Breaking into the media industry can be a difficult thing to do but it is greatly rewarding and a lot of fun. Below you’ll find some helpful tips and points that will help you on your way up the ladder.

Using Social Media

Keeping your social media profiles up to date is a great way to self-advertise and make connections with audiences and people in the industry. By posting updates about current projects it will keep people interested throughout the process of production and informed of your involvement and commitment. It may be useful to have a professional Twitter account alongside your personal one that you can advertise on your business cards which is also an effective way of networking with people in the industry. You can then use your profile to showcase your work as well as using it as an efficient way to get feedback on your projects for the future. Although your professional account may be separate to your personal account, it is vital that you adjust the privacy settings on your personal profile to ensure professionalism. Many people actually change their name online in order to distinguish between the two and to make the personal profile harder to find. Those embarrassing photos from last weekend’s night on the town may not be attractive to potential employers! The Media Forward UK Twitter feed is a useful account to follow, posting opportunities and advice for graduates getting into the media industry. There are endless other similar companies such as UNIT List, My First Job In Film, My First Job In TV, The Network and MediaVolt.

Keep in contact with your peers

They say it’s “who you know, not what you know” and sometimes this can be true. Keeping in contact with your peers can give you some great opportunities and knowledge that you may not have been aware of without them. By helping each other out on projects and getting others’ opinions on them, it will help to improve your work by getting a fresh pair of eyes on a project you have seen over and over again.

Contacts and Networking

Making contacts is essential within the media industry, so try to meet as many people as you can. The ‘Shooting People’ website is a helpful site that provides a calendar of events across the country that would work as a perfect opportunity to make connections and see a variety of work. Other organisations that host networking events are Cinema Jam, Women in Film and TV UK, The BFI, Channel 4’s 4Talent, Bafta Guru and Creative England. Exchanging business cards makes you professional and memorable – something vital to get into the industry.

Placements and Work Experience

Work experience and placements are the perfect way to get an honest insight into the industry while giving you a great chance to get involved in some exciting projects. You may not be able to just walk into your dream job, so you should branch out and try new things. Starting lower down the ladder is a valuable way to learn from all departments and see what every role consists of which could perhaps help you decide what you might want to try in the future. Taking up a new role that you may not have done before or feel particularly confident in could actually turn out to be something you really enjoy, so don’t hesitate to try new opportunities. By making these connections with production companies, it will open up doors for you in the future and will make your CV stand out.

Make your own stuff

For someone with a real passion for media and breaking into the industry it will give you a great chance if you make your own projects in your spare time. It can be amazing fun and not only will it give you practice and a chance to create the projects you want to make, it will enable you to enter competitions, festivals and attend events such as The Cinemagic Young Filmmaker Competition, which you can enter here.

Check out this fun infographic

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