Alumni - Antonia Eraud, MA Publishing

Although I knew I wanted to work in publishing and I liked my job at Hachette in France, I wished for two further things for my career:  to work abroad and to have a fuller view of the industry. I had previous experience in publishing especially in marketing, PR and sales. However, I did not hesitate to sign up for the publishing course at Oxford Brookes and I have never regretted my choice. In fact, I have been able to discover more about editorial, production, design, digital and of course about the UK industry. Even the subjects I already knew about were very interesting because I could compare the industry in France with the UK and develop my knowledge. ...

I really enjoyed my internship at Oxford University Press in Marketing for Bilingual Dictionaries. My languages were really useful for a lot of tasks. I was even able to help some editors with some issues about translation. Even if it was hard at the beginning of my work placement, I finally realized that being a non-native English speaker could be a real asset for some positions.

In the second semester, I chose the module Digital Publishing Media in order to have a strategic profile in the growing digital world. I knew I had to do my best to differentiate my profile from the many people who want to work in publishing. Indeed, I was not feeling very confident before applying for jobs because I thought I was not that competitive against English native speakers.

When I started to apply for jobs, I tried to spot those where I could bring something more in terms of languages or digital publishing. I was so surprised because I got answers very quickly. I also realized I had more success when I was applying for jobs in production and sales, which require abilities to deal with people and a good understanding of the publishing industry. Only two weeks after starting to apply for jobs, I signed a contract to work at Taylor and Francis as eBooks and Online Products Sales Coordinator! I really enjoy my job which combines digital and international perspectives. Indeed, I deal with so many different people in the world. I sometimes wonder how I am going to go back to my own country as I enjoy so much my life here.

Posted on 15 Nov 2010 around 4pm