The Very Rough Guide to Getting Work in TV

Getting work in TV is really much the same as getting any other sort of work. You need to find somebody who needs a job doing. You need to be able to do the job, and then convince them that you not only can do it, but also fit in to the team, turn up on time, work hard and be professional. "But that's a catch 22 situation!" I hear your plaintive cry. "How can I show I can do the job without doing it?"

There are a number of ways to establish your credentials:-

One may be to take a suitable vocational college course. This was my route and I was very fortunate to be at a college which had done it's research very well and produced graduates to fill an identified gap. Almost all of the graduates got jobs. Beware of anything called "Media Studies". This must be one of the most ambiguous course description in the whole of education. Check the course out very carefully before enrolling to make sure it really does give you the knowledge and skills you need to get the job you want! There are plenty of people working in the industry who have been on a media studies course. but I suspect that they are heavily outnumbered by the media studies graduates who are doing something else.
Some companies are constantly looking for runners and interns. These are basically the bottom-of-the-food-chain jobs, but where the action is. It's the sort of thing that hopefully puts you in the right place while you wait for the right time. It gives you the opportunity to show the right people that you are dependable, sensible, bright, trustworthy, pleasant, resourceful, efficient etc. They will also be able to tell quickly if you are none of those things.. It is an implied promise that these lowly jobs are a sort of informal apprenticeship and can lead to better things, but like all implied promises, it is not binding and no guarantee - especially if you spill the Starbucks over the stars!
If you are particularly academic, then an impressive degree of the right sort can go a long way.

In the UK most job adverts are in the back pages of Broadcast magazine. Some companies also advertise vacancies on their websites and in other trade publications. It may also be worth checking the media jobs section of newspapers. The Guardian has quite a good one on certain days.

Whichever route you chose, here are a few words of advice which are best not learned the hard way:-

Courses give you some knowledge, but not much experience.
When you start a new job, you don't know what you don't know, but you co-workers do.
If you are any good, you won't need to bullshit. If you bullshit you might land yourself a job which you can't do, and set your career back. It's best not to bullshit!
You can't learn talent, only develop it. If there is nothing to develop you are wasting your time. Focus on doing what comes naturally to you. Do it as well as possible.
Be polite and pleasant to everyone. You don't know who they are or who they know.
Remember that there are plenty of people who will offer you advice without really knowing what they are talking about, and I could be one of them so be careful!