As the second speaker in a five-lecture series presented by the Women in Business organization in conjunction with the Rockefeller Center, Luitjens advertised the various options available to women in the publishing industry, speaking from her experience as a career woman and mother of two.
The publishing industry is "woman-friendly," she said. "From my personal experience from the education side [of publishing], women have broken through the glass ceiling."
Luitjens also outlined the various positions she worked in before becoming the President of Pearson Professional Development, a startup division of Pearson PLC. She described the publishing culture as the most enjoyable aspect of her job, allowing her to indulge in the arts and connecting her with many creative personalities.
"I've had a remarkable career and I've loved my work and I've loved all the position I've had," Luitjens said. "The great joy in publishing is not only that you get to work with smart people, but then you get to deal with authors who are simply a special breed."
When asked of what skill set is needed to be successful in the industry, Luitjens, who was named "Salesperson of the Year" during her tenure in sales at John Wiley and Sons, emphasized the importance of communication.
"You do need to communicate the value of the product to the client. Those are skills sets I urge you all to acquire. It's not [the client's] fault [if they don't get this product] it's your fault," said Luitjens. Luitjens also stressed the need for a superb command of the English language.
"You just need to have great English skills. The language skills will take you a long way," she said.
When asked how she rebounded so quickly after a three-year-long absence from the publishing industry to raise her daughter, Luitjens credited her freelance work during the period with enabling her to keep in touch with her craft and allowing her to secure a publisher position upon her return to the workforce.
"You never want there to be a gap in your resume," Luitjens advised.
Luitjens also offered recommendations to industry-bound students on finding jobs within publishing companies, saying that starting annual salaries for entry-level positions in publishing amounted around $25,000 to $30,000. She encouraged women to pursue their interests, pointing out the opportunities for women in an industry where she claimed little prejudice exists.
"Women are the backbone of this industry," Luitjens said. "Women are well-established in publishing. I don't think there's a lot of discrimination nor do I think there's any reverse discrimination."
Students, who asked many questions, appeared to find Luitjens' talk relevant and helpful.
"I really enjoyed the lecture. It is not often that Dartmouth brings speakers from low-profile industries such as publishing," said Women in Business vice president Julie Fairchild '06.
