Breaking Into a Career in the Media

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Here's a little personal story for you - take from it what you want, but know this - getting into a career in the media is NOT an easy task.

I graduated from university a couple of years ago with a 2.1 in English & Media - a decent enough grade and a healthy portfolio of work that I could send to a number of companies. Living in Birmingham, I immediately tried nearby businesses, but was generally ignored because I lacked a particular factor: experience.

So next it was on to work experience, which I was able to secure a fair amount of; however it was all unpaid and extremely tiring. I saw no end in sight from work experience and was just working through a string of unfulfilling opportunities that provided no benefit.

I tried a number of jobs, from video camera operator to general runner and supervisor for the day - even enjoying a day on the studio floor of a shopping channel. Surprisingly hectic compared to the calmness shown by the presenter.

Following this failure, I moved onto other areas around the West Midlands but typically there was practically nothing, save for a few jobs that I was completely unqualified for or the dreaded media sales advertisements.

As a logical next step I then tried London, which offered a surprisingly huge amount of opportunities for a young media graduate - obviously I had fears about the cost of living in London and the fact that I would have to move, but at least there was something available.

I re-wrote my C.V. and cover letter to stand out and show my creativity, receiving a number of compliments from companies on the quality, but the only ones who offered interviews were either too low-paid to live in London or too awkward. Eventually I caught a break and was offered a well-paid job in a small-ish digital company based in a huge Soho office space. I was ecstatic and thought the job would be ideal - but there was one problem - I couldn't move there in time.

I was forced to gracefully reject the job; whether it was down to bad planning on my part or a simple lack of properties available in London, it was deeply disappointing. Thankfully, these things happen for a reason and I have now found myself doing my dream job back in Birmingham!

Whilst the media industry obviously isn't impossible to break into, just take care and prepare yourself for a great deal of hassle and potential problems. It's a splintery ladder to the top, but I think it's definitely worth it.

Thomas Clark is a journalist specialising in commercial property on behalf of Office Space Finders.

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