We're super excited to welcome Yasmin to The International Bunch who joined us October 2020 as our new Marketing Executive. We caught up with Yasmin in her first few weeks to chat about this exciting move.
Do you want to start off by telling our readers a bit about yourself and your professional background?
Definitely. I graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2018 with a degree in History. During my time there I got involved with the university's comedy society, the Edinburgh Revue, and through performing comedy and living in the city where the world's largest arts festival takes place, I discovered an opportunity to review Edinburgh Fringe Festival comedy shows for a magazine. I loved writing and not long after I started to become interested in the publishing industry. Towards the end of my undergraduate I discovered an organization called the Society of Young Publishers and had my eyes opened to a career in the industry. Once I knew that was what I wanted to do I threw myself into the idea. Initially, I took a year out after graduating and interned as an Editorial Assistant with a news publication reporting on the charity sector in Scotland, continued to write freelance about comedy, and volunteered with the Society of Young Publishers. It was a hectic year but a great introduction to the industry before starting my postgraduate degree in Publishing at Edinburgh Napier University.
Once I settled into being a student again I started to realise that marketing was an area of publishing that I was really interested in. I applied for an internship at an independent publisher based in Edinburgh, and there I gained a broad view and experience of marketing and found that I loved it. Over the course of my degree, I also found that academic publishing was an area of research that I was definitely interested in, and so when the time came around for me to start thinking about my dissertation I chose to write about this exciting industry. I applied for what felt like hundreds of jobs after completing my studies, and then, a little later down the line, saw the role at The International Bunch and… here I am!
What excites you the most about your move to The International Bunch?
I feel really lucky to have found this role because I get to do what I’m most interested in – it’s going to be so interesting to learn more about the world of academic publishing from a consultancy perspective, helping lots of different clients and getting an insight into their worlds through that. Every day so far has felt really varied and I love that. I’m really excited to get stuck into this role with a relatively young company but with a wealth of experience behind it, and to learn all that I can from them.
Finally, outside of your working life, how do you like to spend your time?
I still live in Edinburgh in Scotland which is a really beautiful and vibrant city, and during the lockdown, I’ve missed being able to do lots of the things I’d usually be doing, like going to events such as live comedy gigs – we have some great local comedy clubs here. I also love to read in my spare time, going out for nice meals, and catching up with friends when I can.
Connect with Yasmin
LinkedIn: Yasmin Hackett