But I have no experience!

I know.

You want to break into the sparkly world of TV but you feel like you have nothing of value to put on your Runner CV. No relevant production experience and nothing to show off except your 25 yard swimming certificate and the Cycling Proficiency badge you got in Year 8.

Worry not though – you are not alone! It’s something that many would-be runners worry about, judging by the many times this pops up on the Facebook page.

And actually, you may be in for a bit of a surprise, as chances are that you do actually have something of real value to put down (and by the way, well done on the cycling thing).

Because here’s what an employer in the industry has to say about what she looks for in a CV when she is hiring runners…

As an employer, I don’t always look for runner experience, especially if it’s just a couple of days here and there. Instead I look for experience that means you could be a good runner; that you’re reliable, trustworthy, and essentially, employable.

So, whether I’m looking for an office or location runner, I look for valuable transferable skills. Here are some examples:

1) Bar work
Transferable skills: antisocial hours, dealing with difficult people, managing a busy/messy environment, cash handling.

2) Security work
Transferable skills: comfortable outside, good with difficult people, calm in the face of conflict, anti-social hours.

3) Admin/office work
Transferable skills: good administration skills, well organised, used to demonstrating a professional workplace manner.

4) Reception work
Transferable skills: good telephone manner, professional conduct, presentable, welcoming, good at making tea (a runner essential!).

5) Retail work
Transferable skills: long hours, used to standing on your feet, cash handling, dealing with the public, working in a team.

6) Cleaning work
Transferable skills: willing to get your hands dirty, able to manage a messy environment, detail orientated, can-do attitude to less glamorous tasks.

7) Driving work
Transferable skills: driving licence (vital!), responsible, good time management, good navigational skills, reliable.

8) Warehouse work
Transferable skills: good at working in a team, used to less comfortable environments, health and safety conscious, trained in heavy lifting (eg useful for dealing with kit!)

So there you go – you don’t have to have done 6 months on Bake Off to have something enticing to put on your CV. All experience is good experience, especially proper get-stuck-in-and-get-your-hands-dirty-stuff.

So have a rewrite and make the most of what you do have – it may have more value than you think.

And if you did work on Bake Off…that Paul Hollywood, what’s he really like?

See also How To Get A TV Production Running Job With No Previous Experience