Bath Spa University

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Kara Rennie

Foundation Degree in Publishing 2009-2010

Kara worked 2 days a week for 3 months (Oct to Dec 2010) for The Manning Partnership Ltd as Sales & Office Administrator.

Garry Manning, the Managing Director approached the Job Shop looking to fill a short term staffing need with 2-4 students as a job share to cover a key full time role which was available for a 3 month period. The Manning Partnership Ltd offers the total sales, marketing and distribution solution for publishers both in the UK and in English language export markets. Formed in March 1997 it has quickly extended its original client base to include Carroll and Brown, Sourcebooks Inc, Five Mile Press and also publishes its own range of books under the Brown Dog Book and Nightingale Books. They sell into key retailers outlets both in UK and overseas on behalf of their publishing clients.

As it is a small company the students were expected to work as part of a team and use their own initiative to prepare for sales meetings. In addition they were required to fulfil a variety of office duties, filing both electronically and physically, order samples, liaise with publishers and customers, plus reception duties, post etc

Kara thoroughly enjoyed her time in the role and found the work to be interesting and relevant to her degree. Her creative writing skills were extremely valuable when writing and uploading information onto Amazon which proved to enhance sales and contribute to the success of the business. She also chose titles from lists which she thought would sell.

I felt very responsible as I was covering such a key role in a very small team; it was invaluable experience to see how all their systems worked and to develop my excel skills and telephone manner. I want to continue at BSU into my third year and study for a BA (hons) degree in either Creative Writing or Creative Media Practice. My long term career plans are to use my degree, either in an editorial or writing role. The experience I gained in this job will enhance my CV and give me lots to talk about at interviews – having worked in an industry related to my degree is so useful.

Garry Manning was extremely impressed with the calibre of students who applied for the role. The skills and experience Kara brought to the role were useful and she applied herself very well to the work.

It was amazing to see how quickly Kara picked up the systems we use. It was a real bonus to have her creative writing ability; she certainly contributed to the sales of our titles following the fabulous detail she uploaded onto Amazon. We needed someone who was reliable but someone who also took an interest in our day to day operation as attention to detail and accuracy in all that we do is crucial to keeping our customers happy. Kara certainly delivered and we would recruit students in the future if a need arose.