What does a publication specialist do?
A publication specialist is responsible for assisting in publishing operations and supervising distribution processes accordingly. Publication specialists inspect the quality of materials before printing, such as verifying information, proofreading contents, and ensuring that the style meets the standard requirements and business guidelines. They may also handle the company's social media presence to attract the audience by posting publication updates and engaging captions. A publication specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling press releases, media communications, and writing sales reports.
Publication specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real publication specialist resumes:
- Manage documents through planning, development and QA.
- Lead a cross discipline team to develop a new SERB database for Westlaw.
- Manage, create and edit internal and external communication collateral, providing high-level management copywriting and document creation support.
- Train writers in XML tagging schema.
- Deploy PC and Macintosh digital graphics workstations.
- Ensure character and paragraph styles are applied according to the RFP requirements.
- Experience at coding in HTML, CSS, and other web base languages.
- Support accurate design, delivery and maintenance of call for abstracts website using HTML.
- Edit, format, typeset, and proofread all publications as contracted by government.
- Utilize client's PC, page layout software and a network printers to create publications on a small economic scale.
- Read through RFP to determine font and size specifications, margins, document page limitations, and the number of volumes.
- Prepare and present PowerPoint presentations.
- Create workbooks, PowerPoint presentations and present materials.
- Maintain a SharePoint repository for all project documentation.
- Work under tight deadlines requiring excellent organizational and proofreading skills.
Publication specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Publication Specialists are proficient in Technical Publications, PowerPoint, and Technical Manuals. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Publication Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Technical Publications, 9%
Served as technical publications specialist for the Motor Information System division that provides aftermarket automotive manuals to the industry.
- PowerPoint, 7%
Employed Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Boeing/DoD TPAS and XY-Vision publications authoring systems.
- Technical Manuals, 6%
Coordinate technical manual editing composition, production, and delivery in accordance with applicable specifications, standards, and other requirements.
- Adobe Illustrator, 6%
Appointed to create OSD (on-screen display) illustrations for new products and to train team members in Adobe Illustrator.
- Desktop, 6%
Write and/or report on and publish copy for department/school/ University publications using appropriate desktop publishing methods.
- Graphic Design, 5%
Aided in marketing, graphic design and public relations for one of the largest records management firms in North America.
Common skills that a publication specialist uses to do their job include "technical publications," "powerpoint," and "technical manuals." You can find details on the most important publication specialist responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a publication specialist to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what publication specialists do because "public relations specialists deal with the public and the media regularly." Additionally, a publication specialist resume shows how publication specialists use interpersonal skills: "developed lasting client relationships by applying effective communication and interpersonal skills in resolving problems and responding to customer inquiries. "
Organizational skills. Many publication specialist duties rely on organizational skills. "public relations specialists are often in charge of managing several events or communications at the same time, which requires excellent skills in coordinating arrangements.," so a publication specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways publication specialist responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "worked under tight deadlines requiring excellent organizational and proofreading skills. "
Problem-solving skills. publication specialists are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to publication specialist responsibilities, because "public relations specialists sometimes must explain how a company or client is handling sensitive issues." A publication specialist resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "produced high resolution graphics suitable for nuclear weapon publications and technical manuals. "
Speaking skills. For certain publication specialist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "speaking skills." The day-to-day duties of a publication specialist rely on this skill, as "public relations specialists regularly speak on behalf of clients or their organization." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what publication specialists do: "created workbooks, powerpoint presentations and presented materials. "
Writing skills. Another crucial skill for a publication specialist to carry out their responsibilities is "writing skills." A big part of what publication specialists relies on this skill, since "public relations specialists must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases, speeches, and social media posts." How this skill relates to publication specialist duties can be seen in an example from a publication specialist resume snippet: "increased visibility of county events and departments through writing and distribution of press releases/advisories. "
The three companies that hire the most publication specialists are:
- Glaxosmithkline8 publication specialists jobs
- HNTB6 publication specialists jobs
- Randstad North America, Inc.4 publication specialists jobs
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Compare different publication specialists
Publication specialist vs. Media coordinator
A media coordinator acts as a communications professional in charge of developing and implementing target communications and advertising for various media platforms. Media coordinators plan, implement, and monitor the social media strategy of an organization. They discern the most successful media outreach and establish advertising partnerships and business deals. They aim to increase their respective companies' brand awareness, strengthen their advertising campaigns, improve their marketing strategies, and increase their sales.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, publication specialist responsibilities require skills like "technical publications," "technical manuals," "adobe illustrator," and "desktop." Meanwhile a typical media coordinator has skills in areas such as "instagram," "twitter," "digital marketing," and "social media marketing." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Media coordinators tend to reach similar levels of education than publication specialists. In fact, media coordinators are 3.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Publication specialist vs. Account coordinator
An account coordinator assists account executives by providing day-to-day administrative support such as preparing and filing sales contracts and reports. As coordinators, they must maintain a good relationship with their clients and vendors by addressing issues and with regular communication. Account coordinators must possess essential skills such as a strong business administration background, adept at both written and verbal communication, and excellent time management. They are also responsible for researching prospective clients and produce client feedbacks to their account management teams.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, publication specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "technical publications," "technical manuals," "adobe illustrator," and "desktop." Meanwhile, an account coordinator has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "data entry," "account management," and "project management." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Account coordinators tend to reach lower levels of education than publication specialists. In fact, they're 5.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for publication specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Mike Bromberg
Assistant Professor, East-West University
How we get our information will be more relevant, and new media platforms will continue to change how it is consumed.
I felt it essential to engage students with sources from both liberal and conservative views, especially with the discussion on fake news. For many people, unfortunately, ideology is more important than facts.
Publication specialist vs. Digital media internship
In a digital media internship, an intern participates in various creative projects while under the supervision and guidance of a supervising manager or staff. They usually perform support tasks to gather industry insights and experience, which typically includes creating digital content according to project guidelines and themes, conducting research and analyses, utilizing client feedback, and handling digital platforms, such as websites and social media pages. They also perform clerical support tasks such as preparing documents, taking calls and other forms of correspondence, and running errands as necessary.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from publication specialist resumes include skills like "technical publications," "technical manuals," "adobe illustrator," and "desktop," whereas a digital media internship is more likely to list skills in "video content," "digital marketing," "instagram," and "twitter. "
When it comes to education, digital media interns tend to earn similar degree levels compared to publication specialists. In fact, they're 4.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Publication specialist vs. Social media internship
In a social media internship, the primary role is to take part in managing a brand's social media platforms for public relations. One of their primary duties is to craft informative and captivating content while under the supervision and guidelines of a manager or supervisor. Furthermore, there may also be instances where an intern must participate in devising strategies that would bring more public recognition to the brand, such as social media campaigns to boost sales and improve client base.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between publication specialists and social media interns, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a publication specialist might have more use for skills like "technical publications," "technical manuals," "adobe illustrator," and "desktop." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of social media interns require skills like "instagram," "facebook insights," "twitter," and "social media marketing. "
The average resume of social media interns showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to publication specialists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 5.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.8%.Types of publication specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
