ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXHow to get hired in Film and TV
10 years, 11 months ago - Catsnake Film
I performed two surveys on almost 1,300 TV and film employers to find out what's the best advice for new entrants into our industries.
The results are rather long and can be found here http://stephenfollows.com/how-to-get-hired-in-the-film-and-tv-industries/
The key findings were...
* Facebook is the most popular place for employers to post new vacancies
* Having a driving licence is much more useful than a university degree
* On average, UK employers receive 60 applications for each job.
* Only 46% of those applicants meet the job requirements
* Just under half of all film and television employers think that new entrants should work for free
* When asked ‘What makes a perfect CV?’ 67% of employers used the words “short” or “concise”
If you're new to the business I strongly suggest you read all of the lists that the are at the bottom of the article as a whole load of do and don'ts when applying for jobs, directly out of the months of employers.
Good luck!
Stephen
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10 years, 11 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin
Great post, and I agree with most of the responses to the survey. Tenacity also goes a long way - if I'm crewing a feature I'm going to be looking to get department heads in first, then flesh out the departments, then finally the runners and interns.
Yes, interns. I can't provide both training for complete newcomers plus maybe £400 when I'm getting maybe a couple of hours a day productive time from them. I do want people to come into the industry and find their departments and get themselves a chance to make contacts and impressions, and people are desperate to do so having spent 3 years on a degree course and never been on a proper set. I know the recruitment sites only want to show paid jobs, but they are in the business of trying to attract business to their website, not the business of actually producing films and TV. There has to be a space for trainees and interns with no experience getting free training and contacts. It shouldn't be abused, but £700/week is roughly what it costs to hire, transport and feed someone on NMW for a not untypical shooting week with the employer fringes (holiday pay, NI, payroll costs, setting up damn pension schemes for a mayfly of a company). More with accommodation. It adds up fast!
Response from 10 years, 11 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin SHOW