Media is a very broad, extremely competitive employment sector and achieving success in this industry often depends on your determination and motivation. Defining what you mean by ‘media’ could be your first decision, as a multitude of opportunities exist under this sweeping banner. One thing you can be sure of is that whether you are looking to get into print, online, TV or design you could potentially be working long hours in a fast paced environment with a range of people with different technical and personal skills.

Employers will be seeking motivated, enthusiastic graduates who are versatile and willing to go the extra mile to get projects finished, so when making applications it is important to show a genuine interest in the specific field you are trying to break into.

Where do I start?

Within the Media sector you could be looking at a wide range of occupations. Prospects has a useful list of job profiles each containing relevant information about key responsibilities, skill requirements, starting salaries, entry requirements, career prospects with links to major employers and current graduate vacancies.

 

Job roles

Job roles in this sector include (but are not restricted to):

You could also consider the jobs listed below:

Finding opportunities

As part of your job-hunting strategy you will need to keep up to date on developments in this sector and keep track of any vacancies that are coming up. Below are some key resources to help you research opportunities available. The knowledge gained through your research may assist you to target your applications and will help when preparing for interviews.

  • ScreenSkills - Industry body which supports skills and training for people and businesses working in the creative industries.
  • Targetjobs - Useful information about how to break into the different graduate career sectors. Also has tips on applications and interviews, training and development, industry news and graduate jobs, schemes and work experience opportunities.
  • Creative and Cultural skills - Industry body which supports skills and training for people and businesses working in the creative industries. Organisation provides an online hub of advice and opportunities for anyone that wants to work in a creative career.
  • Broadcast Magazine - A good source of information on the media industry.
  • Campaign Live – Provides real-time news and analysis by expert commentators worldwide.
  • Media.info - Information website has news and analysis for the British media industry, alongside listings of radio, television and print vacancies and worldwide contacts.

Getting experience

It is important to be clear what you mean by ‘the media’ as this sector is varied and incorporates TV, PR, theatre, radio, publishing (book, magazine and web); try to decided what area of the media are you most interested in, for instance if it’s TV, are you attracted to production, presenting, broadcast journalism, research, technical support, business development? Whichever you chose (competition for jobs in this sector is fierce) work experience could easily be the deciding factor to securing a graduate job. Through undertaking work experience you can develop expertise and the all-important transferable skills, which will help you demonstrate your motivation and commitment to this area of work, it is vital to display your enthusiasm for the industry.

To secure media work experience, you will have to do a lot of hunting around, informal work placements are normal in this sector so even if they don't offer a formal work experience scheme you will probably have to take the initiative and approach companies that interest you. In order to develop a good portfolio in freelance you may need to offer your services free since internship schemes are few and far between.

Consider approaching small companies as they often have a need to recruit flexible and enthusiastic assistants to work on short term projects. Finding experience will take time and effort; employers receive many CVs every week so you will have to work hard to stand out from the crowd.

Typically within this sector, you will be undertaking junior tasks, assisting with projects or administration or acting as a ‘runner’, which means being available to help with any odd jobs. Companies are likely to be very busy and you are unlikely to receive much formal training or guidance.

Internships

Internships, (usually a fixed period or a limited amount of time), will give you more hands-on experience. Many employers will treat internships in the same way as full-time employment, so when a job role asks for 'at least one years experience' you can include this type of experience.

Placements

Placements will give you a long-term look at an organisation, and help you to build contacts and experience. On some degrees work placements are part of the programme, whilst on others you can choose to complete a placement as one of your modules. Many courses at the University of Portsmouth enable you to complete a one year work placement or self-employment placement; should you choose undertake either your first point of contact is your placement office in your faculty.

Work shadowing

Work shadowing is an introduction to many areas of the media, here you spend time with an experienced professional, learning about what they do.

Work experience

Work experience weeks are a good way to get a short but intense feel for how a particular role works and are a helpful way to find out more about a job you think you’d like.

Speculative applications for work experience

In order to write a good speculative letter/email you will first need to do some research into the organisation you are writing to, this way you will be able to target your application to their needs and demonstrate your passion for the company, role and industry. It is a good idea to write to a specific named individual, if necessary phone to clarify who the best person to contact would be before sending your letter/email (company websites, twitter and LinkedIn profiles may be useful for this). Remember to give a clear reason as to why you are contacting each employer and in your letter demonstrate that you have relevant skills, perhaps through extra-curricular activities, and explain how by offering you work experience they will benefit. Also demonstrate that you understand what they do as an organisation, really tailor the application to each particular organisation.

The ability to market yourself effectively is a skill you will use throughout your career in the media so why not create an online presence that could assist with targeting your speculative applications, use social or professional networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.

A good starting place to secure work experience is with the university, some courses offer the opportunity to undertake a work placement with a media or related company, so speak to your tutors to see what is available. You might also like to check out the student union and see what volunteering opportunities they have within their various media channels; check to see if they are recruiting staff to update/maintain their website, are they seeking written articles for inclusion in the union newspaper? See if they need presenters for the union radio or television stations, there could be a multitude of opportunities here for you to gain excellent experience.

Outside the university think about small and medium size companies as well as large organisations; it is worth remembering that most big media businesses organise their work experience placements up to a year in advance so start early and take the initiative!

You can find out more about how to create a targeted CV through the Careers and Employability Service website; in addition to dedicated resources available at the Careers and Employability centre, we have created a number of tailored pinboards using Pinterest which provide links to a variety of websites with useful sector advice and examples of creative CVs.

It is also worth considering the voluntary sector for work experience. Careers and Employability offers current students and graduates access to a Virtual Volunteering Bank which provides local opportunities to undertake alongside your studies. Similarly you can access these opportunities through the paper-based bank located in the Careers and Employability centre.

If you wish to instigate voluntary work experience during the vacation periods please refer to ‘External sites’ on the voluntary work experience section on our website.

Finding work experience opportunities

  • SreenSkills - Sector skills council for creative media with a wealth of excellent resources aimed at students and graduates
  • Targetjobs - General advice about how to secure work experience in the media and publishing industry as well as a searchable database of current opportunities.
  • Archant Life - Publisher of regional and local magazines and associated digital media in the UK.
  • Periodicals Publishers Association - Excellent information on careers in magazine publishing, training courses and member directory.
  • RateMyPlacement - Everything you need to know about what an internship is and how you can start your search for one.

Sector specific opportunities

To give you an idea of the sorts of opportunities that may be available, listed below are examples of large companies and agencies offering and advertising work experience in this sector. You will need to do thorough research to identify further specific opportunities.

Publishing, Newspapers & Magazines
  • allaboutcareers - Includes a useful internships and work placements section which could assist in sourcing relevant opportunities.
  • BBC - offers a range of work experience placements nationwide, includes News and Journalism.
  • DowJones - Offers a variety of media based internships worldwide.
  • Future PLC - Consumer magazine publisher, specialising in computer games, crafts and music. One week journalism placements available.
  • Hearst Magazines UK - Publishing house offering work experience and internships across their brands; to apply you need to contact the brands directly. Use this link to see a list of brands with relevant contact details.
  • Penguin Random House - Year round paid work experience slots of 1-2 weeks, an opportunity to shadow a team and get to grips with day-to-day life in publishing. Also offer summer ten week paid internships, usually advertised in the spring of each year.
  • The Guardian - Occasionally offers internships and traineeships, targeted speculative applications may be worth trying.
  • Thomson Reuters - Offers journalism internships in USA.
Television and Radio
  • allaboutcareers - Includes a useful internships and work placements section which could assist in sourcing relevant opportunities.
  • Absolute Radio - For students studying a media related course. All placements are two weeks unless otherwise arranged with opportunities being advertised on amplifi.
  • KFTV - International guide to 40,000 film, television and commercial production service companies in 149 countries. Searchable database is a useful resource for students looking for placements, internships or career opportunities in film and TV.
  • The Knowledge - Comprehensive production directory for UK Film and TV contacts.
  • BBC Extend Programme - The BBC’s new talent disability recruitment portal information about placements for graduates with disabilities.
  • BBC - the BBC's searchable work experience pages.
  • Channel 4 via 4Careers and 4Skills offer one weeks summer work experience opportunities within a range of departments including audience research, media planning, press and publicity, continuity, advertising research and many more, and production trainee placements.
  • Channel Five - Provide the ‘One Big Year Internship Scheme’ which has internships across all of their brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Viacom International Media Networks and Channel 5.
  • Global Radio - one to three months unpaid opportunities.
  • Sky – Work experience and early careers opportunities across various sectors.
Production
  • Endemol Shine UK - Creative Internship scheme, three months paid work experience.
  • PACT - The trade association for independent production companies has a searchable directory of members. Use this information to make speculative applications.
  • allaboutcareers - Includes a useful internships and work placements section which could assist in sourcing relevant opportunities.
  • Sky - Offers a whole series of work placements these include production and news. Some opportunities are a day, most are one or two weeks.
  • The Knowledge - Comprehensive production directory for UK Film and TV.
  • Tiger Aspect Productions - Offer the occasional placement on a shoot/production. Placements will last for one to two weeks.
Film
  • The Knowledge - Comprehensive production directory for UK Film and TV. Use this information to make speculative applications.
  • British Film Industry (BFI) - Organisation has responsibility for funding film development and Production, training, distribution and exhibition in the UK, offers paid internships.
  • allaboutcareers - Includes a useful internships and work placements section which could assist in sourcing relevant opportunities.
  • KFTV - International guide to 40,000 film, television and commercial production service companies in 149 countries. Searchable database is a useful resource for students looking for placements, internships or career opportunities in film and TV.
  • Company Pictures - Independent film and television drama Production Company, offering work experience to students who are enrolled on an educational course.

Tips for success when looking for experience

Explore the various areas within the media sector before you apply for work experience; knowing what you want to specialise in will help you focus your research and ensure you gain the relevant skills.

  • Get involved in relevant university or external groups, volunteer on your student newspaper or get involved in student radio or hospital/community radio, all of these roles are a good way to demonstrate your motivation and interest in this area of work.
  • Enter competitions and attend external workshops to help build a network of contacts.
  • Speak to your tutor, or other members of faculty staff, researching in the areas that interest you, as students are sometimes recruited to work on specific projects over the summer.
  • Be proactive and make direct contact with organisations that interest you and apply speculatively; send a targeted CV and a covering letter focused on why you are interested in working for them and why they should be interested in you.
  • Create a LinkedIn profile to network with sector employers - see our Networking and Social Media section for further guidance.
  • Research companies and agencies offering summer internships, vacation placements, taster experience or introductory courses.

Finding a job

There are many different areas within the media sector and work can be varied. You might like to work as a media buyer, someone who is involved in conducting extensive research and identifying the right target demographic for specific campaigns, or perhaps in a public relations role where you use a variety of honed skills to effectively communicate with different audiences. Advertising and marketing industries both value media studies graduates recruiting them into media planning and advertising account management, copywriting and market research. Alternatively, other suitable careers can be found within broadcasting itself, producing or presenting, so some thought as to which area(s) you are particularly interested in will help you to target your job search.

Employers who recruit in these areas

  • Communications agencies
  • The Civil Service
  • Further and higher education institutions, such as colleges and universities
  • Local government
  • Marketing organisations
  • Media companies
  • The newspaper industry
  • PR consultancies
  • Publishing companies
  • TV and radio companies

Useful websites to help you start your job search

  • BBC - Offers advice on what it is like to work for the BBC as well as a list of their current vacancies.
  • Campaign Jobs brings you the latest vacancies in the media industry, including jobs in digital mediamedia buying, media sales, and social media.
  • Channel 4 - Includes jobs overseas.
  • Financial Times - Graduate traineeships in journalism beginning in September.
  • Grapevine jobs - Media jobs in TV, film, home entertainment, music, post-production and new media, a job-board exclusively for the broadcast and media sectors.
  • ITV Jobs - Searchable database lists many roles in different sectors mainly in the UK with some overseas.
  • Jump Forward - Covers the creative and media skill sets and offers students, graduates, freelancers and employees the chance to search through jobs, briefs and placements.
  • KFTV - Searchable database, good resource for students looking for placements, internships or career opportunities in film and TV.
  • Mandy's International Film and TV Production Directory - Comprehensive guide to independent film/TV production resources (web-only) for professional service-providers in film, TV and multimedia. It's free to use, simply use the search to filter to find current relevant vacancies. Website also includes searchable castings directory to help find the latest auditions.
  • MyCareer - Has a database of graduate jobs across different sectors and locations.
  • Production Base - Leading digital publication and network for freelancers working in TV, film, theatre, radio and commercial production. As members of this community, users gain access to hundreds of unique job opportunities on a weekly basis, and can showcase their profile and show reel to all the leading production companies and broadcasters.
  • The Unit List - Broadcast TV vacancies.
  • Wired Sussex - Find the latest vacancies from games, web, mobile, software, design, animation, TV, music, film and online advertising and PR companies in Brighton and Sussex.

Tips for finding a job

  • Keep up to date with media industry news and trends by following the professional bodies on Twitter, this information might help you identify opportunities to network, and tap into the hidden jobs market.
  • Keep your online job search flexible as some employers might use different titles to describe the same job role.
  • If you are keen to focus on a specific sector within media check out the specialist websites for these areas for current vacancies
  • Most companies have a Twitter and/or Facebook account, register with them as this is often a place where new opportunities are posted and where you can keep in touch with their current activities.
  • Consider making speculative job approaches to employers as most media organisations regularly receive a lot of unsolicited CVs which means they can draw from these to recruit, and therefore won't necessarily advertise all their vacancies.

Useful social media feeds

Check out the following Twitter and Facebook feeds for news and information about current projects and to tap into the hidden jobs market.

Further information

If you need more information why not check out some of the resources below to help you to research a sector in more depth.

Useful reference books available at the Careers and Employability Centre

  • Journalism Uncovered - Gives a clear and honest outline of the job and the training involved.
  • Music the Business 6th edition - An industry endorsed essential guide to the UK music business. Publication is aimed at artists, songwriters, industry executives, lawyers, students and anyone who wants to know more about getting into the music business.
  • The Naked Author - A guide to self-publishing.
  • The Sane Person’s guide to Self-Publishing - Offers advice about self-publishing and delivers a realistic view of self-publishing; it's full of practical information, tips and marketing ideas plus further reading suggestions.
  • The Writers’ & Artists’ year book 2016 - Has extensive amount of contact information that could be used to make speculative approaches to employers.

Specialist agencies

  • Pathfinders Media Recruitment - Specialists in finding first career opportunities for new graduates in the media including advertising, PR, broadcasting, publishing, new media, events management, marketing, music and the arts.
  • Nu Creative Talent - Specialise in jobs in media, advertising, marketing, creative industries, graphic design and more.
  • Searchlight - Specialist agency for the media and entertainment industry sectors working in broadcast, film and digital media.
  • Inspiring Interns - Graduate jobs and internships from a UK leading graduate recruitment agency. Connecting graduates to leading businesses and start-ups across the UK.

Contact us

The Careers and Employability Service offers support to students throughout their studies and provision for graduates up to five years after graduation, with advice and guidance on:

  • Career options
  • Further study
  • CV and covering letters
  • Application forms
  • Job search
  • Interviews

We have an online jobs board advertising a variety of graduate jobs across different sectors and locations. We also have a dedicated in-house Graduate Recruitment Consultancy that delivers a personalised job matching service.

 

Get in touch with us