Overview
Publishing is an industry where passion is expected but professionalism is what gets you hired. Every graduate who applies for a publishing assistant role loves books. The ones who get the job are the ones who can demonstrate they understand the business of making books: production schedules, metadata, rights, marketing copy, and the dozens of small tasks that keep a list on track.
This resume belongs to Rowan, a Publishing BA graduate from Oxford Brookes University who interned at Bloomsbury Publishing and worked part time at Blackwell's bookshop. His resume is effective because it describes publishing tasks in industry language: "managed proof corrections across 6 titles," "entered metadata for 25 forthcoming titles in Biblio," "drafted back cover copy for 4 non fiction titles."
Industry internship with production exposure
If you interned at a publisher, describe your involvement in the production and editorial pipeline. Rowan's Bloomsbury internship put him in the Non Fiction editorial department where he proofread 8 titles at page proof stage, managed author corrections for 6 titles, and liaised with the production team on schedule updates.
Name the specific stage of production you worked at (manuscript, copyedit, typeset, page proof, print) and the number of titles you handled. This tells the hiring manager exactly where you can slot into their workflow.
Metadata and systems
Publishing runs on metadata. If you have entered data into Biblio, Klopotek, Consonance, or any title management system, mention it. Rowan entered metadata for 25 forthcoming titles including ISBNs, BIC codes, and publication dates. This is a daily task for publishing assistants and showing you have done it removes a training overhead.
Marketing copy and blurb writing
Many publishing assistant roles involve writing marketing copy: back cover blurbs, catalogue entries, social media posts, and newsletter content. Rowan drafted back cover copy for 4 non fiction titles and wrote 12 social media posts for Bloomsbury's book launch campaigns. If you can write compelling, concise copy about books, that is a directly applicable skill.
Bookshop experience
Working in a bookshop demonstrates commercial awareness of what sells, what customers ask for, and how books are merchandised. Rowan's part time role at Blackwell's involved processing 200+ customer orders per week and creating 8 staff recommendation displays. This is relevant experience for publishing roles, not just retail.
