How to Get a Job in Publishing Part 9

* If they ask for contact details for four referees? Include!

* If they want only a letter and no CV? Fine!

* If they want 1, 000 words on contemporary magazine publishing? Put time into this and create the absolute best piece of writing you've ever generated. Make it exactly 1, 000 words not 1, 001 or 999, but exactly what they say in the job ad.

* If they ask for salary expectations? Include yours! (This is, by the way, the only time which you should do this.) Give a range, from the lowest you might accept if it were the absolutely perfect job, to the highest you could reasonably aspire to (and don't think that by putting a stupidly high value on yourself you'll get paid that it works the other way, you just won't get the job. Or the interview). See Chapter 16 on how to do a great job interview for more detail on how to handle this.

* If they want job applications only by fax/by e-mail/through their website/using their specific application form? Do exactly what they say in the job ad.

Never a.s.sume they don't really mean it. If it's in the job ad they honestly, honestly do and it's probably a little test to sort out those who read instructions from those who do not. If you were in their shoes, and you had 500 applications to work your way through, and 480 of them had disobeyed your clear, explicit instruction on how to apply, you'd be very pleased, wouldn't you? You're already down to the last 20 ...

Don't make the mistake of disqualifying yourself before the race has even started.

Getting it there A printed CV and letter have most impact. Increasingly, applicants email their CVs. We strongly recommend you don't do this (unless they specify that you should, of course), because you lose control of the quality of print, paper, whether your letter and CV end up together, computer formats and so on. (Here's a single example: varying ages of PCs means your prospective employers may be using a different version of Windows; they may be Mac users and your attachment might go all wrong with formats and fonts.) If you want this job, print your CV and letter.

We've also seen, more times than you'd believe, applicants take a huge amount of trouble over the CV and letter, then add a short, informal, misspelt cover e-mail, spoiling the entire effect. Ouch.

Still, if you must e-mail your CV and we concede there is a case for both printing and e-mailing here's how you do it: * Subject line Should be something like 'Re: job application Marketing Executive', so it can be forwarded to the right person without opening if required.

* Keep it formal Apply the same level of care and formality to your cover e-mail as to the CV and letter addressing it to Ms Manager and not first name, and so on. There's something about e-mail that makes folk relax into informality, which is inappropriate for job ads. Resist.

* Make it a simple covering e-mail Include a full cover letter in a Word doc.u.ment, and your covering e-mail can simply say, 'Please find attached letter and CV regarding your Marketing Executive role advertised on www.jobs.co.uk' (remember they may have more than one job ad in the system and you've only seen one, so you need to say which job you're applying for). Don't put your entire cover letter into the body of the e-mail.

* Save your CV with a sensible filename: "emmawoodhousecv" not "mycvlatest"

Here's how you get it there: * Print out your letter and CV Use a good quality printer. If you don't have one, hike down to a nearby print shop and spend a small amount of money making sure your stuff looks professional.

* Your envelope is your amba.s.sador.

It is the first thing that gets opened. So, use a good quality envelope not one that will fall apart as it is subjected to the ravages of the postal service, and certainly not a pre-used one. Use an A4 envelope so nothing is folded (on the other hand if you are sending a single sheet, posting it in an A4 envelope will mean it probably arrives looking battered).

* Stock up on attractive stamps.

Make sure they're for the right amount. Stick them on straight.

* Handwrite.

Write the name and address with the same good pen you used to sign your accompanying letter (handwritten envelopes get opened first, because they look personal). Double-check the details again.

* Throughout, take care.

Get the presentation right. If you don't care, why should they?.

Chapter Thirteen.

How to get yourself out there.

For many, the phrase 'job hunting' conjures up an image of the diligent would-be employee (that's you) sitting over the Sat.u.r.day papers, red pen in hand, or setting up e-mail job alerts. But 75% to 90%1 of job openings never get advertised. Instead, they are filled through: * Current staff recommending friends (networking) * Managers thinking of people they've met or heard of and calling them in (networking) * People sending in their CV on the off-chance of a vacancy coming up (chasing jobs) * Internal promotions (this is why internships are important) If you're serious about getting a job in publishing (and we trust you are, otherwise you're in the middle of the wrong book), the activities we discuss in this chapter give you a much, much better chance of finding your job than if you simply spend your time answering job ads.

These ideas are not always easy, especially if you don't have a particularly outgoing personality. The good news is, surprisingly few job hunters actually do this stuff; so if you make the effort, you really do stand a much, much better chance than someone who doesn't.

Networking Why would you deprive your friends of the opportunity to do you a favour? Tell them what you are trying to find/do/achieve and see what happens. Our bet is that, sooner or later, a friend will say something like, 'I was talking to someone I work with today and they told me they're looking for someone. I immediately thought of you, because I reckon you'd be great at that job'. Now if that's an outcome you'd be happy to have, then what's wrong with helping the process along a bit? But to get the process started, you have to be willing to tell your friends what you are looking for, and how much you want it. Without this information, you're not giving them much chance of helping you, are you?

One of the best things you can do to increase your chances of getting into publishing is to become a first-cla.s.s networker. It's not as hard as you may think, and there's no question but that it pays off. This section is all about how to get to know the people who can help you, and how to get them to do so.

So, where do you begin? Here are ten basic tips: 1. Decide you're going to do this This whole thing doesn't come easily to many of us. But that doesn't mean you should not try. Deciding to do just that is an important start.

2. Make a list of everyone you know who could possibly help If you suspect they may be able to give you a hand at some stage, they're in don't hold back. You could start with anyone you know, anyone at all, who has any connection, any connection at all, with publishing: authors, people already working in publishing, lecturers, friends, friends of friends, mums of friends, distant acquaintances of your cousin's sister-in-law, and so on.

3. Keep track For everyone you know who's on your 'hit list', try to remember everything you know about them: if they support a football team; if they have kids; if they have a partner; if they tell you where they're going on holiday. Very soon you'll have a surprisingly detailed portrait of their likes, dislikes and habits. And this is less spooky than it sounds after all, your mum knows all this information about a whole heap of people, it's just that she doesn't need to write it down because her brain is good at this stuff. Noting it down isn't cheating, it's just helping your memory a little and giving you something to talk to them about.

4. Mark birthdays and holidays with cards Get over the 'yuk' factor (you're male, aren't you?), and send lots of Christmas cards with personal messages. Stay in touch with people.

5. Remember names Many people struggle with names, and a.s.sume that everyone else is really good at it. They're not; it's just that they work at it. There are many techniques, but the easiest is this: when someone tells you their name, repeat it, immediately, and use it, repeatedly. If you can, make an a.s.sociation (easy if you're talking to a fragrant Rose or a ferocious Leo) or try personal traits: Jackie likes jewellery (her name begins with J), Andrew wears Armani (and his with A). Like anything, the more you work at it, the better you get.

6. Accept invitations Just say yes. Just say yes, thanks, I'd love to. Go to lunches, coffees, dinners, breakfasts (prepare to eat and drink a lot). Always reply to every invitation you get (this is getting rare and will be appreciated and remembered). Attend as many as you can, and be the perfect guest. Dress up. Buy a good-quality present. Behave yourself. Don't get drunk. Be polite. Be charming. Be considerate. Send thank-you notes. Think of it this way: if you do all this, you're going to get great press.

Go to any and all book events you can w.a.n.gle an invitation to. If you're not currently in the industry, these might include: * Book fairs (there are usually public days) advertised in publishing media. Introduce yourself to staff at publishers you'd like to work for. Ask who the right contact is in the area you want to work in, chat about what you're looking for, and hand over a CV.

* Meetings organised by those within the profession, such as the Society of Young Publishers and Women in Publishing. The dates and locations can be found in the trade press.

* Book readings and book launches often advertised in book review pages and by independent/literary bookshops. Introduce yourself to the publishers (you'll see them setting things up and talking to the author).

* Book and publishing awards same as above.

Browse the literary bits of the paper and try out different events. Hang about in the Publishing/Communication areas of your local universities; even if you don't intend to study there, you never know whom you might meet. Get your face known by industry people and hand your card and CV around. Publishing people will be impressed by your energy and initiative.

Make sure you're not being a pest, by the way; people are often really busy at events. Introduce yourself, explain you're looking for a career in publishing, ask for the right contact, ask for their card, which means they'll ask for yours in return; hand it over, with your CV, thank them and walk away. Afterwards is where you make the most impact; give them a call a couple of days later, thank them for their time, and ask for a follow up (a meeting with them/an introduction to the right person).

7. Create invitations Once you've introduced yourself to someone you'd like to work for, ring to follow up. Ring people and take them out for coffee. (Ringing is better than e-mailing, by the way, because it's hard to say 'no' over the phone.) Offer to pay for the coffee, and when they decline, insist it's startling the feel-good impact that spending a handful of coins on a cup of coffee can have. If there are no jobs on offer, ask for their advice and ideas and introductions to contacts in other companies (they all know each other).

8. Have a business card and carry it!

(You'd be amazed how many people don't, or only have battered ones with the shopping list on the back.) If you're not in current employment, or would rather not hand out your company business card, get a personal one made up and not from those machines in shopping malls either if you can afford it, get it professionally done. Remember mobile and e-mail details (and for this exercise, get a professional-sounding e-mail address andyw@, not mrlongshlong@ or poochiecutie@.

9. Have a CV and carry it!

'I'd love to come and work in your organisation, I love what you do.'

'Really? We're recruiting at the moment; have you got a CV, I'll pa.s.s it to the HR manager?'

'Um, maybe I can e-mail you . . .'

That's so not what you want. Keep a clean copy of your CV2 with you whenever you can in case of unexpected opportunities.

The other clever thing about carrying a CV is that when you get an unexpected call on the mobile from someone who says, 'Tell me about your background' you can quickly remind yourself of the relevant points.

Also always carry a pen and diary, so you can make interview times on the spot.

10. Do what you say you're going to do and what you should do You know when you're chatting to someone and one of you says, 'We must get together and . . .'? and when you meet someone who says, 'Send me your CV and I'll pa.s.s it on to . . .' Don't just think about it, do it!

No, it's not insincere Perhaps you're thinking, 'This is false', or 'This is insincere'. It's not, not really. You're paying respect to someone by showing a real, focused interest in them. You don't pick your friends because they can help you but there's nothing wrong with getting a little help from your friends. After all, most of us choose our friends because we have things in common with them, so a shared interest in work matters isn't surprising. It would be a little bizarre to pick your friends only from among those you share no work interests with; and it would be bizarre, too, to get help only from people who aren't friends.

What should be obvious is that you may well be limiting yourself in this regard. With more focus and determination, you can almost certainly get more 'value' out of your social network than you do currently, just by focusing on what it can do for you.

Don't wait for them to call you Something people usually only figure out when they have to do it themselves is that companies all of them, everywhere hate advertising for new staff.

Imagine this from the departmental manager's perspective.

Jackie has been promoted, and Melanie has resigned to go to a compet.i.tor, so now I have two vacancies at once. I need to find a new employee who will be happy to do this job for a few years, not need too much training, not have too much experience because they might get bored, be OK with the pittance salary I'm allowed to pay, and get on well with my other staff.

People internally are applying for this job; I don't think any of them are quite right, but I have to handle them gently.

I have to write a job ad and figure out where to place the ad. Advertising is incredibly expensive, and every time I advertise I get 100 or 200 CVs, which all have to be sorted through and responded to, and most of them are rubbish.

I might do some quick phone chats to decide who to bring in for interview, then first interview around eight people and second interview three or four. By the time I offer the best person a job they might have found something somewhere else or changed their mind about leaving their current job and then I have to do the whole thing again. Sometimes from those 200 CVs there actually isn't anyone quite right and I have to advertise again. If I'm lucky, I might be able to recruit someone in time to have a handover with the person who's leaving; doesn't usually happen though.

Meanwhile I'm covering for both the people who've left, while I wait for the new recruit to serve out notice with their old company. Once they get here I have to train them, mentor them and hope they fit in with my other staff and can do the job.

And I have my actual job to do as well! I'm tired just thinking about this.

Now imagine that manager, sitting and fretting about the long process. Just as they start to draft the job ad, the phone rings, and someone energetic, intelligent and just right for the job (you, of course) is on the line asking if there happen to be any opportunities.

Some publishing houses, in fact, never advertise, and instead rely entirely on applicants, internal promotion and networking.

This is why it's always a good idea to contact companies you'd like to work for, rather than waiting for them to advertise. You get in ahead of the hundreds of CVs that come in response to job ads; they know you've researched the company and like their product and you're actively keen on working for that company, rather than just applying for a job because it's been advertised.

I'm always delighted when people who are serious about the industry contact me and show genuine enthusiasm for what we do. I had an approach just recently from a junior designer simply looking for some advice on how to produce a strong design portfolio for interviews and who was looking to get into children's book publishing. I gave her some hints on presentation, and when she did send in her work, because it impressed me, I pa.s.sed it on to the relevant department, who happened to be looking for a designer. We employed her shortly afterwards. My advice would be, if you are genuinely interested in the industry and there is a publishing company you would really like to work for, tell them!

(CHRISTIE DAVIES, SENIOR HR OFFICER, WALKER BOOKS, UK).

Of course, for every ten calls you make, you'll probably get nine not right now thanks; that's fine, because you expect that, it's part of the process, and every not right now thanks moves you a step closer to actually yes, we are looking for someone. Plus every not right now thanks is an opportunity for you to get your CV on file and make sure they give you a call when something does come up.

Try this:.

1. Figure out who you want to work for.

(See Chapter 10.) Do a spot of Web research and talk to anyone you know who has a link to those companies.

2. Make sure you know why you want to work there and prepare a little script with a good opening line: I'm a graduate looking for a publishing career. I like your innovative approach to marketing that last ad campaign was fascinating could I meet with you to talk about job opportunities?

Or Your product development process is the best around And I hear it's a great place to work And NOT I'm sick of my current job, so I'm calling all the compet.i.tors Whatever you say, keep it basically true; it comes across as more believable. Write it down as well, otherwise you risk getting to the person you're targeting and ending up having a horrible stammering attack. Even if you go off-script, you have it there to fall back on.

I once hired someone who phoned in and said 'I've just moved to the area and thought it would be great to work for the local publishers rather than travelling to London every day'. That sounds all wrong, but actually it hit exactly the right note; the office was in a small town, quite hard to get to, and I kept losing staff because the commute was just too hard, so finding someone local worked well. Also I wouldn't have believed a caller who spun me a line about always wanting to work with our books, because the product line was academic social science books interesting to work with, but not s.e.xy. So I brought the caller in for a chat and she was excellent. She turned out to be hard working, intelligent and loyal a dream employee (hi, Malie!). (SUSANNAH) 3. In some companies the HR manager looks after recruitment; in others it's the head of each department. The department head is probably the right place to start, and then if there's nothing available at present, call again for the HR department and get your CV on file.

To find out who to speak to, ring the switchboard and ask for the name of the marketing manager/sales manager etc; then thank them and hang up. Here's why: now you can ring back a few hours later or the next day and ask confidently for 'Adrian Jones, please'. This ringing back helps to avoid the receptionists/personal a.s.sistants, also known as gatekeepers they block calls from people who aren't already known to the manager you're chasing.

Remember your aim here is to have a conversation with the manager, so they can find out that you're great and they should hire you. E-mailing a CV won't cut it; it's a chat you want.

If you do get a gatekeeper, don't get stressed: it's their job to screen calls and not personal, so try not to feel rebuffed: * If asked for your name, give it.

* If asked for your company, try 'Emma Smith a.s.sociates' (where Emma Smith is your name), tell them it's a personal call, or if you're feeling cheeky just make something up try 'Brinley Patch' or 'Miles Davis Limited'.

* If asked what it's regarding, hopefully you can say something like, 'Fred Lim asked me to call Adrian' (that's the advantage of networking!). If you're cold-calling, don't share your life story with the gatekeeper; they don't know that the sales manager actually is looking for new reps, and they certainly don't know how utterly fabulous you are, so they'll mistakenly think they're doing the right thing by keeping you out. Instead try, 'It's regarding a meeting date if Adrian isn't available can I just leave a number?' (Subtly implying they're holding you up; going on the attack can work well!) If all that doesn't work, get an e-mail address, and send a note introducing yourself on the themes below; don't send your CV in though; it's way too early.

4. When you get to your target, start on your script I'm a graduate looking for a publishing career. I like your innovative approach to marketing that last ad campaign was fascinating could I meet with you to talk about job opportunities?

You might well need a script Part 2 that sums you up in a couple of sentences: I've just completed the Publishing and Communications MA at University of Melbourne, and I have worked through projects with ABC and XYZ publishers in this area. I'd love to come and work for you; could we have a coffee to chat?

Having got a phone conversation, your aim now is to get a meeting. Asking for a coffee date can work; it keeps the meeting informal and quick. Let them choose the date, time and location.

If there is really nothing going on and they don't want to meet you, ensure you lodge your CV, and call back every two months or so to check if anything has come up and remind them how fab you are.

Two Top Tips * Do not rely on their having your CV on file They may forget they have it, lose it, a.s.sume you're working somewhere else by now, the manager might change . . . always phone back again.

* Do not rely on e-mail for this Phone, phone, phone! Much more personal and some people are rubbish at replying to e-mails or only read the ones sent by people they know.

Treat an informal chat as an interview A quick coffee with the departmental manager is basically a mini-job interview (even if there's nothing available at present). So treat it like one. Read the interview section of this book (Chapter 16) and practise with friends. Take the opportunity as seriously as you would a formal job interview. Take your CV. Dress professionally. Give the impression you're ready to walk right into their office and start work and they're more likely to visualise you there! If you feel silly getting dressed up for a coffee meeting, pretend to yourself (and them, if you like) that you have an interview or business appointment that afternoon.

If you're meeting at a cafe, e-mail them a photo or carry one of their recent publications so they know who you are. Drink the same beverage as them (that's the rapport thing), unless it'll make you throw up. Don't eat a snack unless they do and if they do, don't make them eat alone.

Unlike an interview where they've advertised and there's an opportunity, you've asked for this meeting; so you now have a great chance to set the tone of the discussion.

You might want to try something like:.

Thanks for meeting with me. As I said on the phone, I'm looking for a publishing career and I'd love to come and work for you.

(There are books that advise you to spend several meetings getting to know your target, courting them gently rather than being this outspoken. Try the direct approach, we say. Senior people are very, very busy, and will be puzzled and impatient with someone hanging about and not saying what they actually want. Cut to the chase, in the politest way possible of course, and you won't waste their time or yours.) If they indicate on the phone that there are no current opportunities, but are still happy to meet with you, well done you must be good! Try something like: Thanks for meeting with me. As I mentioned on the phone, Belinda Harris suggested I meet with you. I'm keen on a career in publishing, and I'm hoping you can give me some tips and ideas.

From here on, follow their lead. Think of this as a mini job interview, an opportunity to show off your skills, talents and confidence.

1 Data gathered from a very unscientific Internet search.

2 Probably not at the beach, but definitely when networking and other semi-professional opportunities.

Chapter Fourteen.