The RTS Futures Careers Fair made a triumphant return to the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, last month, after two years of Covid-enforced absence, during which time it was held virtually. Some 1,300 people attended the fair and around 300 received expert advice from a CV clinic. There were 45 exhibitors in the hall plus an “Ask me anything area”.
Breaking into the industry is tough. Funmi Olutoye, a news features producer at ITV’s Good Morning Britain, reckoned that only one in 20 to 25 emails she sent out looking for work elicited a reply, let alone an interview. ‘It’s a test of your mettle and whether you’re tenacious enough to [work] in this industry,’ she said. ‘There are many people I started with who are no longer here… it’s not because I’m more talented, it’s that I had more tenacity to stick with it.’
The sold-out evening at the 7 Dials Club in Soho in mid-October saw 12 talent managers from some of the best production companies and recruitment agencies in the industry offer their expertise on how to break into TV.
“We’ve done a lot of these events on Zoom, so it’s really, really nice to have everybody in one room,” said Lauren Evans, senior talent manager at Lifted Entertainment.
Panellists Funmi Olutoye, News Features Producer, ITV, Good Morning Britain, Michael Sheridan, Assistant Producer, Channel 4, Fozia Nasir, Producer, BBC, Jordaan Shelley, News Features Producer, ITV, Good Morning Britain, and Jasmine Dotiwala give a masterclass in what to expect in your first five years in TV.
The session, which was run by the founder of The Unstuck Club, Jo Deadman, advised people to “look internally” and identify their “core values” or “fundamental beliefs”.
Deadman said: “They can explain why we feel happy in certain areas of our lives and not in others. We’re more likely to achieve our goals and feel happy in our careers if we live by our core values.”
People, she argued, are too often weighed down by negative thoughts, which need to be challenged.
Podcasts are not all about comedy, true crime and self-help – increasingly, news and current affairs are fuelling the boom in the audio format.
At the beginning of this month, the BBC’s Global News Podcast, The Economist Podcasts and The Rest Is Politics, which is hosted by New Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell and ex-Tory minister Rory Stewart, all featured in the top 10 most popular UK podcasts.
Find out about how to get into TV through an early access talent scheme, chaired by Daniell Morrisey. This session was part of the RTS Futures Careers Fair 2022.
Are you a problem solver? Do you like a challenge? Do you like making things happen? Have you got what it takes to be in Production Management?
Production Management is an exciting career path in television production which can take you from live studio shows to big sporting events, from finely crafted documentaries to children's animation, from blockbuster dramas to international formats. It's a pivotal role in any production which requires creative and dynamic thinking and the tenacity to achieve a brilliant end result, safely, on budget and with a smile on your face!
Andy Hope, course leader for the Cameras, Sound and Vision Mixing Diplomas at the NFTS, talks about this exciting area of the television industry and what the NFTS course could do for your career. Having worked in the music and television industries for 30 years, Andy’s career has spanned roles as a Music Recording Engineer, to Producer, TV Sound Supervisor and TV Director. This session was part of the RTS Futures Careers Fair 2022.
