I’m Elsa Sharp, a BBC TV Talent Manager and author.
My book How To Get A Job in Television, was published in 2009 and is a comprehensive insider guide to getting into and progressing in TV.
How To Get A Job in Television gives practical advice - fron my own experience but also features interviews with the industry's most prolific TV producers at the UK's leading independent production companies such as RDF, Endemol and Objective, as well as and broadcasters and key talent managers at Channel 4, ITV and the BBC.
I got my first break in TV as a researcher at Wall to Wall Television in 1994. I’ve worked in TV production and development and made shows for all broadcasters with leading independent production companies such as RDF Media, Endemol and BBC Entertainment. I worked on The Big Breakfast for a period over five years in a variety of roles - form assistant producer, Producer/Director, live producer and series features editor. I’ve been a freelance series producer for different indies and BBC Entertainment making series for BBC 3 and BBC 1. I've worked in development at RDF, Fox TV and Two Four Broadcast.
How to Get A Job in Television includes the following advice:
- How to target companies, write a covering letter and get work experience
- The 'seven stages of CV'
- The golden rules of interviews
- The do's and don'ts of work experience
- The skills you need as a runner
- Skills for researching - from contributor and location finding to writing briefs and scripts
- Devising ideas, creating formats and writing up ideas and treatments,
- Plotting your career path from Assistant Producer, Producer/Director to Series Producer
I was head of talent at Dragonfly Film and TV from September 2011 to March 2013 and recruited researchers and all levels of producer across all their extensive output including One Born Every Minute, The Plane Crash and The Hotel.
Prior to joining Dragonfly, I worked freelance working for Firecracker Films, Raw TV and Gogglebox Entertainment as a talent manager and as a development producer at Two Four Broadcast.
I occasionally lecture at the University of Westminster and appear at events with TV industry recruitment website The Talent Manager.
I work on a freelance consultancy basis through my company TV Talent. You can find out more here: www. TVTalent.org.uk