Publishing Internship
Job Description
This position is very direct experience toward a career in public relations. That isn’t necessarily limited to the book business, as this role is often found as a task within larger organizations that produce publications.
I should note here that none of this precludes the intern from enrolling in CW330 as a student and engaging in the editorial end of things as well. In fact, I’d be hopeful that’s exactly what would happen, merging the two tracks into a broad-based experience base. These are two distinct competencies that all relate to a single outcome, a quality magazine.
I’d be looking to place the successful intern into professional internships in the summer in which the FIT experience is a direct contributor, if possible.
I would anticipate a workload (negotiable, of course, depending on the intern’s availability and ambition) of about 6-10 hours per week.
Year 1
Responsibility/Function
Initially, that would include having the FIT intern attend staff meetings and hold set office hours in our Literary Publishing office, GHH200. The primary duties of this FIT internship would be creating and implementing social-media strategies in conjunction with the staff and editors of the literary magazine, Mount Hope. The internship would also involve assisting with administrative duties such as managing our Submittable submissions site, mailing contributor copies, creating on-campus distribution, overseeing our entries of published pieces for literary awards, and generally learning how the magazine works and the cycle of work we do.
Year 2
Responsibility/Function
By the second year, I’d expect the FIT intern to be taking on “added value” tasks for which he/she has responsibility. That would include managing Twitter and Facebook accounts, possibly creating and organizing a magazine-related publicity event on campus once a year or semester, and researching opportunities for the magazine to enhance its reputation and reach.
Throughout, the intern would have responsibility for the supply and upkeep of the office (paper, copier, filing) as well as being a “face of the organization” there. By the second and third year, the intern would occupy a “senior leadership” position that might carry a title such as Business Manager or Media Manager.
Year 3
Responsibility/Function
By the end of the second year and into the third, I’d be looking for our FIT intern to use accumulated public-relations and marketing skills to further the mission of branding the magazine. By senior year, the intern might also be working on initiatives to improve the magazine’s website design and production processes. The third year will allow the intern to use “self-starter” skills to research and find solutions for creative and business challenges to the magazine.
*Students are prohibited from driving during work-study employment with the limited exception of authorized work-study driver positions.