GTI Media - hello and goodbye

In my four months here at TARGETjobs I have come across lots of jobs that I wasn’t aware existed or only vaguely knew about. The problem is that when you spend all day reading, hearing and writing about what other people do for a living, you start getting a serious case of grass-is-greener syndrome. I’ve interviewed lawyers and engineers, I’ve proofread and updated over 100 job descriptions and along the way I’ve found myself wondering whether I could make it as a solicitor, management consultant, or even an aromatherapist. I’ve decided it would be fun to be an architect, until I realised you have to train for 7 years, and I briefly thought about accountancy before remembering that I’m not very good with numbers.

It’s an odd job to have – helping to write and edit careers advice for graduates when you’ve only just graduated yourself, but racking your brains trying to work out what makes a good management CV or investment banking covering letter helps you prepare to do the same with whatever jobs you apply for in the future. And while I was occasionally tempted to run off and set up an aromatherapy practice, I don’t think my career aims have changed significantly while I’ve been here – I’ve got a feeling I’ll find myself applying for publishing jobs during my masters next year. 

Working here has helped me develop practical office skills that I didn’t necessarily use at university – managing and prioritising work for different editors, meeting tight deadlines, remembering to update spreadsheets, keeping a record of email exchanges – not to mention getting out of bed before seven in the morning! Given that most entry level editorial jobs involve tracking correspondence with authors and agents, it’s all relevant experience. It hasn’t been non-stop excitement, but I’ve definitely gained from the internship, and I’ve also learned how to present it all effectively on CVs and covering letters.

Before I go, I’d like to thank the editors at TARGETjobs for putting on helpful training sessions, for showing us how to edit online content, and for running us through all the stages that take a magazine from the drawing board to print. To the other interns – goodbye, and best of luck for the future!

By Liz Bingham

Editorial Intern