Dos & Don'ts for your first TV CV

Have you just come out of education, or had your first job but the only CV you have is catered to another industry like retail or bar work? If you want to pursue your dream career in TV, it's time for a CV change.

The first step is to think about your past experience and what is most relevant to the role you are applying for. What you can bring to the role? What skills did you gain on your latest job? What relevant qualifications or training have you got?

To start you off, we've come up a few tips to help you get that one step further.

Some Dos and Don'ts for your first TV CV...

• Do tailor your CV to the role, and keep it short and sweet. One page should be enough and will be efficient for employers.

• Do divulge past experience. When starting out in TV, it's unlikely that every single person has been able to access TV experience. But don't panic! It's all about applying the experience you do have to the role. What have you worked on before and why will this benefit the company in hiring you? Many potential runners underestimate the advantage of having had retail, bar or customer service experience. Roles like this provide you with key skills required for runners such as handling petty cash.  

• Do include whether you have a driving license. This is a requirement for lots (but not all) runner jobs. Many job roles will require you to be over 25 for insurance purposes, or might require you to have "business insurance" - so always check you fit the bill beforehand.

• Do your research. You'd be surprised how many freelancers straight out of university apply for an Assistant Producer role just because it has "Assistant" in the title, or for Show Runner (the American term for Series Producer), because it has "runner" in the title. There are very very few new entrants that should be applying for anything other than Runner or Office Assistant.

• Don't think that your degree puts you first. Know when your course is relevant: i.e. your English Literature degree needn't come first for a runner vacancy. However - if you're applying for a production company that specialises in natural history, a relevant unit in your Biology degree could come in handy to demonstrate how your knowledge of the subject can help them.

• Don't forget to let your references know you are using them. Send them a copy of your CV so they know what to expect if they get a call. This way, they can prepare a great testimonial for you.

• Don't include a picture. The jobs you are applying for can have reams of applications. Make things easier on your potential employer by highlighting your key skills rather than filling the page full of images.

• Don't apply for roles you aren't qualified for. Be prepared to start at the bottom, but be positive, get stuck in, learn all you can and hopefully you won't be there for long.

 
And some advice from a Talent Manager...

Don't call yourself a job title you haven't yet achieved on your CV. You will come up in a Talent Manager search, only to disappoint the production company with a CV which doesn't show you've done that job yet." Kimberly Godbolt, Talent Manager, Betty

  
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Remember: this list is not exhaustive, it is a few tips intended to get you started on creating the right CV to land you a new job.
Have any advice thats worked for you? Comment below and we'll add the best ones to the list.