Cried, but did it anyway! I have achieved new milestones in my job.

This is my

Chevening leadership essay

. Please read and give comments below. Thanks.

My employment at Oxford University Press (OUP) tops the list of the best developments in my life. I work in academic and higher education publishing and feel resourceful as I achieve new milestones in my job. After all, I'm an Editor for the prestigious OUP!

Right after my graduation, I joined OUP in April 2016. I figured very soon that my work entailed more than just editing and proofing manuscripts. I was a Project Manager too. Handling book projects from inception to publication, to ensuring that they reached the market and sold well, I was responsible for more than what I had expected. A month into the job, I was called for a meeting with my Manager and Director and asked to join the Higher Education Unit of the Press. Without a team or SOPs in place, I was asked to revive the department. With much trepidation, I decided to take on the new task thinking that if successfully executed, it would give me positive influence within the organization.

The first step towards reviving the department was to make the Management realize that a team was required for different portfolios. I researched extensively about the Higher Education Units of leading academic publishers and proposed three new positions of HE Manager, Commissioning Editors, and Desk Editors for the department. I personally wanted to be a Commissioning Editor, so I got my JD broadened to include some commissioning work, while simultaneously working as a desk editor, and fulfilling the responsibilities of a Manager as well.

For five difficult months, I worked alone in the HE Unit, utilizing this time and the freedom for experimentation for developing SOPs and clearing the backlog of my department. I placated angry authors, created guidelines for textbook proposals, chalked out a basic publishing plan for 2017, and ventured in the market to explore opportunities for higher education publishing. During this time, I regularly met academics at universities in Karachi and persuaded them to write new textbooks for us. I wanted to promote locally developed textbooks because I felt that foreign-published books were costly and did not adequately cater to our socio-cultural and political specificities. I felt a gap in the knowledge market as students would grasp ideas and concepts but couldn't apply them to their local issues, because their understanding was rooted in foreign examples and case studies. And because these books were costly enough, most students didn't have any inclination to buy them. I wanted to change these aspects of textbook development.

With some months of rigorous work and tireless networking, I successfully commissioned a textbook project to two Pakistani academics. This book, set to publish in 2018, will for the first time cover International Relations for undergrad students from local perspectives. I have also commissioned a Gender Studies textbook project to a Pakistani academic. The idea to study both IR and Gender Studies from local perspectives and examples makes me excited and proud of the work I do. I also solicited new manuscripts from 4 authors, and got 3 running titles revised for new editions. A department having no book projects in 2016 boasts 7 new HE publications in 2017, all written by Pakistani authors.

My active engagement at work has also made the management more receptive to my suggestions, which in turn increases my sense of purpose and sway within the Editorial team. I was sent twice to Malaysia from May-August 2017 for a publishing summit and our Annual Sales Conference. This exposure has immensely added to my skill set and knowledge about the publishing business. A firm believer in knowledge-for-all and development through literacy, I am a vocal proponent within my organization for low-priced, high-quality textbooks, designed in ways that they shed gender and racial stereotypes. I actively voice my concerns if content in our books is toned down for being 'too progressive', having opened multiple forums for discussion among senior editors to revisit our censorship policy.

In my 17-months association with OUP's HE Unit, two new desk editors, in addition to the Manager, have been hired. I am finally going to be in a position where I always wanted to be i.e. Commissioning Editor, better prepared to explore the challenges and opportunities of a new portfolio.

Raza, you really do have some very strong accomplishments in your 17-month career with OUP, but your essay does not represent any leadership or influencing skills which makes this essay away from the prompt question. Moreover, you have mentioned that you worked alone in the HE unit. This shows that you were not at all near to being a leader as there was no one you were leading.

You can use your same accomplishments mentioned in this essay by adding examples of where and how you came forward as a leader and what influencing skills made you achieve those 7 new publications. These additions will surely add great value to your essay.

I'm also an aspiring scholar and my feedback is based on the thorough research of composing the Chevening essays and the positive feedback I received from the main reviewer of this forum on all of my essays.

I hope this helps you. Goodluck!

Marzia, this is better but the information shared went overboard. Try to lower your presentation to under 500 words. Your description about reviving the department is definitely one that showcases your leadership skills and other talents. The fact that you had to set up the department all over again clearly indicates that you had to lead and influence people. Examples of how you got the department staffed would help to illustrate that point. One part of the essay that went under developed though is your influencing skill. Specifically, when dealing with people who tend to not care that you are an editor. Revise the essay and figure out which paragraph(s) you can sacrifice in order to allow the development of the method by which you placated angry authors. That requires direct people and influencing skills which will help to further boost the positive discussion regarding your leadership and influencing skills in the essay. Personally, I would skip the paragraph that talks about your going to Malaysia twice. The events you spoke of there sound better suited towards your networking essay.

@Raza93
Your essay seem good for me, though you may know the rules of all Chevening essays to be minimum of 100 words up to 500.
However, your essay is exceeding 700 words! You could use one of many free online words counter websites to readjust your essay.