How to get started
What screen industry employers are looking for
Yen Yau is a Create Central Member and screen industries professional with over 20 years experience. Her passion is supporting new entrants who want to work in the film and television industries
I want to highlight some of the ways you might have more to offer than you realise. I also want to offer some top tips on how to make best use of the resources available to develop your own knowledge and understanding of the screen industries.
Soft skills
Securing your first industry job is often less about academic qualifications and relevant work experience, and more about being able to demonstrate what we call ‘soft skills’. These are the non-technical and life skills that you develop through your experiences, be that in the classroom working on projects with peers, through extracurricular activities, in other jobs or through voluntary work. In essence, your first role could be secured because of your communication skills, the ability to work and get along with people, demonstrating empathy, interpersonal skills etc.
When I was younger, I worked in the family take-away. It was there I developed a strong work ethic, became accustomed to working long hours, being on my feet all day and given responsibility to look after budgets; skills that any employer would want and that includes screen industry employers. If you told me at the time that I would work in this industry, I wouldn’t believe you. But here I am.
If you want to work in film or TV, whether it is scripted or factual, employers are looking for passion and a ‘can do’ attitude. They want individuals who aren’t afraid of hard work and people who are team players, that can be trusted to get a task completed to schedule.
What is right for you?
The first step on the journey requires a little self-discovery. You probably already know what subjects you enjoy and are interested in, but what you’re good at and where your talent lies might not be quite the same.
What do you want from your career?
Do you enjoy being hands-on?
Are you happy to be mobile and move from job to job, or do you want to choose your own hours?
Do you prefer working on your own, or being part of a large team?
Want to tell campaigning stories and give a voice to those who struggle to be heard?
Are you interested in climate change and sustainability?
These are all examples of things you should ask yourself in order to pursue the path that interests you, but also that is right for you.
There are so many entry level roles - find out more on the ScreenSkills website
So many different roles
There is a very wide range of roles within the screen industries, many of which you will not have heard of but could ultimately pique your interest, so explore and be curious. You don’t know what you don’t know, and the responsibility lies with you to seek this knowledge out.
Do a personal skills audit so you can establish what your skills are. This will help to identify attributes and competencies of yours that match what is necessary for particular roles. For instance, you may want to be a director but if you’re not good at speaking in public how are you going to share your creative vision with your team? What are you going to do to develop this skill?
Or how about working in post-production, which is a service industry? How are you going to rein in your tendency to tell others what to do, when you are taking instructions from a client and you don’t agree with their creative vision?
Starting as a production secretary or runner working in a production office, you will be working in a fast-paced environment, so it doesn’t matter whether you have got a degree in zoology or in film studies. What might help you more is your experience working in a busy Tesco’s on Saturdays, as it equips you with the ability to adapt to a busy environment and pull together with your team. Employers will be looking for you to demonstrate that you have the skills to thrive in that environment.
Marketing yourself
Your CV is a marketing tool that is pitching you, it is your shop window. Use it to tell a story about yourself. When you are describing your skills, make sure to give examples to prove that you have them, and to paint a picture of who you are and what your skillset is.
Use your cover letter to demonstrate your passion, explain what attracts you to the industry and what you would bring to the role. It should not be repeating what is on your CV.
Make sure to do your research. Do your due diligence researching the company so you can cite why you want to work for them and name-check their programmes or the films they have made. Or maybe it is the type of content they make which attracts you to them. If so, say so!
If you are writing in response to a specific role, and not contacting them speculatively, back up why you are the best candidate for the job. Study the job description and identify key words to reflect that description in your CV and cover letter.
Resources
Immerse yourself fully in the sector you want to be in. Go online and look at the amazing free resources available from ScreenSkills, BAFTA Guru, RTS, FutureLearn and many more.
Keep your eye out for courses like Create Central’s Bootcamps - free courses that will introduce you to the range of in-demand roles in the screen sector, show how your skills could add value to these creative teams and give you a chance to gain real experience on set.
There is no excuse really to not get informed. With so much information on roles and courses, events, case studies, profiles, free seminars, podcasts, free masterclasses out there, make sure to soak it all up!
Be brave
Industry insiders have been more open to being helpful during these particularly tough times. Follow organisations like ScreenSkills, Creative UK and The Grierson Trust on social media, register to watch online events, listen to expert panellists and if there is a person on the panel that is working in a role that you aspire to - ask questions, get in touch.
Put yourself out there and be brave. Ask yourself, what is the worst that can happen? My answer is that they don’t respond – is that so bad? Do your research and think carefully about your questions. This could be a great opportunity because the person could well reply, so you need to present yourself as someone they would want to support. Don’t be deterred if you don’t get a response straight away and never take it personally if you don’t get a response. People are busy.
You may have to send a lot of CVs, applications and cover letters before you get a positive response, but tenacity is just another one of those soft skills employers are looking for, so don’t give up!
Good luck!
Yen Yau Q&A with industry entrants (60 mins)
Ask Yen!
We held an open Q&A with Yen so new entrants could ask questions about how you can get started in the screen industries or how you can develop your skills.
Yen Yau is a Create Central member and also the Director of Training Programmes at The Grierson Trust. The Grierson Trust runs DocLab schemes for new entrants, editors and production managers who want to work in factual or documentaries - find out more on the Grierson Trust website.