At this time of year, I see a countless number of graduate CVs from people who want a career in book publishing. Yet, I feel so many miss the point (and sometimes the comma, capital letter and extra word space) when preparing their CV for a role in this industry.
Harsh as this may sound — if you can't do a good editorial job on your CV then don't expect to get considered for a book publishing role. It's the one message I wish graduates would take note of.
Traditionally, doing an excellent editorial job on your CV was a requirement for an editorial position. However, in today's workplace, all areas of publishing are responsible for writing text in some form or another; be it for a sales pitch, a PowerPoint presentation, a marketing leaflet, a website, Facebook or Twitter. It all matters. As book publishing professionals, we are the purveyors of the English language. We set the standards and create the dictionaries and thesauruses that everyone will use tomorrow; something that graduates must acknowledge and reflect in their applications if they want to succeed.
When you send in your application to a book publisher you should have taken the time to check every single thing. This goes deeper than spelling, it is that extra word space, that missing capital letter, that errant apostrophe, the use of too many fonts and a lack of consistency throughout. So be mindful when using headings, bold or underline and when using indents or paragraphs that your style is the same across the entire document.
If you've got this right, it is then we will start to look at your content. Your sentence construction and phrasing influences the overall perception of your CV, so look through it with a fine-tooth comb. Are you being consistent in the tense that you use? (PS — don't write it in the third person.)
Are you repeatedly using the same words and phrases to describe yourself? Positioning yourself as an "excellent communicator, excellent researcher" and as having "excellent written skills" doesn't exactly scream editorial flair, does it?
Plus, are you misusing some words, causing you to understate or overstate your experience? You shouldn't be claiming you have extensive experience with PowerPoint, for example, if you have only used it once or twice. And, if you are replying to an advertisement, have you read the specification properly and demonstrated how you match their requirements?
The employer needs to be able to gauge you, your experience and your personal use of the English vocabulary. This is also one of the reasons why I don't recommend using a CV service for a book publishing CV or covering letter — your personal style and phrasing needs to come across in your application.
When it comes to your covering letter you need to be able to express yourself as to why you are the best person for the job, the skills you can bring, how you match yourself to the role advertised and, if appropriate, how you will make a difference and let your passion and enthusiasm shine though.
At all stages, you need to constantly ask yourself the question: "if I was editing a book or company document, would this be acceptable?"
When you think you have done a good job on your CV and covering letter, check it, check it and check it again, and then get someone else to check it, before you send it off. By the time you have finished this exercise you should feel confident that if you do not get the role, it is because you're not quite right or don't have an exact match on skills and abilities, not down to the mistakes on your CV.
Suzanne Collier is the founder of bookcareers.com — a career development site for book publishing professionals
