If you’re leaving education or training and looking for a career in the creative industries, Lucy Ferguson, CEO at London-based Mediorite, has some top tips for you…

2020 has been quite a year so far, but as Lucy explains, you can try to use the Covid-19 context to your advantage. So how could you turn lockdown and social distancing into a positive?

1. Get something for nothing

Use the time at home to search online for free training and video tutorials for budding producers and videographers. Screenskills.com’s free courses (external website) section is a great place to start, but other companies offer free month-long trials… just be sure to set a reminder in your phone to cancel in time to keep it free!

2. LinkedIn is your friend

Improve your LinkedIn profile (external website) – expand your network and then don’t be frightened to ask for advice. Some really experienced freelancers may have more time at the moment, due to the Covid-19 emergency, and they’ll remember what it’s like starting out. So be bold –  you might get more replies than you think!

3. Hit the festivals – virtually

Apply for places at creative festivals and networking events. There are free places at some events every year and although some face to face ones will be postponed, you should find some are still happening remotely. Some may have bursaries or free places too so be sure to note them down for the future if you can’t apply now.

4. Create your own work

Use your time wisely, collate your work to date into a show reel, capture a video CV or collect and edit user generated content in to short films. The Covid-19 outbreak has seen a huge expansion of people of all ages with the time and newly-acquired skills to contribute online and there’s certainly a story to tell.

5. Get with the programme

Apprenticeships and paid internships in the TV industry at BBC (external website), ITV (external website), Channel 4 (external website) and others are a good bet, and will most likely go ahead in the Covid-19 context. so use your time wisely and get ahead of the game. The British Film Institute (external website) also runs a scheme for under 19s who was to get into film and their website has a lot of information for anyone just starting out.

More generally, The Prince’s Trust (external website) has lots of useful resources and advice for young people to upskill and gain employment while managing your wellbeing.

Stay positive, keep networking and build your skills through practice… that way it will soon be a wrap!