Michael Bhaskar, Digital Publishing Executive, Pan Macmillan  

 "My background is fairly predictable for someone in publishing - English Literature. That said a lot of the work I do now involves quite technical and geeky knowledge on pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum to English.  After leaving university I had done some work at a literary agency and newspaper but was never fully settled in a job and so felt the need to find something “proper”. The Macmillan Scheme seemed like a great way of getting a job in publishing so bingo, I applied.

Before the interviews I had become quite interested in how new media was changing what was a very traditional industry and spoke about this at the interview. My job is fairly difficult to describe as it exists between a load of different publishing areas. However on the Pan Macmillan blog - http://thedigitalist.net - I describe my job like this: “At the moment I spend most of the time looking at spreadsheets, eBooks, RSS feeds and Outlook while thinking about sci-fi, blogging, database and the next meeting.” Basically it’s about dragging publishing kicking and screaming into the 21^st century, whether it likes it or not, and so avoiding the fate of the music industry in the process.

 Since getting the job I have fallen in love with the new media element. Before working here I was more of an old school book publishing fan. Now I think continuing in this area is what I would like to do. Why? Well, because it changes everyday. Publishing has remained constant for hundreds of years in one way or another, but this field really feels like it is a radical break and that’s exciting.

 There isn’t much hand holding, management speak spouting nonsense, to put it bluntly. You are given a job, given a bunch of stuff to do and you pretty much just have to get on with it. Simple and unfussy."

Kate Bullas, Marketing Executive, Palgrave Macmillan

"I studied a BA in English Studies and an MA in Literary Linguistics at The University of Nottingham. After trying my hand at student journalism, I quickly realised that my heart lay with working with other peoples’ words rather than my own and this, combined with a lifetime love of literature, led me towards book publishing.  Regular browsing on websites of key publishers alerted me to the Macmillan Grad Scheme and I applied, believing my chances of receiving even an acknowledgement to be minimal at best!

 Now I’m a Marketing Executive at Palgrave Macmillan on the Politics, Education and Macmillan Science lists, following a year as a Marketing Assistant. On an average day, I’ll be found answering queries from authors and editors, updating the website, writing copy, briefing designers and occasionally flirting with a little design myself.

 The scheme enables you to not only learn about the industry in general, but the specifics of working in a particular department, on particular lists. It offers both a break into publishing and the opportunity to get a real job with real responsibilities. I’d definitely recommend it!"

Jack Macdonald, Project Manager, MPS Technologies

"I joined the Grad Scheme in the summer of 2007 after finishing my history degree. From previous work experience, I thought I had a vague idea about what publishing work was like and it seemed like an interesting business, and one in transition. I also had a strong desire to work in the world of books – but of course wasn’t quite sure how best to express that desire! 

 Since starting I’ve played quite a varied role for MPS Technologies, a Macmillan subsidiary that specialises in e-books and other aspects of digital publishing.  It’s genuinely an exciting time for publishing, and although my job isn’t at all what I expected, I’ve still enjoyed it. 

 So far I’ve been involved in market research, setting up websites for clients, and am now working on sales. I’ve also had the fantastic opportunity to go to India and work closely with a software team based there in Gurgaon. I’m still not entirely sure what I want to do in my career, but I have enjoyed the chance to see how the publishing business works on the ground." 

 Graduate Scheme Alumni:

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, Bloomsbury
Tim Hely Hutchinson, Chief Executive, Hachette Livre UK
Dominic Knight, Managing Director, Palgrave Macmillan
Martin Nield, Managing Director, Hodder and Stoughton
Tom Weldon, Managing Director, Penguin General Books
Emma Hardcastle, Founder/Director Pocket Issue Books
Sara Lloyd, Head of Digital Publishing, Pan Macmillan
Christopher West, Chairman, Macmillan Latin America
Neil Cross, Author and Booker Prize nominee for Always the Sun 
Carol Monoyios, Marketing and Communications Director, Care International UK
Anita Sethi, columnist for the Guardian, winner of the 2007 decibel Penguin prize and an Arts Council writing award.