JobHack 2016: A series of creative, publishing-orientated workshops for young people

#PRHJobHack

5 cities

150 attendees from across the UK

27 colleagues delivering workshops

1 runaway balloon

and a frankly ridiculous amount of M&Ms

In 2016, we launched JobHack; 5 days of creative, publishing-oriented workshops aimed to inform young people about careers in publishing. We’ll be doing more JobHacks in 2017 – keep an eye on @PRHCareersUK where we’ll announce more information shortly.

JobHack is part of our work to help make publishing more inclusive. We travelled the UK, visiting Birmingham, Glasgow, Halifax, Taunton and Liverpool, speaking to those who might not necessarily have considered publishing as a career before, or had easy access to opportunities or information about our industry. We wanted to reach those who have a passion for storytelling and curiosity for what’s going on in the world, but who aren’t on our front doorstep.

Applications came from as far as Falmouth and Aberdeen, all answering the questions “What do you want to get out of JobHack?” and “Tell us about your favourite story.” Those demonstrating curiosity and passion for our purpose were invited to the day. We greeted them with JobHack merchandise and their very own Penguin tote bag.

What did we get up to?

Each JobHack was unique and interactive with workshops designed to give attendees a taste of the creative and practical challenges we face day to day. Workshop topics ranged from editorial, production, digital, sales, recruitment, marketing and publicity.

At each event attendees brimmed with brilliant ideas, developing pitches for new books (favourites included Donald Top Trumps and Lunch Al Desk-o) and re-writing cover copy for a new audience – Assassin’s Creed for a middle aged non-fiction reader is sure to be a success.

What’s next?

This year, there will be more workshops, more locations, more prizes, and more overly-sized balloons. Keep an eye on @PRHCareersUK and #PRHJobHack to find out where we’re going and how to apply.

Curious to hear what we got up to? Some of this last year’s JobHackers shared their thoughts about the experience…

 “Excellent opportunity and insight into the world of publishing. It was great to hear from different members of the team especially from what kind of backgrounds they came into publishing from. I will definitely keep an eye out for job opportunities!” Hannah, Bournemouth

“Loved the whole day – it was really informative and gave me an invaluable insight into publishing” – Dominic, Belfast

 “JobHack was so inclusive – I doubt many publishers would let a scientist come along! It’s really opened my eyes to the vast range of roles within publishing.” Rachel, Edinburgh

“[JobHack taught us] that academic qualifications aren’t the be-all, end-all of entering publishing. It was interesting to learn about digital publishing too!” Caitlin, Dollar

“The challenges have definitely been the focal point for me. Very interactive, provoking and generally pretty memorable.” Jack, Nottinghamshire

“[I most enjoyed the] interactive activities with groups and especially the speed networking. Good to get a practical idea of what each job involves.” Bethany, Reading

 ““[JobHack] encouraged me to think creatively about a number of different aspects of publishing. This business is so varied and fast-moving and it was great to hear from a variety of people about their experience [and] take on this creative industry… The people are as lovely as the books!” Claire, Troon 

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