Media and Careers Lecturers
"The first step into Television is often a big one, and StartinTV.com is a welcome tool to help newcomers find the right path"
Mike Bolland, Director of Television, National Film and Television School.
Special Membership
Careers advisors and media course tutors can sign up to StartinTV.com for free, to receive full access to site information, newsletters, news of work experience opportunities, and of course personal contact via email.
Please just give us a few details: As well as the contact details requested in the enquiry form, if you would include your University/College name, your role, and requirements; by way of informational material (post card and posters) etc and we’ll get onto it straight away.
Competitive Industry
As Careers in the Media and TV are so hotly sought after and this is often a particularly challenging area in which to advise students on getting a start.
Having worked in the profession for 23 years (as a Cameraman, Director and Producer with the BBC), the founder of StartinTV has visited many Colleges and Universities to give talks and offer advice on how to get into the industry. From this the site was born.
A couple of pages on particular interest are Succeeding in a TV Job Interview and Your First Day in a TV Job. If there are particular areas of working in TV and the media about which you think we may be able to offer further advice, please get in touch.
Work Experience – The Way In
Ask anyone already working in TV about how they got started and it's almost certain that it was via some work experience. StartinTV.com contains advice on what the different TV jobs involve, how to get started and how to turn a work experience opportunity into a full-on career. A Dedicated Site. Aimed exclusively at newcomers to TV, this site offers useful resources, links, background information and tips from TV professionals and is, we believe, the first such service to become available to students keen to get started in television.
The site involves a membership fee and below is an explanation of why this is necessary.
Subscription fees, why?
We researched amongst employers about the possibility of charging them for access to the site and its database. Whilst very keen on using the site, most of them said that they grow tired of being approached by websites, publications, reference book producers etc for money and that the administrative hassle of gaining approval for even a small payment meant it would be a big turnoff. If it's free, they will use it and people will get jobs. If the site were free to contributors, and bearing in mind that more people want to be in TV than any other career, it would pretty quickly fill up with people who simply 'fancied having a go at Telly' - they are less likely to do so if it costs them something. By charging people to add their CV, we immediately focus on the keen, committed and motivated recruits. This makes the site more appealing to Producers - essential to keep it working well.
There are sites around to which TV professionals subscribe, as I'm sure you know. But can cost a lot more and subscribers find themselves on a database searched by producers looking for established people with a track record. We decided that for a site specialising exclusively in TV newcomers, the figure of £65, whilst a not inconsiderable amount, amounts to around £5 a month and is within reach of most people.
I hope very much that the information here, and on the website is of interest to you and your students, and that you will not hesitate to contact us to discuss it further.
We have a supply of information cards and posters for your communal areas or careers advice centre and will gladly mail these to you. Please contact us if these would be useful.
David Wheeler
MD and Founder StartinTV.com
email: enquiries@startinTV.com
Mobile Office: 07746 476355
