Research the market
Companies, broadcasters and individuals receive hundreds of CVs and application forms every week. Stand out from the crowd. You need to understand the market you're applying to.
Effective personal marketing depends on identifying and satisfying a need – so you need to do your research. The more you know about the ways different sectors approach production, and understand current tastes and styles, the more easily you can decide where to apply your efforts – and the more inclined an employer will be to engage you.
Employers often complain about the number of boring, uninformative applications they receive from people who seem to have very little idea about the business. They say that many applicants have no idea what their job really entails and how it could lead on to other opportunities and career progression.
Outline your research with the following points:
- Identify which sector you're targeting – TV, photography, corporate, film, animation etc.
- Learn about how projects get made and how the teams and roles within each sector interrelate
- Find out how the commissioning process works and always maintain a strong customer focus
- Assess which production and programme formats are successful and how your skills can be of use on future productions
- Gather and analyse statistics, like ratings, box office returns etc. to demonstrate the breadth of your knowledge
- Be familiar with important organisations in your region and the benefits they may offer
Read more about researching the market in our pdf on 
Marketing Yourself
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