Some sectors of the jobs market are feeling the chill of the credit crunch, as would-be publisher Matthew Jones discovered, Steve Coomber writes.

He graduated from Oxford Brookes University this summer with a 2.1 double honours in English language and linguistics with publishing. Along the way he took sensible steps to make sure he got a job after university.

“I did an internship at the business-to-business magazine publisher BMI Publications in both my summer vacations and after the second summer I worked part-time for them while still at university,” Jones says. “In my second year I went to an event attended by publishers from across the UK.”

Equipped with a good degree, appropriate work experience and strong non-academic skills — he was head boy of his secondary school, captain of various sports teams and has competed at county level — Jones sent his CV to several book publishers. But, possibly reinforcing research from The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers suggesting the media sector is cutting back on graduate training places, the response has been disappointing.

“When you send out 20 to 30 e-mails and spend a lot of time tailoring those e-mails and making sure that you reach the right person, it is frustrating when you hardly get a reply.”

He continues to apply to publishers while working in the wine trade. But in November he plans to fly to South America.

“I will do some travelling and teach English as a foreign language and then, when I return next year, hopefully the job market will have improved and I can get a place on a publisher’s graduate training scheme.”

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