On Tuesday May 29th, a prestigious panel of publishing professionals gathered in a collaborative event sponsored by the NYC Chapter of theWomen’s National Book Associationand theAAP’s Young to Publishing Group. The conference room at the APP offices was packed with people interested in hearing from the experts about how to successfully climb publishing corporate ladder and to get tips about negotiating promotions and salaries.
The panelists included: Susan Gordon, President of Lynne Palmer, Executive Recruitment, Tina Jordan, VP, American Association of Publishers, Michele Daly, HR Business Manager for Scholastic, and Julia Montgomery, Technical Business Analyst and Project Manager at Macmillan. Moderating the panel were Sara Sargent, and editor at Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon&Schuster and President of the YPG and Jane Denning, WNBA-NYC President and Executive Director of Internships at Pace University.
The panelists offered up some great advice about what one needs to do in order to succeed in this industry: From dressing for the position to keeping a comprehensive list of the tasks and projects you complete on the job-especially if you go beyond what is asked of you. Being prepared for your performance review is key to getting promoted and working with one’s supervisor and HR is a critical part of the process. “Make it easy for your manager, be a profit center for your company” responded Susan Gordon when asked about what to do to get a much needed raise. Helping your manager think for you is a great strategy in your career negotiations. Julia Montgomery reminded us that our salaries are “basically a contract with our employers and that understanding the business perspective of salaries, raises and bonuses is your ‘armor’ for negotiating”.
It was also stressed that for today’s publishing employees it is essential to understand that publishing is an industry competing in a technological age. Being curious, constantly learning, being creative and understanding what your colleagues are doing were seen as critical for job success by all of the panelists. And, as Tina Jordan reminded us, “You can be a happy employee and enjoy your job”. It is an exciting time to be in this business and the opportunities are endless for those who are willing to work hard and to be learning constantly; both in and outside of the office environment.
A big thank you to all of our panelists, the AAP for the generous use of their conference room and the WNBA for providing the refreshments. This panel was so successful that we hope to do Part 2 next year, we will keep you posted!
Post by WNBA-NYC President Jane Denning
