![\"Freelancers,](\"https:\/\/www.productionbase.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/2009-02-10-Moray-Coulter-ALL.png\")
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Word of mouth is a term that is fundamental to the hiring culture of the production industry, which only succeeds in elevating the importance of one\u2019s reputation. You may come highly recommended, but without having the reputation to match, your recommendations are practically worthless. <\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations to the winners and runners-up of the first Freelancer of the Year Awards, but will they get more contracts now as a result of their well-deserved awards?… If the winners\u2019 peers and employers have voted for them, they must have something good. Frankly, as far as getting that next production job goes, it\u2019s not just how good you are at your work that really matters, but how good other people think you are\u2026 There is a small group of freelance programme-makers whom all the companies compete for all of the time. They are the must-have hires that commissioning editors insist on, and indies work hard at building up a close relationship with them. These freelancers need never be unemployed if they don\u2019t want to be, they are the height of fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congratulations to the winners and runners-up of the first Freelancer of the Year Awards, but will they get more contracts now as a result of their well-deserved awards? I think so, and here is why. Only five days after the awards ceremony Sandy, Wayne and Ash will have had more potential employers than before looking at their CVs. If the winners\u2019 peers and employers have voted for them, they must have something good. Frankly, as far as getting that next production job goes, it\u2019s not just how good you are at your work that really matters, but how good other people think you are.<\/p>\n
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Comparing notes with the talent manager of one of the UK\u2019s biggest indies last week, I was reminded of how fashion-conscious TV recruitment is. There is a small group of freelance programme-makers whom all the companies compete for all of the time. They are the must-have hires that commissioning editors insist on, and indies work hard at building up a close relationship with them. These freelancers need never be unemployed if they don\u2019t want to be, they are the height of fashion.<\/p>\n
And why? Undoubtedly, they are good at their jobs, but are they spectacularly better than everyone else? Probably not, but their reputation is so strong that it adds credibility and confidence to a production, as Gisele Bundchen might add to a mobile phone advert. How good they are is less important, in comparison to how much the commissioning editor\u2019s want them to endorse their brand.<\/p>\n
Here is how the production skills pool looks like to the talent managers. There are the select must-have star freelancers mentioned above, and there is a similar small number of freelancers who have quite dreadful track records and are hires of absolute last resort. This leaves the large majority of freelance programme-makers who are talented, reliable professionals who will do the job well given the opportunity.<\/p>\n
Most talent managers, when faced with a large number of people who could do the job adequately, will follow human nature and choose the people that they already know. If they don\u2019t know them, they will go for the people who come best recommended to them by colleagues and friends. Everything else being equal, the talent manager will then put forward the person that they like. I am sure that this comes as no surprise to you.<\/p>\n
There is an innovation waiting to happen which uses the recommendations of people in the TV production industry to bolster others\u2019 CVs. Over the next few weeks, the BBC\u2019s iPlayer will have a new feature that lets you see what your Facebook\/Twitter\/MySpace friends like to watch, and in turn will let you recommend programmes to your friends. This is on the basis that you are more likely to enjoy things that your friends like.<\/p>\n
What about a similar system where you recommend perhaps ten people you know and rate in the industry, or perhaps ten people in a given month? This means that some people will get lots of recommendations if they are popular. Less popular people may find themselves having to improve their game to push up their recommendation score. This professional recommendation score would be a tool for talent managers, producers and commissioning editors who could query why people they don\u2019t know about are better-rated than some of those they do. It would still be a fashion parade, but wider, more inclusive and based on firmer foundations than the patronage and worries of the commissioners.<\/p>\n
Effectively, this is what the Freelancer of the Year Award does, it tells you that the winners have been super-recommended, and they will probably get employed more as a result. In the meantime, how do you get more work if you didn\u2019t win the prize? Be highly rated by some people, and make sure that other potential employers know about it.<\/p>\n
Who do you come recommended by? The ‘Referees’ section of your PB profile is the best place to detail this info. Add the details of your colleagues and clients that recommend you here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Word of mouth is a term that is fundamental to the hiring culture of the production industry, which only succeeds in elevating the importance of one\u2019s reputation. You may come highly recommended, but without having the reputation to match, your recommendations are practically worthless. \u201cCongratulations to the winners and runners-up of the first Freelancer of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[185,357,358],"series":[],"class_list":["post-1602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-word-of-mouth","tag-networking","tag-referees","tag-word-of-mouth"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/www.productionbase.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/TOTI-Podcast-Artwork.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":[],"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.productionbase.co.uk\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/turn-on-tune-in-2","embedCode":"
Freelancers, Your Reputation Precedes You<\/a><\/blockquote>