Over the last two weeks, I had the incredible opportunity to complete two weeks work experience at Cornerstone Editorial, Penguin Random House. Penguin is one of the UK’s largest publishing companies, so for anyone who knows the industry, they’d understand that this was a pretty big deal. This was also the first time I had applied for the programme, whilst some of the people I met had already tried applying 8 or 9 times, so I feel even more grateful that I was able to do this!
Now that the two weeks are over, I thought I’d share my tips on how to make the most out of a work placement. I’ve made these quite broad, so they don’t have to apply to Penguin’s scheme directly, but most of my examples will be specifically publishing related. This isn’t a complete list, so if you have any more tips feel free to share them!
Top Tips
Before the placement
1. Do a bit of research – If you’re on work placement for a couple of weeks, I don’t think that anyone would expect you to know the ins and outs of their company. However, doing a bit of research to gather a sense of what their values are, their aims, and, for publishing-related companies, what types of books they publish. This will help you to predict what kind of work you might actually be doing during your placement, and it might impress the company (which is always useful).
2. Plan ahead – Now this seems a little bit obvious, but I don’t necessarily mean planning your trip and train schedules (although that is always useful). Before you start your work experience, just take a note of what you actually want to achieve from being there. Are there any specific skills you want to learn? Are there specific people you want to talk to? Thinking about these questions early on will help guide you through your placement and will help you to ensure you are learning everything you want to.
During the placement
3. Give yourself time to adjust – Now you might not always have time for this one, especially if your work experience is only a few weeks long and you want to make the most out of each day. However, for a lot of people, placements are the first time you’ll be in an office environment, which can be stressful and overwhelming to a lot of people. I found that my first day at Penguin was quite relaxed, but if you’re feeling uncomfortable and overwhelmed, make sure you tell someone. You’ll find that people (especially in publishing) are always more than happy to help, especially as they were once in your shoes too.
4. Take initiative – This is probably the most important tip for me personally, as it helped me to structure my work experience. You’ll probably find that everyone is willing to help you, but during your two weeks they probably have quite a busy schedule and so won’t always have the time to approach you. However, don’t let this stop you from reaching out to other people. Send out emails asking if you can help, or approach people if you see them struggling with a task. This is an opportunity for you to learn, so do everything you can to achieve it! (Although it’s great to want to help, make sure you know when to do so – if they don’t reply to your email or they’re busy on the phone, that’s probably an indication that they don’t have time at the moment, so don’t swamp them!)
5. Ask questions – Following on from taking initiative, another big (and probably obvious) tip is to ask questions. The people around you are experts in their field, so make sure you take advantage of it! I asked to speak to people from the editorial, marketing and publicity teams to get a better understanding of what goes on in each department, and their insight and advice were invaluable.
6. Network – Similar to asking questions, you want to ask them to the right people. After a chat with someone, ask if you can add them on LinkedIn etc. so that you can contact them in the future if you need any extra help. Not only is this a chance for you to meet people already in the industry, but the people hoping to get in as well. I was lucky enough to be on placement with a group of 4 other lovely girls but we were all in different departments, so we’d have lunch together every day and chat about what we were getting up to. This was honestly really useful, as it helped me understand each department in publishing a lot better, and gave me inspiration as to what I could ask to do during my placement.
7. Take notes – If you’re on placement for a couple of weeks, you probably don’t realise how quickly it’ll pass by. So, if you’re anything like me and you’re slightly forgetful, I would take notes on what you did, who you spoke to, and any new skills you’ve gained. This is particularly useful if you’re planning on completing the last step in this guide.
After the placement
8. Reflect – After you’ve finished your placement, look over your notes and think about whether you achieved everything you wanted to. Has this experience confirmed your desire to work in the industry? Are there gaps in your understanding? This will help guide you on what you think the next step in your career should be.
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I had an amazing time at Cornerstone and I’ve learnt so much about publishing. Luckily, this experience has definitely consolidated the fact that I want to work in this industry – but if it doesn’t, don’t worry! Work experience is a chance to get a taste of a company and sector, so if you decide that your experience wasn’t for you, then your instincts are probably right.
If you have any questions about the Penguin’s placement, feel free to drop me a message/comment.
A massive thank you to Penguin Random House for having me and to all the people who made my placement so rewarding!