An Open Letter to University Students

Dear Students,
Your second or third attempt at freshers week is over, I hope it was even more successful than the first time round. You've probably had a chance to meet all your lecturers and had a chance to decide which seminars you will be avoiding. *curse you 9am lectures!*

This is the year that really starts to matter. In most cases, from now on, all of your grades count towards your final result. This is also the time to do all the fun things you always wanted to do because next year all your free time will be spent in 24hr Libraries and cafes trying to squeeze 10000 words into a dissertation.

My best advice that I can give you at this early stage in the year is to get a job. Any job. Preferably one that pays you, probably as a barista or in a shop. Your second year is all about building your CV while you have time and resources on your side.

There isn't a ticket into the job market. A levels, degree, good grade, respectable university, they're all just the building blocks of your CV and you need more. Start demonstrating what you want to do.  If you don't know what to do, do things you like so that your CV reflects who you are. Having that first job or two will give you that much leverage once you graduate.

You might have spent most of your student loan on a bass guitar (you know who you are), but you can still survive on ramen noodles until Christmas. If you can live without a paying job, get an internship or placement in the industry you prefer. Sometimes this is hard to do in your university town.

I know about publishing, because that is what I wanted to do, so I can only advise on that, but it applies to everyone really. I was amazed once I got to London that there were at least three places I could have worked while at uni and I had no idea, because I never looked. Start your research NOW. look for work in your university town and at home.

My greatest regret is that I didn't do more to prepare for the real world while at Uni. Bills, rent, learning to drink jager without dying, all good lessons. But what I really should have been doing is writing for my uni magazine, working in the SU, building a blog! Anything to prove to my employers that I want to be in their industry. In publishing the consistent item on a job description is that the candidate must 'demonstrate their passion for books'. So go demonstrate any way you can.

If there just isnt time between sports, drinking and essays, use the holidays to do internship placements instead of slobbing around in your pjs. Try freelancing if you prefer the flexibility.

I cannot stress how much easier your graduate life will be if you work while at uni.

Good luck with your cover letters!

InternInBooks

A Start In Books

Hi!

This is where I blog about the experience of being an English graduate trying to get a job, the internship journey, and the books I'm reading along the way.  I might also use it to review films, discuss media stories, or anything else I'm interested in. 

I am playing a tough numbers game.  I've worked as an intern in a few different departments and I know that being in the editorial department of a publishing company is where I really want to be. But my main criteria for a job would be to keep me focused and busy and to have books that I want to read at my fingertips. So really as long as I am at a trade publishers, I'll get exposure to that. 

In order to get that dream job, you need experience. Unfortunately earnest desperation doesn't work in publishing and sometimes internships don't work either. I've learnt that you have to be at the right place at the right time, which means choosing the right internships. 

This is the route I've chosen into publishing.  When I started out I asked around my family and my friends and my university to see if anyone could really give me the contact I needed for a job. But almost all my internships have come from my own perseverance and determination.  

I'll go into more detail as the blog develops, there is so much to talk about and I can't wait. I want to show what I am reading and doing and working on and to create a scrapbook of my bookish quarter-life crisis. 

This is me. I'm a publishing intern. And I'm just getting started.

Ch-Ch-Ch CHANGES!

Hey Everyone,

Those of you who follow me on twitter may have noticed a few little tweaks here and there. Yes, finally, I am no longer an intern in books. I thought it was time for a revamp and a change of gear for what I want to do with this blog.

First:
I am now officially Storiesinbooks. Because I still want to be in books, so far in them, wrapped up in them. I just want to read read read. So I will be writing about books and publishing even more, as well as throwing a bit more of my personality into the mix. I want this blog to be about books, but also about me; about my story.

Second:
The colours. I think it is time I grew up out of pink. There might be a rainbow of templates for the next few weeks, as I figure out a more appropriate backdrop, please bare with my design changes!

Third:
I want to work on my own writing. I currently work at a YA story sharing community. Which is incredible, I never thought I would get to work on a site, similar to what I used to write on as a teenager. I would love to show case a bit more of my creative writing on my blog, so look out for that.

I hope that these changes can reflect where I want my blog and also my career to go. The passion that I have for reading and books in general is fantastic. I don't know how I could be happy unless I ensure that my job, and every job after it, is cultural and bookish.

Wish me luck!