What production labels look for

Entry level roles

The TV industry is accessible to everyone, and at ITV we welcome candidates from all groups and backgrounds. Here’s what we look for if you’re just getting started in your TV production career...

Degree route - You might have a media degree which will already have helped you develop a practical and theoretical approach to TV Production. Or, you’ll have a non-media degree with an emphasis on research, writing skills and/or a particular specialism such as history, science or the arts.

Non-degree route - Ideally, you’ll have an industry recognised qualification, such as the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).

Direct entry to jobs - We also consider applications for direct entry to jobs for anyone who demonstrates skills/experience relevant to the role you are applying for or transferable skills from another industry.

Apprenticeships - Our apprenticeships offer direct entry to our roles, and you can find out more about our apprenticeship programme and our requirements here.

What else we look for...

Whichever route you take to join us in an entry level role, we also look for:

• A passion for our industry - you could demonstrate this with evidence of work experience, shadowing or volunteering, or even examples of your own work on films, podcasts as well as interest in tv and film output generally.
• People skills - you will be working in teams both small and large sometimes on location in the UK and abroad - the ability to work effectively within a team as well as communicate with a wide range of people including external contributors and on screen talent is fundamental to any production role.
• technical/craft skills - this really depends on the route you want to go down but seize any opportunity to gain skills that are relevant to your chosen career path: shooting, editing, researching, design or organising projects will all be valuable indication that you have the drive, ability and commitment to succeed.
• Any experience that has given you transferable skills and/or experience of a real-life work setting - that could be anything from working in your local cafe or shop, office work or teaching kids at a summer camp. All this will give you valuable exposure to working to deadlines, thinking on your feet and working with others to deliver a goal. Good IT skills are a must.

Experienced roles

Once you’re more established in the industry it's about demonstrating a successful track record in your chosen field. For creative roles this will mean for example the ability to generate/pitch ideas and deliver high quality content, for production management proven experience of delivering complex shows on budget and on schedule and in a technical/craft role a reputation for high quality work leading your field. Your CV should evidence extensive relevant broadcast credits. Further detail on key roles and responsibilities within television production can be found on the ScreenSkills site here. 

A few CV and interview tips 

What makes a good production CV?

The first step in securing a role is to make sure your CV is clear, honest and sells you in the best light possible. A typical layout should include:

• Your name, contact information and role at the top.
• A brief personal statement summarising what you’ve done to date, the skills you’ve gained and what your ideal next steps are.
• A short section listing the specific skills you offer.
• A list of your broadcast credits in chronological order (roles you’ve done, programme, company and brief indication of responsibilities with dates) - if you don’t yet have programme credits then list your experience to date. This should include any skills you've developed from work outside of the TV industry eg. customer facing roles such as those in hospitality which will give you some great transferable skills for an industry where communication and resilience is key.
• Finally, detail your academic education, any industry relevant training, and your interests or specific achievements.

Remember layout and presentation is just as important as content. We see hundreds of CVs every year, so we need to be able to quickly understand what you’ve done and where your skills lie. Your CV should be easy to read while clearly setting out the key skills and experience you wish to highlight. Always tweak your CV slightly to make it relevant to the role you’re applying for.

What makes a good interview?

We frequently meet potential candidates speculatively - we’re a very fluid, fast turnaround business so talent and hiring managers do this to ensure they are identifying possible candidates for future roles and to give advice. When a programme is commissioned we will then advertise as well as invite candidates we have met previously to apply for vacancies on a show.

Whether meeting us speculatively or interviewing for a specific vacancy remember:

• Do what research you can on the role/area you’re applying to - if asked about output you like make sure it's relevant to the place you want to work.
• Show yourself in your best light - turn up on time, dress appropriately (smart/casual) and stay professional throughout as well as in any pre/post interview correspondence.
• Be ready to talk about work you have done identifying what your role/contribution was, how you approached it and what that delivered.
• Think about examples of how you interact with people - how you persuade people (colleagues, public, contributors) around to your way of thinking, how you ensure the team you work with does its best work, how you contribute positively to whatever challenge presents itself.
• Above all be positive in both your presentation and the answers you give.