I am disappointed and a bit concerned to see how few listings I found that apply to my field of work (Print & Digital Production Management) I would be qualified for. After searching through all of the applicable websites/resources found by myself and provided by others I was only able to find eleven listings that I would consider appropriate and worth applying to.
Implementation/Print Project Coordinator – Craft Worldwide
Production Manager – A to Z Media Inc.
Project Manager Coordinator – Global Luxury Jewelry Firm
Assistant Operations Manager – Sports Illustrated
Art Production Associate – Temporary, digital art department.
Art Assistant – Architectural Digest
Assistant Manager – Print Production and Traffic – Coach
Assistant Production Manager – Time Magazine
Administrative Assistant – Conferences, Events/Magazine Publishing/Marketing – McMurry/TMG
Digital Ad Sales Assistant – Louise Blouin Media
Digital Ad Trafficker & Inventory Manager – PureWow.
The above listings come from a variety of organizations including: media agencies, digital and magazine publishers, and large companies that have their own creative services teams for printing, store graphics and signage. Job titles include manager, assistant, trafficker and coordinator. Some relate specifically to digital ads while others involve administrative, production and project work.
All of the above jobs require the ability to manage the production, manufacturing and distribution of printed and/or digital materials, and have all projects one is responsible for on-time, on-budget, profitable, and meet client expectations. This is the bottom line and goal for employers in this industry. Management duties for some positions include conducting weekly meetings with account managers, production and creative teams to ensure the above. One must be familiar with all stages of production and be able to anticipate and work proactively and perform quality assurance to prevent problems. The ability to run specific reports to monitor jobs/estimates and be able to maintain and approve estimates in a timely manner is also required.
Some of the above jobs require the ability to handle basic creative involvement such as design and type updates to layouts, reformatting digital files and light retouching work. Others include more hands-on design work of miscellaneous supplementary/promotional materials.
The above positions require excellent communication and interpersonal skills as one will be acting as the liaison between several groups including sales/business, production, editorial, art, promotions, outside vendors and clients. One must be able to summarize and communicate at a high level. Both verbal and written communication skills and attention to detail are a priority as the ability to accurately compile and disseminate information is crucial.
Besides requiring computer literacy and the use of basic desktop applications such as Microsoft Outlook, MS Office, Acrobat Pro, and Adobe Creative Suite, this industry requires the use of manufacturing software such as Vantage, Publisher’s Studio and other related order management systems and databases (Filemaker Pro.) One job listing requires familiarity with third party ad servers such as DFP (DoubleClick for Publishers) which is used for managing, delivering and measuring the performance of online ads.
Trafficking materials/project components and adhering to tight schedules are common work skills needed for production management jobs. This is something I am engaged with on a daily basis in my current job as associate production manager for WIRED magazine at Conde Nast. I deal mostly with the flow and processing of ad materials and would like to be able to interact more with co-workers in a project setting. I have strong customer service skills and deal with clients and employees in response to their questions and requests. I would like to learn and do work involving more technical aspects of this industry specifically with outside vendors who manufacture the final product. I do deal with prepress providers but I would love to work and interact with printers on a more involved basis such as in the Quality Assurance department. This would require a Master’s Degree so I need to finish my education at City Tech first.
In relation to the jobs available, my education at City Tech in Communications Design Management has prepared me with the basics including computer literacy and knowledge of print manufacturing. My college education has helped me up to a certain point but I feel the best opportunity I have had was my internship at Conde Nast during the summer of 2010. Direct experience is the factor that has gotten me into the door. Opportunities are what you make of them and I definitely appreciated this. The experience as a whole was an incredible introduction to the creative and corporate environment of Conde Nast. I took copious notes as I was introduced to numerous employees and attended meetings led by prominent individuals. By the end of the internship I was able to hand in a spiral-bound book of my experience to my supervisor. This book reflected my attention to detail, skill in written communication, and my initiative in starting and finishing a project on my own. It also showed my enthusiasm for and appreciation of all that I had learned.
