On November 2nd, the Publishing department hosted an online Speed Mentoring event where students got to talk to alums who are industry professionals. Each student was put with mentors who specialized in their interests: marketing, editorial, management, and many others.
I spoke with two students who shared their experience—such as who they met with, what advice they took, and if their career goals were shifted.
Luiza Guimarães met with MK Cornfield, Corey Jarvis, and Kate Perez-Gomez. She look Jarvis’s advice to heart as he explained the best way to make connections, and that’s with older professionals. They are “happy to lend a helping hand and share their own experiences,” he told Guimarães. “I realized that the best connections I’ve made with professionals from older generations started when I asked them for guidance or when I showed interest in learning from their experiences.”
As an international student, Guimarães worries about the regulations that come with working in the United States, believing these rules are challenges most companies would not want to face. But Jarvis reassured her that having an international status can be beneficial to companies who are aware of the globalized world. With that in mind, Guimarães is much more confident in finding a publishing job.
Jarvis works as a Public Affairs Specialist for the US Government.
After speaking with her mentors, Guimarães’s goals for her career have shifted to a wider mindset. MK Cornfield & Corey Jarvis commented on how professionals with good writing and editing skills are sought by many industries, Guimarães explained. With that in mind, and her experience on the editorial side of publishing, she thought more about the work she wants to do for authors. She aims to help bring out their voice in the best way possible.
“There are multiple ways to do that. It can be working on a social media post, a book, an article, a script,” Guimarães said. “One of the main advantages of living in a world where everyone can have their own soapbox, is that there are many possibilities to raise someone to their own platform. If it is done creatively and ethically, we have more room for diversity and growth.”
Jayni Nielsen also met with Corey Jarvis that night, as well as Melanie Mitzman and Alex Grover. Mitzman served as Marketing Manager for SGK. Grover is a content engineer at the Holmes Corporation.
For Nielsen, she learned that she should not limit herself when it comes to her career path. “All of the people I met with started off doing something different from what they’re doing now,” Nielsen explains. “It’s a good thing to be flexible with what you want to do. You might wind up loving something you never thought you’d find yourself doing!”
Nielsen also loved hearing about each mentor’s job and passions. With that, they gave insightful information about how to land a job of her own. Jarvis gave insight on networking, especially when you’re an introvert and talking is difficult. Nielsen felt a lot better about future networking events after listening to his advice.
The event actually changed Nielsen’s perspective on what she’d like to do career wise in publishing. “I joined Pace’s Publishing program with the intent of going into the editorial field. Between the classes I’m taking in my first semester and finally having the chance to talk with industry professionals, my eyes are much more open to all facets of publishing that I’ve never considered previously.”
She finds herself drawn to marketing, sales, and content engineering. Specifically, listening to Melanie Mitzman talk of her marketing experience fascinated Nielsen, who never considered working as a marketer for a book before.
“It sounds like a very busy role, considering marketers have to do anything from making social media posts, going to book conventions, and working with teams to coordinate specific strategies for specific books. However, it also sounds fun and fulfilling,” Nielsen said.
Overall, the Student/Alum Speed Mentoring event was a success among publishing students and ended with them feeling uplifted about their career goals.