Summer Internship: Charlie Bowden on his Publishing Assistant Placement
Charlie Bowden, a History student from Jesus College, recently took part in the Summer Internship Programme, working as a Publishing Assistant at the Oxford University Careers Service. During his time with us, Charlie helped to produce our annual Guide to Careers, so keep an eye out for the 2025 edition which will be published soon when term begins.
Here is what Charlie took from his experience:
What the internship involved:
The Careers Service publishes an updated Guide to Careers every year, and it was my job to ensure that all the elements going into the Guide (editorial content, alumni profiles, advertising) came together in the final months of production. Achieving this required me to take on a variety of responsibilities, including liaising with the Guide designer via email, copy-editing articles and profiles as they came in, and selling last-minute advertising space using the Careers Service’s extensive network of partner employers. Though I had the support of my line manager and other Careers Service staff the key skill the internship required was a self-sufficient work ethic, since my colleagues were busy with their own projects and did not have time to look over my shoulder and make sure I was completing all my required tasks.
Why I applied:
I initially applied for the internship in first year because it seemed like a unique opportunity to combine publishing experience with work in an academic environment. I only ended up getting the internship a year later once I had accumulated some more experience, but the reason for my application remained the same. Publishing has always been a career path of interest to me, and I also felt that I had a lot to give to the Guide to Careers based on my own experiences. As somebody who had benefited from the Careers Service’s Micro Internship and Summer Internship programmes in the past, I knew how important it was that students have access to the best quality careers guidance to help them on their journeys. Compiling the Guide through this internship felt like a good way to give thanks to the Careers Service for their support of me in a small way and pass on that support to other students.
Advice for future interns:
There is a lot of flexibility when it comes to the working arrangements for this internship, so ask yourself early on whether you would benefit from working in the office every day, working remotely, or a hybrid of the two. I personally found that my days in the office were incredibly valuable for building relationships with Careers Service colleagues, some of whom I would have never interacted with if I had completed the entire internship from home. Experience with software like Excel and InDesign is useful so brush up on those if you haven’t used them much, but I think being sociable and personable is the most important thing to succeed in an internship like this. Whether you’re interacting with employers on a call or spending your lunch break with colleagues, you can only make the most of an internship that requires interaction with a wide variety of people by being prepared and excited to make conversation with them.
My 5 top tips from this year’s Guide to Careers:
- No matter what stage you are at in your career journey, arrange an appointment with the Careers Service’s expert team of Careers Advisers to figure out your next steps. Available slots are published a few days in advance via CareerConnect.
- Attend the variety of careers fairs the Careers Service hosts in Oxford. The main University Careers Fair for all sectors will take place on Saturday 12 October from 10:30-13:30 in Exam Schools, but keep an eye out for specialist fairs for lawyers, mathematicians and more.
- Get involved with the Careers Service’s Insight programmes which run throughout the year (including a brand-new Creative Writing programme) to get an idea of the opportunities available in a variety of sectors.
- If you know which sectors you are interested in working in, check out the 20+ sector briefings available on the Careers Service website for comprehensive advice tailored to Oxford students on how to secure employment in those areas.
- Once the Guide has been released, read the profiles for each sector in which Oxford alumni explain their career journeys and offer advice they wished they would have known when they were still at university.
Charlie Bowden, BA History, Jesus College
Publishing Assistant, Oxford University Careers Service
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The Guide to Careers is your one-stop-shop for any stage of career planning, and the 2024 edition is available to download and peruse at your leisure. It is packed with the latest CV and interview tips, as well as advice on seamless networking and job hunting. You can also explore internships, jobs, and other opportunities advertised by employers across 22 diverse industry sectors, highlighting the breadth of options available.
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Discover more opportunities from the Internship Office, including our Micro-Internship Programme for which applications for the Winter Cycle open on 8 October 2024.
