Internship Stories: Holly McCoomb

One of the ways that Deakin students can gain industry insights and experience is through our Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programs. There are a range of internship opportunities advertised at any given time and students always come away with valuable knowledge and increased networks to draw upon throughout their study and after graduation.

Below, Bachelor of Arts (Professional & Creative Writing) student Holly McCoomb shares her insights from a recent internship with Palaver. As Holly has shared here, undertaking an internship can be very fruitful!

Between April and August 2019 I undertook an internship with Palaver. Palaver is a small publishing company based in Melbourne, which falls under the larger parent company Global Reconciliation. My main task throughout the internship was researching and creating promotion and distribution plans for two books that were about to be published: a historical fiction novel and a children’s picture book. I also updated their website and social media to include these new books.

I gained valuable insight into the publishing industry throughout my internship. I became familiar with the many different tasks and roles that employees can undertake when working for a small publisher. I learnt more about the cycle of books through the publishing process, in particular about how companies go about distributing their books. At first, I found the task of calling or emailing big distributors about stocking these books quite daunting, but with the help of my mentor I learnt how best to approach them, and how to really ‘sell’ the book. This grew my confidence in making contact with important stakeholders, a good transferable skill to have. Given the size of the company, they do not have a set office space, which meant I completed the majority of my internship independently from home. This gave me more experience in working independently, and how to self-motivate.

This internship taught me research and communications skills that added to the work I was doing in my degree. Having professional experience in the industry has boosted my resume, and given me a wider knowledge and skillset to help me succeed in my career.

Thanks to Holly for so generously sharing her insights here.

For students who are keen to find out more about internship opportunities in the Faculty of Arts and Education, you can contact the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) team – contact details available here. They are always happy to help!

 

*Featured Image (Cover) by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash