Work Experience

[chongalolo]

My 21yr old daughter has two weeks unpaid work experience with a children's TV channel in London.  Does anyone have any advice for her so that the company fall over themselves to offer her a job?

[Immortal298]

no advice for you, but can you give me some advice on how to go about getting work experience like that? 

[Octavius]

Childrens TV workers need to be creative, chirpy, intelligent, non-patronising and willing to humiliate themselves.  Being able to view fthings from the eyes of a child will also help.  But this of course depends on what she would like to do for them.  All very well being able to think like a child, unless she's an accountant.

[chongalolo]

Immortal298 - she sent her CV around to various TV, radio and film companies (addresses from their websites) and this one responded about 5 weeks later. She is having a fab time so far.  Good luck if you do the same!   Thanks Octavius for the great advice.  Accountancy doesn't feature much in her life - she's rubbish at looking after money!!  No, I think she'll be good at bouncy hyperactivity and rolling about in gunge.

[niknak]

Octavius is on the nail with  a minor addition,if I may-A certain degree of confidence without arrogance is useful.

[joko]

Unfortunately, having been down this route myself, it seems that many studios have no intention of ever hiring anyone who does work experience. It is a valuble learning experience to the applicant, but to the studio it's yet another in a long line of unpaid skivvys, who will be falling over themselves to do all the rubbish jobs, to save them the bother - one manager made me go through her personal mobile phone bill adding up certain calls!! - I did it to be amenable, but I could tell she was just glad she didn't have to do it as it was at least 6 pages long, got no thanks either. Although, I'm sure there are exceptions to this.

Sorry to be a downer but the industry is like that. Take the experience as exactly that - a good entry on your CV and an opportunity to learn and do some networking and not as a lead to future employment and you won't be dissapointed.

But good luck, you never know what may happen!