My Job in 5: Clare Chan

Describe your role-

My role is essentially finding the strengths in the candidates and matching them to the right roles.  Since I am working on behalf of publishers, I also play a role in representing these organisations to the prospective employees by explaining the opportunity and providing insight into the company’s culture.  As we meet all candidates that we are representing, there is also the opportunity to provide career advice too.

What do you like best about your role?

I always enjoy meeting candidates, through talking to them and listening to them describe their experience, it helps me to understand their career expectations better and to find out about new developments in the industry.  It is also a good opportunity for candidates to understand how I can help them.  A trusted candidate-recruiter relationship will always bring a win-win outcome!

Which new projects or vacancies are you working on at the moment?

I am currently helping an STM learned society to expand their editorial team.  They have recently restructured the team and it has expanded, so I am working on some brand new editorial roles for them.  I am also helping a leading trade book publisher to find a Senior Production Controller to work on their finest colour non-fiction titles.  It can take a lot of searching to find the right person, but it is very satisfying when you help to make the perfect match.

What skills do you need for your role?

Detail-minded, organised, analytic but most importantly, adaptable.  There will be times things happened very quickly, and you will need to listen fast and act fast.  In recruitment, things change very quickly; being able to adapt to the changing market and work out a positive solution for everyone will lead you to success for sure.

What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?

For graduates, building up your publishing experience by working in an internship or temporary position will help massively.  The junior publishing market is very competitive, and your experience working in publishing will keep you moving in your publishing career. For experienced candidates, if you are seeking to change field, you can look into your transferable skills and see which job function in publishing matches your skills the best.  Keep learning and build up your connections.  Also, be patient and wait for the right one to come along.