Thank you to the Women Entrepreneurs Group for this brilliant Insta training in June!

Milla from Pink Storm Social hosts the event for the Women Entrepreneurs Group

What should you post?

Do hashtags even matter any more?

How do people make reels that don’t feel cringe?

Why is your content getting zero traction when you’re doing all the “right” things?

Media Parents readers get 25% off membership for 6 months with the code CELEBRATE.

There’s no minimum term, the membership is monthly, so you can stay for as long as it serves you, and cancel anytime.

Head to the link below and use the coupon code when you join:

https://www.thewomenentrepreneursgroup.com

If you’re feeling the nudge to take your next step, to grow a business, promote your freelance work, or finally acting on that idea you’ve had in the back of your mind, then we’d love to support you.

To fully benefit from Media Parents join us here:https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/signup/?t=freelancer

Meredith Chambers, Amy Walker and Miranda Peters - Media Parents In Development Online

Miranda Peters – Surviving 9/11 Exec Miranda Peters is Head of UK Development at Candle Media True Stories, Reese Witherspoon’s factual indie. The label, which was launched in 2023 by former ABC News chief James Goldston, hired Miranda Peters from Top Hat Productions. Peters credit list also includes the BBC’s Exposed: The Church’s Darkest Secret, Paramount+’s  The Box, and Twitter: Breaking the Bird, currently on iPlayer.

Meredith Chambers is an executive producer whose credits include documentaries and formats including … Million Pound Menu (BBC2 and Netflix),Class of ‘92:  Out of Their League (BBC and Netflix) and Celebrity Cooking School (E4).  Meredith was Creative Director at Twenty Twenty where he created First Dates (C4), he was Executive Editor at BBC Wales where he exec’ed the BAFTA winning documentary ‘Between Life and Death’, and as Commissioning Editor for Documentaries at Channel 4, he commissioned and oversaw flag ship series including Hospital, Wife Swap, The Secret Millionaire and Cutting Edge.

He’s now working with independent producers as a consultant and exec on high end documentaries and formats. Meredith encouraged freelancers to be bold with the ideas they generate and pitch “anything in the middle won’t cut through”. Miranda echoed this “Beckham or Bust” sentiment. “Be strategic with what to pitch – crime pays at the moment – think of how to tell the story of a true crime in a different way.” And that thought goes for all ideas across genres.

"It's Beckham or bust for commissions at the moment" Miranda Peters

She added “Streamers just want hits – these can be surprise hits, but they want absolute buy-in and reassurance that the story is full of hooks, and twists and turns – this is most common in retrospective story telling. They don’t want observational docs (unless they are reality) – the BBC is the only broadcaster in the observational space it feels.”  The BBC has redeveloped its pitching portal Amy Walker added, you can access it here.

Both Meredith and Miranda talked about the “why” of your film. Amy  added -  ask yourself in any genre, “Why? Why now? and Why this producer/ production company?”. Someone investing in your idea will undoubtedly be thinking about who they’re investing in, from on-screen to production talent.

Miranda shared that her company Candle Media True Stories accepts pitches from independent producers. They can expect to get a deal of between 1 and 20% of the production fee depending on how developed the film is. And if it’s a streamer budget, that could be a healthy chunk. In the crime space story spots (from a newspaper etc) can work, with elements that touch you, a rich, layered story. “Streamers want a story not only with twists and turns but that can feel like a new story completely from one episode to another – turning itself on its head.” Development teams are combing every area for adaptable stories – books, articles, plays – “It doesn’t have to be a new story, it can be an old story, well told”. Likewise pegs like anniversaries can be a good springboard.

"You need something no-one else has got" Meredith Chambers

Meredith stressed the need for “something no-one else has got – talent relationships and access can secure a commission. Be bold with where you aim your sights at this point – the talent is looking for projects too, it’s not just production that is struggling for work at the moment. There are some big names available – even doing daytime!”

“Titles say it all” says Meredith, in the fact ent and features space. Broadcasters may have first look deals and want to suggest talent, get involved with casting and producing in detail from an early stage. Often it’s relationships that get the commission over the line – as Miranda illustrated with the relationships that secured her recent access for documentary “Twitter: breaking the bird, currently available on iPlayer.

Whether you try to go it alone, creating a pitch deck, sizzle (“It doesn’t have to be glossy” says Meredith – “it can be two sound bites that make me think I must hear more”) and pitching direct to broadcaster via one of the portals “SKY replied to me recently within a week” Amy observed.

Join us for Media Parents Spring Drinks on May 1st, Central London

Or, if you decide to link up with a production company in advance, three key pieces of encouragement surfaced here:

Firstly, from Miranda “It’s your idea, stick to your guns and negotiate, taking the idea to several production companies to get a better deal if you need to”. Secondly, from Meredith, ”Even if you warehouse it through a production company and don’t get the best deal – you’ve still got something away. Your name is on it somewhere, it’s on your CV to your credit. Go for it and go boldly!” Thirdly from Media Parents’ Amy Walker: “There are plenty of freelancers on Media Parents who pitch ideas either to indies to get jobs, or who get series away. Don’t block yourself and if you want another opinion on an idea, reach out to Media Parents, Meredith through his Media Parents profile, or pitch to Miranda via Candle True Media. You just never know…”

Contact Meredith Chambers by logging in, here.

Contact Miranda Peters here.

Contact Amy Walker at Media Parents here.

Our next event is in person drinks in Central London on May 1st, join here:https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/signup/?t=freelancer

Click here to sign up for a free ticket.

Meredith Chambers, Amy Walker and Miranda Peters - Media Parents In Development

miranda peters

Surviving 9/11 Exec Miranda Peters is Head of UK Development at Candle Media True Stories. The label, which was launched in 2023 by former ABC News chief James Goldston, hired Miranda Peters from Top Hat Productions. Peters credit list also includes the BBC’s Exposed: The Church’s Darkest Secret and Paramount+’s The Box.

meredith chambers

Meredith Chambers was until recently co-MD at RDF, and before that co-MD at Electric Ray, where he oversaw shows like  Million Pound Menu (BBC2 and Netflix), Class of ‘92:  Out of Their League (BBC One and Netflix), Alone at Home (C4), Call That Hard Work (BBC One) and Celebrity Cooking School (E4).

Prior to this Meredith was Creative Director of Twenty Twenty where he created international hit First Dates (C4) and other successful titles including The Hoarder Next Door (C4) and My Transexual Summer (C4).

Earlier in his career Meredith was Executive Editor at BBC Wales where he created award winning shows including the BAFTA winning documentary ‘Between Life and Death’, and Commissioning Editor for Documentaries at Channel 4 where he commissioned and oversaw flag ship series including Wife Swap, The Secret Millionaire and Cutting Edge.

amy walker

Media Parents Director Amy Walker will chair Media Parents In Development. She alternated her production career with spells of physical recovery and mental stimulation in development. Having worked in factual and docs as a director, PD, commissioned development exec, and showrunner, Amy moved into Talent Execing. After a spell in commissioning at Discovery, she went on to showrun a BAFTA-nominated series for Channel 4, followed by series 1 of a now longrunning drama doc streamer series for Arrow Media/ Discovery.

A diversity and flexible working champion, Amy set up Media Parents, a selective TV jobsite, networking and training organisation. She designed the website in 2010, and has since supported the return and retention of hundreds of experienced TV freelancers.

Click here to sign up for a free ticket.

Our next event is online on April 1st, see mailing list for more details. Scroll down the blog for more info www.mediaparents.co.uk - the jobs and social networking site for short term, part time, job share and regular hours jobs in media. For free events for subscribers, join here:https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/signup/?t=freelancer

Nightbitch is a dark, dark comedy starring Amy Adams, rising from the creative ashes of her lowest, lost moments of motherhood. You don’t have to be a mother or a middle aged woman to find yourself laughing out loud at this film that reflects most of our struggles at the moment. Adams’s character fights her situation, her husband, her heritage, her self – to rediscover self-expression. It’s not easy, it skirts insanity via magic realism, and – no spoilers here – it is a fight worth watching (and fighting)!

The Substance, if you haven’t already seen it, is a darker, Faustian dive into the extreme choices we may feel forced to make to maintain our later careers/ selves. And in The Last Showgirl, Pamela Anderson’s character Shelly grapples with society and her daughter’s condemnation for putting her now dying career in entertainment before motherhood. And for what? So interesting… Back in Europe (way, way back) Firebrand is about agency. Please watch it if you haven’t seen it, I imagine you will be cheering.

These powerful, funny, important films imprint on you. We need to sit exhausted and uncomfortable with the themes of resistance and persistence – if we can, we need to dig deep – and act.

If you can’t find work, create. You can create opportunities for work or meetings via our online Development Meet coming up on March 19th. If you are taking work outside TV to pay your bills, there is no shame in that. You can still say you work in TV even if you’re not right now, you have earned that through your previous experience. If you’re determined to get out or reinvent yourself, we have a great blog coming up that is going to inspire and empower you.

Even if you do none of the above, come for a drink at our London drinks on May 1^st. Inertia never helped anyone. Do whatever you need to pull yourself out of the hole. Creativity doesn’t have to be paid. If it makes you feel better to rest, rest. But if it makes you feel good to be creative, create.

If you would like to discuss anything related to TV work, you can log in and use the Media Parents watercooler (anonymously if you like) – request collabs, share inspiration, have a moan…

Our next event is on March 18th, see mailing list for more details. Scroll down the blog for more info www.mediaparents.co.uk - the jobs and social networking site for short term, part time, job share and regular hours jobs in media. For free events for subscribers, join here:https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/signup/?t=freelancer

We all introduced ourselves to the floor at Media Parents January networking. It's really helpful for everyone to know who's who

At Thursday’s event Amy explained that freelancers applying for roles through Media Parents will be in a group of up to 10 applicants. Many jobs are exclusive, but where they are listed elsewhere, employers say they look at Media Parents applicants first. How do they know? Application mails via the site are branded. Why do they like it? Media Parents is the only selective jobsite, requiring freelancers (not just restricted to parents) to have at least three years TV experience before joining. So much less sifting for hiring companies. From attending the event I can vouch that most people have much more experience than three years. So Media Parents is win, win for freelancers and hirers.

Media Parents Jan Drinks provided a great opportunity to meet or reconnect with companies like Strawberry Blond

I just want to say thank you so much for the networking evening and for the work that you do at Media Parents. I am so glad I made the journey. I am just reaching out to the people I met there. I’d say that I picked up contacts from 30% of the people in the room, including some employers I would love to work with.

I did some more stats for myself which I found interesting and really clear. I thought I would share them with you. I usually go from job to job without too much of a gap. Or have done for many years.

Researcher Hannah Bairsto, seen here with HOP Tina Lohmann, said it was the best networking event she had attended because it was friendly and relevant

Here are my stats as a freelancer of 23 years in two months of job searching, December 2024 to Jan 2025, prior to joining Media Parents:

****Job applications: 24 – for PD/SD across ob doc/fact ent/talent led genres.

Average number of applicants: 200 – 300 for every job (guestimate from the large numbers of applicants per job on the large jobsite I’ve previously been applying through + assuming they are not exclusive to that site).

Number of interviews – 3 (12.5 % hit rate)

Number of jobs got: 1 and it has been delayed until end of 2025.

***Number of speculative reach outs to talent managers / people I don’t know - 20

Number of emails back – 5

Expressions of interest for future work – 5

****Number of existing contacts with actual real work on the horizon who would earmark me – 1

*** number of my industry contacts who have called me saying do I want work? – 0

This element has been wiped out and was always there before. Although it formed 40% only of my work contracts.

For more info about Media Parents January Drinks scroll down this blog

Reason for these stats: My contacts are not in work, or have left the industry, or have many mouths to feed in terms of who they are hiring. I understand many jobs are not advertised (as backed up by yesterday’s Media Parents email and ring round) – but, I agree with Talented People’s Industry Health Check that broadcaster and streamer-approved candidates are going from one job to the next. If the same people are working on what is being commissioned then like any eco system it will start to fail or massively diminish and no longer flourish. Even the bits that are left.

Prognosis:  Doing what I did before is unlikely to find me work on the basis of these stats. Hence joining Media Parents to increase my reach and opportunities.

Actions:

• Apply for jobs on a platform with a great reputation / less competition
• Meet new people and build new relationships (watch out for Media Parents next event which will be online on Feb 19th)
• Write for this blog which has a reach on social and direct mail of 35K people in TV. I’ve made this post anonymous as I feel it’s a bit contentious, but I will be writing, I will

Our next event is on Feb 19th, see mailing list for more details. Scroll down the blog for more info www.mediaparents.co.uk - the jobs and social networking site for short term, part time, job share and regular hours jobs in media. For free events for subscribers, join here:https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/signup/?t=freelancer

Heads of Production from Raw Cut and Strawberry Blond, Tina Lohmann and Jess Hamilton meeting Media Parents freelancers in the crowd

What happens at Media Parents drinks? There’s no agenda! We are keen to get TV companies, freelancers and organisations in a room to catch up. If it’s your first time at an event we make an effort to meet you, and introduce you to other people who could be useful to you to know. If it’s not your first time at a Media Parents event, we are pretty confident you loved it the first time!

PD Sam Lang with Comedy Producer Anna Coane

Curve Media's Head of Production Ruth Cody and Exec Claire Simpson worked the room

Story Films Production Exec Donna Blackburn introduced the company's slate, with StoryTailors' Martin McAleese, Curve Media's Claire Simpson, EdTVFest's Dulcie Bushill and freelancers looking on

Strawberry Blond MD Steve Wynne made it back from Leeds

PM Amy Swan successfully navigated a career move from editorial into PMing global series, seen catching up here with Media Parents Line Producers Flo Crum and Katy Southwood

New contacts made and swapped between PD Kasia Uscinska and Editor Liz Convey

Film + TV Charity Community Development Manager Lucy Maxwell introduced the space, counselling and financial support that is offered, see below...

January Guest List

(log in to click through on profile links)

Michele Kimber: PM

Read Michele’s latest blog

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/18138/michele-kimber

Anna Coane: SP / S Edit Producer

Read Anna’s latest blog

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/2251/anna-coane

Anika Pilnei: EP / PD

Read Anika’s latest blog

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/18539/anika-pilnei

Daren Tiley: offline editor

Read Daren’s latest blog

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/9614/daren-tiley

Flo Crum : Production Exec

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/5245/floury-crum

Katy Southwood: Line Producer/Production Executive

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/18573/katy-southwood

Richard Hughes: Shooting PD and DOP

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/6200/richard-hughes

Tom Colvile: Shooting PD https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/7749/tom-colvile

Anthony Willis: PD / Writer / Editor

Read Anthony’s latest blog

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/18343/anthony-willis

Claire McMahon Brown: Snr Producer / Edit Producer

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/15530/claire-mcmahon-brown

Jules Seymour: SP

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/126/jules-seymour

Kasia Uscinska: PD / Edit Producer https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/1582/kasia-uscinska

Katie Rice: PD

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/10020/katie-rice

Liz Convey: returning offline editor

Stephen Mizelas: Director / SP

Sam Lang: PD https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/917/samuel-lang

Matt Currington: S/PD

Avigail Cenci di Bello: Producer / Writer

Hannah Bairsto: Researcher

Gaby Koppel: SP

Tom Ranson: Director

Quinton Smith: Editor

Barney Snow: S/PD

Janet Awe: Development/ Producer

The Film and TV Charity supports everyone working behind the scenes in film, TV, and cinema, including full-time staff, freelancers, writers, production teams, and more. It offers a 24/7 confidential support line, legal and financial guidance, Stop-Gap Grants, a Bullying Advice Service, and free counselling. The Charity is also working to change the culture of our industry,  providing resources like the Whole Picture Toolkit for mentally health productions, financial guidance and wellbeing advice, as well as promoting equity and inclusion across the industry. For more information, visit its website or call 0800 054 0000. You can also sign up for its monthly newsletter for updates on services, events, and opportunities. Every day at Storytailors is a thrilling ride—we’ve set up Keanu Reeves to race through the Slovenian countryside, transformed a Romanian salt mine into a playground for MrBeast, and ensured Ford’s latest EV glides effortlessly through Bhutan for Amazon Prime. With a network of over 1,500 vetted media professionals across 150+ countries, we deliver everything from full production to local access, film permits, crew hire, and logistics for entertainment, documentaries, and drama. Our clients include leading indies like the BBC, Plimsoll, Nutopia, and Box To Box, as well as major streamers like Netflix and Disney. https://storytailors.tv/work-with-us/

At Media Parents we’ll do anything we can to help TV  freelancers work, and TV companies find great freelancers. Join us! Message via our contact button for returns for this event.

Scroll down the blog for more info www.mediaparents.co.uk - the jobs and social networking site for short term, part time, job share and regular hours jobs in media. For free events for subscribers, join here: https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/signup/?t=freelancer

Join Media Parents for jobs, masterclasses and networking

Join us on Friday September 20th at 10:00 for a cracking overview session : Ace Your Applications – and get (back to) work. The 45 minute online / in person event will be led by Media Parents’ Amy Walker. The session will be followed at 11:00am by a second online / in person event focusing on TV CVs. This small interactive event has big ambitions to help you navigate best practice in TV CVs and gives us the chance to workshop. Led by Media Parents Head of Talent Amy Walker it is one in a series of events giving an overview of TV applications – cover letter, CV wins, Zoom presenting and interview tips – so you nail the opportunities that are out there.

Amy Walker leads Media Parents freelancers in an Ace Your Job Application Masterclass online

To find out more and sign up to sessions go here. All sessions are free to Media Parents subscribers – if you are not yet a subscriber go here to subscribe, or message us here for more information.

Friday Oct 11th Event

Click here for a ticket to Ace Your Applications General Event 10am Friday 11th Oct

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1014480196577

Click here for a ticket to Interviews and Networking Masterclass Friday 11th Oct 11am

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/interviews-and-networking-friday-11th-oct-ace-your-job-application-tickets-1014508651687 As this session is also about job interviews please bring a list of questions you anticipate at a job interview.

If you would like to join Amy Walker in person for this final training event, you can book a place at no extra cost in the gorgeous private room at renowned gastropub The Crown, Hastings. Taking a day out by the sea can be a great way to clear your mind and bring a fresh perspective to your career path. The food at The Crown is great so I highly recommend booking for lunch afterwards. Email for details.

Events are free to subscribers, informal and in a small group. You can join camera on or cam off and ask questions in the chat. If you are not a subscriber or you have questions in advance hit us up via the contact button on Media Parents website.

Keen beans can prep in advance for the event by reading and working with Media Parents CV blog with tips from loads of industry employers, and Amy Walker and TV friends’ cover letter tips.

If you’re looking for work at this point and some extra support would help see the links below for the Film + TV Charity’s FREE Counselling service. Having worked with and interviewed many returners I would urge you to talk through the barriers of getting back to work before your interviews, so these feelings have been aired and are not the focus of your interview conversation. This helpline from Film + TV Charity 0800 054 0000 is not The Samaritans – it’s for people who want to talk and offload the problems of TV, or not working in TV, yet. https://filmtvcharity.org.uk/get-support/get-help-now/

Media Parents Autumn Drinks in London Tuesday October 15th

www.mediaparents.co.uk - the jobs and social networking site for short term, part time, job share and regular hours jobs in media. Join our latest event on Friday 11th October from 10am til midday.

Offline Editor Daren Tiley working on C5's fast turnaround doc Kate and the King https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/9614/daren-tiley

I’ve worked on two fast turnaround docs commissioned by Federico Ruiz at channel 5 in the last month for Mentorn Media part of the Tinopolis group, writes Daren Tiley. “Wonka: The Scandal that Rocked Britain” and “Kate & The King: A Special Relationship”.

Both productions worked on an unusual fast turnaround of 11 days from production start to channel delivery with TX on Saturday night primetime viewing. So 12 days to TX for a 45 min Channel5 hour.

Production starts on a Tuesday, with interviews shot on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and some at the weekend. Staggered edits start Friday to Wednesday through the weekend at MSV post in Hammersmith, with 5 editors and EPs working for 5 days to get to picture lock by end of day Wednesday. Each editor takes on a part each with the 5th editor cutting pre titles and any extra bits and bobs. I cut part 4 on both Wonka & Kate myself.

Then voiceover, dub, grade and online all on the same day for channel delivery on the Friday lunchtime for Saturday primetime TX. Phew!

Daren Tiley right and the fast turnaround production team at Mentorn Media

A great team of experienced editors and edit producers worked between 10 & 12 hours a day to make the shows. The calm and collected nature of SP Stuart Strickson on both productions meant a pleasant working experience. Tayte Simpson Execed Wonka and Nicolai Gentchev on Kate also perpetuated the calm.  When working at such speed for delivery you need a great unflappable team behind you.

These fast turnarounds are becoming more popular with Channel 5 commissioners these days and although I don’t think it’s great to see 11-day turnarounds as the norm, it is getting us telly folk back to work on some commissions at least. And the viewers are over all liking the speed of reacting to a breaking news story! Wonka pulled in an audience of 800k, peaking at nearly a million, and was the most watched programme of the day, as was Kate & The King.

Having had no work for the last 6 months it was nice to get five days on Wonka and four  days on Kate. To be back as a team all working together was helpful for my mental health as the last year or so has been and continues to be so hard for so many of us in the TV world! The pace and last-minute nature of this work isn’t sustainable on a single, TV income, so whilst I am grateful for it, I hope it’s replaced by programming that’s scheduled further in advance.

Daren Tiley is available for offline editing work either remotely or from London post houses. https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/9614/daren-tiley

www.dtediting.com

www.mediaparents.co.uk - the jobs and social networking site for short term, part time, job share and regular hours jobs in media.

Zoe Russell-Stretten from Brinkworth (left) at Media Parents CV Event in the days when we could all go out

We always interview people in pairs at Brinkworth, or even sometimes in threes. An interview with an AP or more junior will last approximately half an hour. Anyone more senior is typically an hour.

Tech:

Almost everyone uses either Zoom or Teams. If you don’t have a basic working knowledge of both, practise using the features before the interview. Always download the application prior to the interview, so you don’t waste the first ten minutes of precious time. It will work!

Maximise your broadband. There’s nothing more frustrating than a poor quality picture, one that is lagging, out of sync or other symptom of poor broadband. This is your first impression, and the interviewer should be able to both see and hear you in real time. Some people do genuinely suffer from poor broadband speeds, but often, this can be improved. Turn off the wifi on all of your other devices in the house; your mobile, other laptops, possibly your TV, an Alexa or Google hub. Beg or bribe other householders to withhold from using the internet for that one sacred hour. If an employer has to work extra hard to connect with you, it’s hard to make a good impression. Test this with a friend beforehand.

Audio. Again, do a test beforehand. Turn off radios. Shut windows. Explain to children, partners or housemates that there’s a lot of chocolate in this for them if they don’t make a noise for an hour. If your audio is unreliable, learn how to use the mute function. Mute yourself when you’re not speaking, to avoid the speaker getting feedback. To avoid most problems, it’s usually easier to use headphones.

Presentation:

Because we’re all at home now, you are technically inviting a prospective employer into your home. So take a look at what the employer can see. Laundry? Clutter all over the carpet? Questionable art on the wall? Something on the shelf (eg that BBC interview)? A lot of people have their home workstation set up in their bedroom. If all else fails, use a filter on your background but make it a professional looking one.

Even if your CV is brilliant, if your house presents as a mess, employers might be worried about entrusting a complex project to someone who can’t present a sense of order and calm. Unfortunately, first impressions really do count, and your home/environment says so much about you.

Also – unless absolutely necessary, avoid taking the call on your mobile. Wherever possible, use a static device. An hour of watching someone’s own shaky hand-cam is extremely draining (especially when you’re doing it hour after hour).

Lighting! We work in a visual industry. If you are anything above a researcher, you should be able to demonstrate that your mind considers things in a visual way. So make sure you’re not backlit, that your face can be seen clearly, and that again, the interviewer isn’t having to mentally work hard to piece together information about you because you’ve set up your interview poorly. It’s amazing the number of shooting PDs who interview for a job but fail to think about setting up the shot of their own face!

Framing. Test with a friend how your framing works. Set your monitor or laptop up so that it’s level with your face. So many people look down into their computer – and it gives the interviewer an excellent view up your nose.  Also, learn how far back you should be to your screen – another frustration is people who sit too close and you are left interviewing their forehead, or just the top half of their face. It’s just extra mental work for the interviewer, and in the TV industry, isn’t really a great first impression. Everyone should be able to frame a basic shot.

Our next event, How to Ace a Job Interview Online, is on Friday 3rd March, email via the contact button above for details

Personal Presentation:

Just because this is an interview taking place in your home, it doesn’t mean that you should dress like you’re at home. Think about how you personally present, and apply the same rules that you would if you were meeting in an office. Dress the part, secure your hair off your face, don’t wear dodgy slogan clothing or something that a child or pet has just been sick upon.

A note about make up – depending upon your camera – some more modern cameras allow a lot of detail. So it can mean a little less is more. One of the strange things about online interviews is you can literally see yourself and how you come across, and if you have any insecurities about your appearance, this can be really distracting. You want to be able to stay confident and focused on what you’re saying. Both Zoom and Teams have filters that allow you to optimise your image (not cat filters, just gentle improvements). If you’re feeling a bit less confident in your appearance (as so many of us do right now!), then these filters are well worth knowing about as they can give just a little boost of self-confidence and stop people from focusing too much on their own face.

Prep:

Now that we are all stuck at home, but with tools to access all of the information on the planet literally sitting in our pockets, there’s just no excuse for not preparing for an interview. Watch. The. Employer’s. Output. This isn’t the early naughties – everything is available on demand, and if it’s not, it will be somewhere on YouTube or Vimeo or similar. Familiarise yourself with the style of programmes. It will empower you so much more in an interview, and there may be opportunities to demonstrate that you’re so invested in getting the job, that you’ve taken time out of your day to do this kind of research. It really really impresses. Every time.

Also – come prepared with questions. Thoughtful, editorially focused questions. Try to make sure they don’t sound critical of the employer or previous output. Practical, logistical and rate-related questions relating to the job itself can be dealt with post interview with either the TM or PM, so don’t waste this opportunity by asking ‘how much will I get paid’ at this juncture. Ask about editorial steer, tone, use of music, access, casting, overall production schedule etc… anything that shows that you’re thinking the way you would if you were already in the job. This is just another way to show that you care about getting the job.

Etiquette:

There may be some people on the call that don’t do much speaking. The people that don’t speak are doing a lot of thinking… and almost definitely they are there because their opinions about you impact on your ability to get the job. So don’t forget to acknowledge them or include them in your greeting, farewell, and of course – if the opportunity arises to reference something they may have said or be involved in. If you’re really at a loss, just use your eyeline to make sure you’re looking at everyone at different stages in the call. Most often, they can see that you’re doing this and that you’re being inclusive.  Regardless of your level of seniority, this portrays you as a respectful team member, and everyone wants that!

Back in the good old days of offices, this same rule applied. People who failed to acknowledge others in the meeting performed poorly, and were less likely to get the job as it was an indication as to how they perceived a) their own status and b) how they would behave on a team.

Some Positives:

Online interviews, and homeworking, are brilliant for opening up more opportunities to work. As a Talent Exec, I can now hire people based purely on their skills, without having to take their geographical locations into consideration. I can hire people who are juggling childcare, or other caring responsibilities – where previously more exceptions would have needed to have been made, these issues are no longer something to be ‘solved’ or agreed upon. People can work far more flexibly.

The same goes for access in general – for those with other access to work challenges. The removal of a commute to an office instantly broadens the talent pool in a positive and exciting way. We have always tried to make jobs as accessible as possible, but we are able to do so with far more ease and success now.

And finally…

Just a general note for interviews in any situation. Please don’t tell me that you’re great. Just be great. The individuals that are at great pains to describe themselves using the adjectives on their personal statements on their CV come across as insincere – and I sometimes suspect they are doing it out of nervousness. Try not to let nerves get in the way, but if they’re there, it’s much more acceptable to acknowledge those by saying ‘ah… it doesn’t matter how many years I’ve been in this job, I still get nervous in interviews!’. That shows you care. Going hard the other way to cover up your fears is off putting and makes it very hard for the interviewer to see through the self-advertising which can come over as egotistical.

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