries, so I really do feel hugely privileged to do what I do.

Applying my experiences to you, here are my six tips on starting your career as a newspaper journalist:

1. Read widely. Even the papers you don’t agree with, even the sections you find boring, and even the news in brief.
2. Be open minded – because you don’t know what could suit you until you try it. I didn’t realise how much I’d love financial journalism at first, but what I discovered at Bloomberg was that I really like how it has a quantifiable impact.
3. Constantly push to level up. If you’re doing work experience, try to turn it into an internship. And if you’re doing an internship, try to turn it into shifts or a grad scheme. Never sit twiddling your thumbs. Come armed with ideas for stories, ask how to improve them if they get rejected, volunteer to help other reporters, ask them where they get stories, look at the news to see if you can follow up on anything. Just always find ways to add value so that you’re remembered. Then at the end, ask what other opportunities are available and ask specifically what you need to do to get onto that next step. Then when you leave, keep in touch.
4. Break news. Getting scoops seems like luck, but you need to make your own luck to be in the right place at the right time for a tip off. For instance, ring a source quoted by a rival paper and go for a coffee. Find out what’s going on with them and check in regularly. You might wonder where to start if you don’t have a beat yet. When I was on the business desk at The Times as part of the grad scheme, I wasn’t assigned a specific patch to cover, so I made myself one. The retail editor had just left, so I targeted retail stories until they found a replacement for her. And when the new retail editor arrived, the market reporter job was empty, so I volunteered to do that. And if all the beats are taken, look at a rival newspaper and pick a beat your paper doesn’t have covered yet. Make yourself indispensable.
5. Breaking news is about being first, which means being organised. For example, make twitter lists and subscribe to other people’s lists so you can keep abreast of the current debates in different areas. Put your calls in early as soon as you set a story, so people have time to get back to you well before your deadline. If you’re waiting to cover a speech, write a template with as much other detail as you can beforehand, and keep a diary. And finally, perhaps the hardest lesson of all…
6. Be okay with conflict. Newsrooms are full of strong characters who will respect you more if you stand up for yourself when you need to. Pick your battles, but never let anyone walk all over you, because people will push you as far as you’ll let them. Work hard, but learn to say no.

You can follow Lizzie on Twitter at @LizzzBurden

Have a publishing interview coming up but have no clue what to expect? We caught up with our former Harlequin UK intern – turned Head of Zeus Commissioning Editor, and now the Editorial Director for Orion Books, Rhea Kurien, to ask her about her top tips for acing those interview questions…

1. Tell me a little about yourself and your experience to date.

They ask this 9 times out of 10, so do think carefully about how you present yourself. Try and be succinct and tailor your answer to the job you’re applying for. It’s a question that trips a lot of people up, so it’s worth practising this one out loud so you don’t blank when asked.

2. Why do you want to work for us?

Be specific – show them that you know their list, have read their biggest books and are keeping abreast of what exciting things they are doing. Don’t just read their website (websites are usually out of date), really study their social media feeds and search for articles about them on The Bookseller. What are they doing that you feel really passionately about?

3. What have you read recently and really loved?

If you’re fresh out of university, I know it can be difficult to think of any books beyond what you read on your course. However, to work in publishing (especially editorial, marketing and PR), it is crucial that you have read books that have been published in the last year or so. Go into bookshops and see what books are charting, compare that to the kind of books that are featured in supermarkets, look at the Kindle bestsellers on Amazon as often as you can, and then read read read.

Here is a chance to showcase that you have read books on their list, do try and read a couple of their big books of the last couple of months.

4. What is a recent marketing campaign that really stood out to you, and why?

This will depend entirely on which area of publishing you’re looking to go into e.g. commercial, literary or academic. A couple of stand out campaigns for commercial fiction in the last year or so are Candice Carty-Williams’ Queenie and Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare. Lots of pre-publication buzz, a really standout and high concept package, great endorsements from other authors and trade publications, lots of visibility both digitally and on the ground e.g. tube advertisements for Queenie at Brixton station. A similar non-fiction example is Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women. With literary fiction, two examples are Margaret Atwood’s Testaments and Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light (did you see when they placed the Wolf Hall Tudor rose emblem on a billboard in Leicester Square?).

You don’t have to use an example from the publisher you’re applying to – they want to know you know the wider market.

4. Why should I consider hiring you?/What makes you the right candidate for this role?

Here, you want to do the same thing you should have done for your cover letter: refer to the job description. Pick out key phrases from this, boring but important things like good at meeting deadlines, managing conflicting priorities, good people skills, and yes, ultimately, that you love and are excited by the idea of seeing a book from concept to finished product.

5. What have been your major achievements to date?

This doesn’t always come up, but if it does, don’t be afraid. It doesn’t have to be work-related, you can talk about something you did at university or something you achieved outside of work or study. Having other interests is a good thing, and having an example that shows you are capable of taking initiative is even better.

6. Any questions?

Always prepare at least three questions for this. You want the interview to be a conversation. Something I always like to ask is which books the interviewers are really excited about publishing this year.

Competency-based questions

With entry-level positions, there is really only so much they can quiz you about the industry. For the most part, if you’ve got to the interview stage, they already think you’re qualified. They just want to know if your work style will fit in with their team. That’s where competency-based questions come in, things like ‘give me an example of when you had to juggle conflicting priorities’ or ‘tell me about a time that you had to handle a difficult client’. This guide will help you construct your answers in this format: the situation, the obstacle you had to overcome, your strategy, and the (successful) outcome.

Your examples can be from situations you faced at university, any part-time jobs, or even previous internships. It doesn’t matter, the important thing is that you highlight that you know how to handle difficult situations. Publishing is all about working to really tight deadlines, working with lots of different people, and multi-tasking so show them you can do these things.

Final tips for interviews

Be your amazing and authentic self, make good eye contact, smile and be enthusiastic about being there, drink water when your mouth gets dry, don’t panic if you need a minute to think about your answer before you reply, and thank them for their time.

Khaleda Rahman has come so far since her internship with Creative Access in 2013. She has worked across the world in offices in London, New York and Sydney, but one thing she has noticed consistently is the diversity problem in journalism. Khaleda shares some of her own experiences with us…

Walking into an unfamiliar newsroom for the first time is daunting for any new journalist, I’m sure—but it’s even more so when you realise you’re one of very few people of colour there.

As a freshly qualified journalist, I secured an internship with a local London newspaper through Creative Access. I’m incredibly thankful that I was able to learn the ropes at a small weekly newspaper so when I made the leap to the nationals and found myself walking into newsroom after newsroom where I was in the minority in the years that followed, I was a much more confident journalist.

Over the past six or so years, I’ve worked at the Birmingham Mail and the Scottish Daily Mail while on the MailOnline graduate scheme and then went to work in MailOnline’s offices in London, New York and Sydney. After a stint as a foreign news reporter back in London, I decided to go freelance and move to Los Angeles. I’m now based back in the U.K. as a reporter for Newsweek.

I’ve been lucky enough to live and work in some of the greatest cities in the world and work on some of the biggest news stories in recent years—the 2016 presidential election, ISIS and “Megxit” to name just a few.

But one thing I’ve noticed everywhere I’ve worked is the lack of diversity. It’s not just an issue in UK newsrooms, but also in the US and Australia.

Don’t just take my word for it—there are plenty of statistics that speak for themselves. According to the National Council for the Training of Journalists, 94 percent of journalists in the UK are white and it is 87 percent in the US. Research in the US also found that employees in newsrooms are more likely to be white and male than anywhere else in the country. In Australia, newsrooms are overwhelmingly white and a recent study found that more than a third of hard news stories reflect negatively on minority communities.

That lack of ethnic diversity is most glaring when stories related to race have made headlines, whether it’s about politics or terrorism. It’s clear there’s a problem when mainstream news outlets misidentify prominent people of color or someone like the BBC’s Naga Munchetty is unfairly penalised for voicing her experience of racism when speaking about racist comments made by Donald Trump. And of course, there’s the specific kind of coverage of the Duchess of Sussex that some have claimed is fuelled by racism, while others insist has nothing to do with her skin colour.

In my years in journalism, I’ve had an editor suggest I would have an easier time securing job interviews if I Anglicised my name on my CV. I’ve had another confuse me for the only other brown woman in the office. I’ve seen the surprise on the faces of colleagues when I’ve told them I’m Muslim. And sometimes, I’ve had to strongly push back on headlines that I feel are unnecessarily inflammatory or biased.

But when it comes to these kinds of things, it can be challenging to have your voice heard. Speak too loud and you’ll be accused of “playing the race card.” Say nothing and it keeps happening. Sometimes you might feel it’s better to pick your battles as you always have a job to be getting on.

The onus shouldn’t be on the few people of color in newsrooms to educate their colleagues, especially if they’re in more junior positions.

Of course, more people of color should be recruited into newsrooms but tokenism in the workplace won’t make a big enough difference. They should also be recruited into more senior roles and changes should be made at the top.

Newsrooms should reflect the communities and demographics they represent, and it’s disheartening to say that almost a decade after I started on my path to become a journalist, there’s still a long way to go.

Journalists from diverse backgrounds can add so much value to newsrooms today and ensure reporting is more accurate and comprehensive. While it can be a tough road at times, the job is also an incredibly rewarding one. Over the past few years, I’ve had the chance to pursue some of the stories I feel most passionate about, including revealing the identity of a jihadi bride from Scotland, speaking to a Saudi teenager who fled the kingdom and barricaded herself in a hotel in Bangkok Airport and interview a man who survived the mosque shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand.

There are plenty of stories like these that need to be told and we are the ones who should tell them.

You can follow Khaleda on Twitter at @Khaleda

Forming a relationship online or over the phone is not always straightforward, so how do you create an effective and fruitful virtual mentoring partnership?

We’re so grateful for our team of brilliantly committed and encouraging mentors. We’d thought we’d share a collection of resources and guidance for both our mentors and mentees to help with connecting remotely.

For mentors

• Mentoring is such a powerful tool, through the ups and the downs, allowing time for reflection, supporting with structure and to help put things in perspective. Drawing on your professional experience to date, you can support by providing a sense of grounding and long-term view.

• Of course, there’s pros and cons to mentoring virtually as opposed to face-to-face and it’s important to acknowledge that whilst it may be more flexible, it may be more challenging to develop a trusting relationship. That said, and as long as you’re able to overcome any technical issues… it could actually inspire more relaxed and creative conversations away from both of your workplace settings.

• For early career professionals who are often the newest members of the team, it can be harder to sustain meaningful relationships with colleagues whilst on furlough and/or working from home. This could lead to feeling lonely or out of touch with the rest of their organisation. The simple act of checking in by sending a text message or brief email to your mentee asking how they are doing can go a long way.

• It’s important to be mindful that the COVID-19 pandemic may trigger trauma for young people. The National Mentoring Partnership in the US provides a practical resource for mentors.

For mentees

• Your mentor might be going through a very challenging time in their personal and/or professional life, remember to ask how they are and whether they’re able to connect remotely. Good mentees are considerate, respectful and can work within their mentor’s schedule.

• It is still important to prepare for a virtual meet up with your mentor, in order to maximise your time together. You might find it helpful to identify some recent accomplishments to share, think about a challenge you’d like to work through together and remember to be specific with how your mentor could help.

• Like many of us, you might be feeling worried and stressed and it can feel difficult adjusting. It’s important to remember that this situation will pass and we will get through it together, we’ve written a helpful blog post on managing your mental health during the coronavirus crisis.

For both

• Successful mentoring takes two and it can also take time and generosity to develop. The relationship must be managed and nurtured, we think the key elements of successful mentoring remain the same when connecting remotely.

• Remember to have fun, it’s ok to have a laugh and talk about something you did at the weekend, enjoyed watching on the TV or baked for the first time. Sometimes it can be helpful to take breaks from more serious conversations. And remember not to judge yourself by pre-pandemic standards, we’re living in unprecedented times!

Also sending a massive thank you for all your efforts, we hope you both continue to learn from a mutually beneficial mentoring relationship. Diverse voices are still very much needed within the creative sector, and mentoring is such an important strand of our work to achieving our vision where Britain’s creative industries truly reflect our society.

In part one of our feature on mentoring, Hannah Telfer, a Managing Director at a leading publisher, reflects on what she both takes from and brings to the mentoring partnership…

Somehow, in the formal language of mentors and mentees, we struggle to convey the real value that comes from two people, at different stages of their careers but equally passionate, spending time together and listening to each other.

Chemistry is everything in a successful mentoring relationship and it’s critical to ask at the start if you’re the right match – and to be pragmatic about walking away if the answer is no.

But if you think you can help, do. I’ve been fortunate to be mentored at various stages of my career and every time it’s helped me to think more clearly, to consider a different way forward and to be bolder. And every mentee I’ve worked with has reminded me what it’s like to navigate those first years of your career. It’s made me more empathetic with my own team. And it’s given me invaluable insight into what matters to a generation that does, sometimes, think differently to my own.

Now, as the head of a large team with broad expertise, I can better see the benefits of our differences but also the common ground; the places where we all unite and from which we build.

Let’s face it a little emotional intelligence goes a long way but it can be hard to develop in the maelstrom of the workplace. Conversations between mentors and mentees often path the way for the tough conversations that need to be had at work. They offer the safe space to test out approaches and explore scenarios. These are the places to broaden horizons, check biases and build confidence. A chance to sharpen points and soften delivery, bringing clarity and impact where it’s needed most.

Like every good relationship, it’s worth spending time in the first conversation agreeing what both parties want to achieve. What’s the breakthrough your mentee really wants to make? And to be upfront about the time commitment each can give. Will you meet every month for breakfast? Every 6 weeks for an hour? Perhaps the most valuable question to answer at the outset is how long you’ll work together. Somehow, it’s easier to agree 6 meetings over 6 months, and then to extend for a couple more, than it is to keep your commitment open-ended. Often there is a natural conclusion to your conversations; a mentee comes to their decision that it’s time to move on, they secure their brave next step, or take control of a difficult work situation.

Now, as I celebrate with my current mentee the job offer that will take her on an exciting new path, I’m exhilarated. We’ll work together until she’s settled in her new company and then it will be time to move on. I wonder who I’ll meet next? And what we’ll learn from each other.

Hannah Telfer, Managing Director, Audiences & Audio, Penguin Random House UK

Twitter: @HTelfer1
LinkedIn

If you are interested in becoming a mentor to a Creative Access alumni please follow this link to fill out a partnership form and we will do our best to match you as soon as possible.

Our former intern, Caroline Carpenter, has succeeded in forging a career which combines both her love of writing and love for books. She tells us about her journey to date and gives some sound advice for those wanting to follow in her footsteps…

I have worked at The Bookseller – a trade magazine for the publishing industry – since getting a year-long internship there through Creative Access in 2013. I’m now in the role of Web Editor, which involves carrying out web production duties, including uploading news stories and features to The Bookseller’s website, sending out email newsletters and running the company’s social media channels. I also chair our YA Book Prize, an award for the best book for teenagers by an author from the UK or Ireland. I sometimes write content such as author interviews for our weekly print magazine and website too.

From a very young age, I wanted to be an author. When it came to applying for university, my parents were a little worried about the lack of a clear career path that comes with an English degree (my dad had also studied English at university). They briefly tried to persuade me to continue with Law, which I studied did an A Level in and enjoyed, but were not surprised when I stuck to my guns and they’ve supported my career throughout.

Before landing my internship, I studied English and Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. When I first graduated, I gained work experience in an administrative role. I then did a few placements at publishing houses and as a result, I had the opportunity to write a book (‘A Guide to the Hunger Games‘). After that, I worked in the advertising department of a newspaper company for a year.

I was attracted to this role because I have always loved reading and writing, which inspired me to want a career in book publishing. Working at The Bookseller offered me the chance to learn a lot about the trade and to write for a living. From the start, my workmates at The Bookseller made me feel a valued part of the team – in fact, many of them didn’t even realise that I was an intern!

The best thing about my job is that it allows me to be at the centre of the publishing industry and to keep up-to-date with the latest news. I get to attend lots of book launches and events, meet authors (interviewing one of my heroes Malorie Blackman was a particular highlight!) and get sent free books before they are released. I’ve also had the opportunity to travel abroad for work and to speak on stage at events such as the Hay Festival and the Southbank Centre’s YA Literature Weekender. Above all, my work on projects such as the YA Book Prize has encouraged more people to be excited about books, which is incredibly rewarding.

In your applications, try to meet the criteria laid out in the job description and reflect the language used in it. Spend time crafting covering letters and proofreading them. Research the company you are applying for thoroughly before an interview.

• Whether it’s applying for work experience placements, building up a writing portfolio, working at a bookshop on the weekend, or writing a blog about the books you love, make sure that you show your passion somehow.
• Consider whether you want to do further study. There are lots of Publishing MA courses available at universities across the country now. For journalism roles, some employers require you to have NCTJ qualification.
• Don’t just apply for editorial jobs! Everyone in publishing starts out wanting to be an editor so these roles are incredibly competitive. Publishing companies have a vast range of roles available from HR to publicity so think about what suits your strengths best and don’t limit your applications.
• Get on Twitter – a lot of publishing people are on here and roles are also advertised here (good accounts to follow are @JobsinBooks, @inspiredselection, @pubinterns and @_CreativeAccess, of course!).

In the future, I’d like to still be working in the book trade in a role where I can use my creativity to help books reach more readers. I don’t have a dream job title in mind – maybe I’ll create my own one!

You can follow Caroline on Twitter at @CarolineC1988

Want to know how an internship in music can take you to running your own business? We caught up with former Creative Access intern, Darren Blair to hear about his internship, what he is up to now and what some of his plans are for the future.

Darren was interested in getting into the music industry and in 2015, secured an internship with I’m Not From London in Nottingham. The company promote events, gigs, parties and festivals, run two record labels and are also a registered music publisher.

“It’s sometimes harder when you don’t live in London as well” he tells us, “to find opportunities in the industry, that’s why it was great to find this in the East Midlands.”

We asked Darren to tell us a little about his experience at the record label, “I really enjoyed it. It allowed me to progress and get the good experience on my CV. It was essentially my first foot through the door. Creative Access made the process a lot easier and it was great to have the support from an organisation who genuinely understands the complications and discrimination within the industry.” He continues:

Darren clearly made a great impression on the company too! His line manager from I’m Not From London said: “Darren was an asset to us as I believe he will be wherever he decides to go to next. Creative Access was a great help to our business providing an extra person to help us grow in what was our busiest year so far to also teaching us the skills of man management, HR and how to most effectively teach and utilise an employee’s talents. We couldn’t recommend Creative Access enough to companies wanting to expand both their business and increase skills.”

Since his internship, Darren has not only stayed firmly within music and events, he has also now started his own freelance business. Under the name, ‘Darren Blair – Music Business Management’ he now works for himself in all areas of event management. Darren launched the business last November and by March already had his first major contract.

One of the major things Darren advises to people interested in the music industry is the need to learn as much as possible about as many roles as possible. He says “with events – it isn’t all about qualifications. What you need is experience”.

Darren now works for up to ten companies from Festival stages to arenas such as Wembley and Cardiff and some jobs even involving living on tour buses for long periods of time.

Having come so far already in such a short space of time, we asked what the future holds for Darren, he told us “my main aim is to be a tour manager, whether it is UK, Europe or international. I want to be responsible for the crew”

The fast pace definitely suits him and Darren shows absolutely no signs of wanting it to slow down. Follow Darren on Instagram and Facebook keep up to date with his impressive work!

Will Robinson, Managing Director of I’m not from London tells us his recipe for a successful career in the music industry…

There are far too many egos in music already and if you’re in the industry side you may have to deal with a lot of artist’s expectations and demands. You need to be able to get on with people and keep yourself grounded. You can be assertive without being a bully, you can be confident without being arrogant and you can be relaxed without being slack. You never know who the person you are talking to is connected to or where they will be in the future.

The more experience you can gain in this industry the better. The good people will stay in the industry a long time, so knowing and having worked with people in the past means your network will be all the bigger for starting earlier. Like many other creative industries, people prefer to work with people they know.

Jump in feet first, you’ll learn by your mistakes and if those mistakes are spent with your own money, you’ll learn incredibly quickly and hopefully you won’t repeat the mistake! If you have no connections, get stuck in and show you’re not afraid of hard work and getting your hands dirty and doors will start opening for you.

The industry has so many jobs attached to it, lawyers, labels, artists, sound techs, publishers, DJ’s, producers, roadies, tour managers, promoters, publicists, accountants, make up artists, stylists, video directors, drivers etc. The more of these skills you can learn the better. Sometimes one income stream may slow down for some reason, so being able to turn your hand to something else which is still linked to your industry means you are not reliant on that one way of making money.

Listen to people and take in what they are saying, it might give you a fresh perspective on a situation. People naturally like to pass their wisdom on and it’s good to have a few “mentors”: people ahead of you in the game that you can call on for advice.

If you plan for the worst, you won’t be disappointed or taken by surprise when disaster strikes. Festival and concert/gig planning for example rely on so many different groups of people and sets of circumstances and there’s always something that may go wrong. Having a contingency plan and a back up will give you some peace of mind that you have a strategy should things go awry. The same goes for budgeting; it’s best to leave some over for costs that you didn’t plan for needing.

If you’re serious about a career in the music business, understand that it will be hard, competitive and for a while may be financially less than your ideal wage. You may have to volunteer your services for free until professionals value you enough to pay you. Think of it as a long game and concentrate on building your contacts, knowledge and reputation.

Despite what they say, business is personal. Sometimes it’s better to take a walk around the block than reply to someone with a furious ranty email which could take the situation to a place where a problem can’t be resolved. Try not to hold too much of a grudge for the simple reason that you may need to call on that person again. If you can try and stay above all the negativity in these situations you can come out the bigger person.

If you’re about to start work with someone, or partner on a new project, try and make it official. Time is precious and working on a project for an extended period of time without commitment from the other party can be stressful. It’s good to approach these conversations as partnership contracts or agreements, laying out what you all agree on and expect from each other. The earlier you can get things agreed on legally and financially in writing, the sooner you can get on with the fun creative stuff as a team.

Confucious said “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”.

If you’re making headway in your career, remember to enjoy it.

If you’re not happy, you’re probably not as productive as you could be so work hard of course but remember to be able to switch off every now and again. Consider yourself lucky and stay positive.

A love of music and community lead Will to become a music promoter. He chose the name I’m not from London as a reaction to the then London-centric nature of the industry. INFL’s continuing mission is to educate, nurture and champion the talents of those involved in the business & art of music on either side of the microphone.

Kavita Puri works in BBC TV Current Affairs, and is the Editor of Our World the award-winning foreign affairs documentary series. She is also the presenter of Radio 4 programmes, her next series Partition Voices is out this summer. Here she outlines her top ten tips to getting started in journalism.

Journalism is an incredibly fulfilling career but there are many easier ways to earn a living. You have to feel passionately about what you are doing. Be prepared for unsociable hours. If you still want to be a journalist, read on…

1. Make opportunities. Don’t be afraid to ask people for coffee at a place you want to work. Be persistent but polite if you don’t get an initial response, it shows tenacity. Do your homework before a meeting. Know what it is you are asking – is it work experience, advice on the industry, or pitching ideas? It’s vital to have watched the output, and have something to say about it.
2. While you are waiting for an internship or job – blog, make short films, post your videos – show prospective employees what it is you can do, how you write, and what your views are.
3. Get your foot in the door. Ask for a day of work experience and make sure that day lasts a week, a month, a year….and becomes something more concrete.

5. Identify people who could be your mentor. People are always happy to give advice. Make sure to keep up with them.
6. Keep a note of all your contacts on stories, it can lead to future stories.
7. Look around you. Stories are everywhere. And read widely, not just the papers lying around the office.
8. Be pro-active and volunteer to work on stories and events, even if it means staying late or coming in on your days off.
9. Be up to date with technology, if you can shoot, edit and write you will be in demand!
10. Even if you don’t feel confident, act it. Remember everyone was an intern once. Soon someone will be asking to meet you for advice.

Good luck

You can follow Kavita on Twitter at @kavpuri and @BBCOurWorld

Congratulations! You’ve graduated. You’ve had that final blowout with your uni mates; your parents have hung up your graduation photo; and it’s time to enter the world of work.

Applying for a job has changed so much in 20 years. When I graduated you had to print off a letter, stick a stamp on an envelope and then wait a week for an application form you had to hand-write. Today, you sit in bed, finding email addresses, cutting and pasting your cover letter and attaching your CV, and emailing prospective employers. But do you ever hear back from these employers? I’d be surprised if you did – if you haven’t bothered to find out my name, and research us, why should I do anything more than hit delete within five seconds of opening your email?

So my advice is to start six months before you graduate and to look at five or ten companies you want to work for.

So you have to make it your business to get to know those organisations – their staff, their clients, their campaign successes, and their industry awards. Email a mid-ranking member of the team and follow-up with a call within 24 hours. Offer to buy them a coffee at lunchtime (of course they’ll be so flattered to have been asked that they’ll pay for the coffee). Replay your research on the company, congratulate them on their successes, find out when their graduate programme is opening or find out if they hire ad hoc grads, even for short-term placements.

Of course getting your first position doesn’t mean life gets any easier. But you’re young and ambitious; have bundles of energy; no money but loads of time on your hands. You are at the prime of your life – the decisions you make now can define the rest of your career. It’s time to work hard!

So earwig conversations, read the report your colleague asked you to photocopy – if it’s important to them, it’s important to you – ask to sit-in on meetings, and be proactive in seeking opportunities to make the most of this first job.

A few asides. It’s time to start learning – read the Financial Times every day, read The Economist weekly, and flick through a tabloid newspaper periodically. Change what you listen to on your iPhone – download podcasts and listen to these. You don’t need to spend £2.70 a day on the FT, but you can listen to their podcasts for free. Set aside an hour on Sundays to read the comment and analysis pages of the broadsheets and to watch a TED talk.

John Lehal is Managing Director of Insight Consulting Group. He tweets at @JohnLehal