How to find publishing and journalism graduate jobs

Graduate schemes and traineeships | One-off vacancies with smaller employers | Speculative applications

Unlike in some other sectors, only a minority of publishing and journalism employers have an annual recruitment drive for graduates. Even those that do run graduate schemes have a relatively small intake and don’t all advertise their vacancies at the same time of year. You are much more likely to stumble upon a job at short notice than to have something lined up months in advance.

That’s not to say getting into publishing and journalism is necessarily more challenging than other sectors – once you know where to start looking. There are three main types of vacancies for publishing and journalism entry-level jobs, each requiring a slightly different approach when you apply. It’s a good idea to apply for a combination of formal traineeships or graduate schemes and one-off job vacancies, as well as sending out a few speculative applications.

For the best chance of success you should also carefully prioritise the companies you’d like to apply to (across each of these three application methods) and spend time putting together quality applications.

1. Journalism and publishing graduate schemes and traineeships

Publishing graduate schemes are sometimes rotational, allowing you to experience a range of business areas.

Some large publishing companies (typically trade publishers) run structured trainee schemes, which are advertised on their websites. These programmes are sometimes rotational, allowing you to experience a range of business areas such as editorial, marketing, publicity and rights. They are increasingly open to people without a degree and/or aimed specifically at people from ethnic minority backgrounds, in order to improve diversity within the companies. Previous examples include:

• HarperCollins ’ 18-month rotational early careers programme and 12-month BAME (black, Asian or minority ethnic) traineeship
• Hachette ’s 12-month traineeship
• Penguin Random House ’s six-month traineeship.

Likewise, formal training schemes in journalism are normally only offered by the larger and more well-known publications, and some are open to non-graduates. Opportunities have previously included:

• The Times ’ two-year graduate trainee programme for news reporters
• The Telegraph ’s two-year editorial graduate programme
• the BBC ’s two-year advanced journalism apprenticeship scheme.

Applying only to formal traineeships or graduate programmes limits your chances of success – as well as there being fewer vacancies available overall, there might not be any opportunities in the region where you would prefer to live (organisations running graduate programmes and trainee schemes tend to be based mainly in London and the south-east of England). Fortunately, there are plenty of other options to consider.

2. Individual journalism and publishing job vacancies

Sign up for email alerts or keep checking back regularly, as you never know when vacancies will arise.

Smaller, independent publishers and local newspapers and magazines are unlikely to recruit graduates annually and will only advertise an entry-level role when one becomes available, which could be at any time of year. These normally require an immediate start so you’ll need to wait until you have nearly finished your degree to apply. Don’t be disheartened by friends applying for graduate schemes in industries such as engineering or finance in the autumn; as we explain in this article, most recruitment into the media works very differently.

Widening your search to include SMEs and less well-known publication names will give you more opportunities to consider, making it easier to find a role that’s right for you. At an SME you’re more likely to be given early responsibility and the chance to voice your ideas, as well as assisting with a variety of projects from day one.

A good starting point for tracking down prospective employers is the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook , which contains lists of UK book, newspaper and magazine publishers including their office locations and the genres they publish. Make a longlist and see if each organisation has a ‘careers’, ‘jobs’ or ‘work for us’ page on its website with vacancies advertised. If not, you can try applying speculatively ( see the next section for more on this ).

Look out for job titles that include words such as ‘assistant’ or ‘trainee’ and check the required skills and experience carefully to make sure you’re eligible to apply. Find out more about the main types of jobs in book publishing . Or if your dream is to be a news reporter, read our advice on applying for jobs at local newspapers and trade publications .

Alternatively, you can find vacancies on websites such as:

• targetjobs
• The Bookseller
• The Publishing Post (a free digital magazine that you can download from its website )
• The Society of Young Publishers
• Publishing Scotland
• The Independent Publishers Guild
• Media Beans
• Journo Resources
• Cision Jobs
• Hold the Front Page
• Journalism.co.uk
• The Press Gazette
• Your university’s careers service website.

It’s a good idea to sign up for email alerts from employers that interest you and the organisations listed above, follow them on social media or keep checking back regularly, as you never know when vacancies will arise.

3. Speculative applications for publishing and journalism jobs

Your chance of success will always be greater if you give it a go than if you never even try.

If there are no vacancies on an organisation’s website, you can apply speculatively by sending a CV and covering letter . If the employer is not currently able to offer you any opportunities, they might contact you when something comes up in the future. Don’t let fear of rejection put you off; remember that your chance of success will always be greater if you give it a go than if you never even try.

Applying speculatively gives you more options than if you only apply when you see a vacancy advertised. This is true in any sector, but speculative applications are even more useful for those trying to break into journalism and publishing. That’s because there are so few organised graduate schemes and ad hoc vacancies might not exist in your preferred geographical region or area of work. Some organisations only advertise jobs for experienced candidates as their entry-level roles already receive enough interest through speculative applications.

There’s no limit to the number of speculative applications you can make. However, don’t apply speculatively if the employer is already advertising vacancies for entry-level jobs. You should also prioritise the employers that interest you most and take some time to research each of them beforehand. Our article on speculative applications for graduate jobs explains how to do this.

Last updated December 2021.