Meet Alessia - Holtzbrinck Careers

Insights of a trainee

Alessia reports on her work and the behind-the-scenes at Droemer Knaur.

What's your name and what do you do at Droemer Knaur (VDK)?

My name is Alessia and I'm in my second year of training as a management assistant in digital and print media at Droemer Knaur in Munich.

Why did you decide to join VDK and start the apprenticeship?

I always wanted to work in publishing. I first decided to study languages and literature. Unfortunately, my start at university was marked by the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
Through an acquaintance, I became aware of the training as a management assistant. I appreciate the hands-on work in the publishing house and its wide-ranging tasks in the respective departments. I have read several books published by Droemer Knaur and always wanted to take part in what makes their books so special.

What are you currently working on?

I'm currently in the Digital Publishing department. Here I work and support my colleagues on various projects: from optimizing and updating our „einfach-ganz-leben" website, checking our metadata on Amazon and in our stores, to different tasks from other departments, it's all here.

What has been an exciting project for you so far? Why?

My most exciting project so far has been getting a close look at the work of the editorial office. Reading unpublished manuscripts or reading samples has been super interesting. Especially reading English-language texts that haven't even been published in the U.S. or England yet. It was exciting to know about the project before any other readers had access.

What next steps are you looking forward to?

I can't give a blanket answer to this question. I simply look forward to every department. Every department in the publishing house has new and diverse tasks that we as trainees get to work on.

What do you particularly appreciate about working at VDK?

I never have the feeling that I'm "just" a trainee. We receive a warm welcome in every department and are given really great tasks. Every department works differently and yet, in the end, a book is launched on the market that all departments have worked on together. I had interesting conversations with experienced colleagues and got a lot of input about the book industry and beyond. Because we trainees are allowed to go through all the departments, we have a good overview of how a book is created, from the manuscript to the bookstore. And since reading and books are my passion, this training is really means a lot to me.

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