BBC Three - Blog - Jane Fitz-Gerald

Work diary: Fashion designer

Jane Fitz-Gerald Jane Fitz-Gerald — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:07:50 +0000

Bethan Silverwood only graduated from her MA at London's Central Saint Martins in April. In that short time, the 24-year-old has already been featured in Dazed, Love and I-D online, shown at London Fashion Week and Milan Design Fair, works for Greek designer Mary Katramtzou and is in-house print and embroidery designer for Lulu Guinness.

Name: Bethan Emily Silverwood

Lives: London

Childhood dream job: Fashion designer

Other jobs I've done: The usual: shop work and waitressing during my summer breaks from study.

Current job: Print and embroidery designer for Lulu Guinness.

Number of years in the industry: This is my first year in the industry.

Typical hours: 9.30-5.30. I am very lucky in this industry to have a job where there are set hours that don't extend into the early hours of the morning!

Qualifications/courses I took for this job: BA Fashion and Textiles Design and MA Fashion Central Saint Martins.

First job: My first unpaid job was work experience with Laura Lees. My first paid job is this one at Lulu Guinness, which I found on the Jobseekers website!

Funniest/strangest day at work: There was one memorable day during my masters. The day of fittings, the day before showing at London Fashion Week, where I had to remake about six pairs of shoes within about seven hours. I survived off pure adrenaline and coffee of course! It was exhilarating and extremely stressful as well.

Toughest career moment so far: Behind the scenes at London Fashion week everything was going wrong. We almost had to pull a couple of looks because the models refused to walk in the shoes. I could see all of my hard work falling apart just as I got to the most important moment in my career so far. I was so anxious I didn't even watch my own show from backstage!

The biggest myth about my job is: That it is glamorous! It's all about hard work and dedication, not manicures and high heels!

If you want to work in this industry you need: You need to either have a lot of money or be willing to work very hard, quite often for free, for a long period of time.

The tip I'd pass on to anyone starting this job is: Work hard, but don't take it too seriously at the end of the day, it should be a job, not your whole life!

If I hadn't had done this job..: I would have been a baker - I love cakes!

Jane Fitz-Gerald is part of the Up for Hire Interactive team.

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I want to be... a pilot

Jane Fitz-Gerald Jane Fitz-Gerald — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:55:50 +0000

It takes a lot of money, brains and ambition to become a pilot. But once you've made it, get ready to see the world. EasyJet First Officer JF Zachopoulos is known as a baby pilot, as he's only been piloting passenger jets for three months. Here he gives his tips on breaking into the industry.

Name: JF Zachopoulos

Lives: London

Current job: Pilot. I'm a First Officer, which is number two in command of an aircraft.

Number of years in the industry: I'm a baby pilot in this position, just three months. I started training in September 2008 and finished March 2010. Then I was out of work. The quickest route to finding work is go to the training school and then apply through their links with the airlines. You do your basic commercial license then with EasyJet you spend six weeks learning to fly the Airbus.

Typical hours: It's quite random. Depends on your rota, but you have maximum hours you can fly. I can fly up to 100 in a month, 900 in a year. I usually have about six-seven flying hours in a day, but then you have to be there early to prepare so it's about a 10-hour day. You usually have four flights a day. If you're not flying you could be on standby - which means you're either waiting at the airport or you're at home with your phone on.

Qualifications/courses I took for this job: You have to get your commercial license, but you don't need any qualifiactions beforehand. To go to the training schools you usually need five GCSEs and 3 A levels or a degree (usually in numerate subjects). I had a private pilot's license but you can be totally inexperienced.

Childhood dream job: To be a pilot. There is a picture of me as a kid holding a fire engine in one hand and a plane in the other. And I was in the fire brigade before I became a pilot. I went to uni first, but with the idea of being a pilot afterwards.

First job: I was in the fire brigade doing engineering.

Other jobs I've done: Office temping jobs as a student.

Most useful skill I've learnt: Dealing with people. In the industry it's called CRM - crew resource management. It's basically teaching you about how you interact with the person next to you (the other pilot) and what's going on in any situation. You become a better communicator. It's a massive part of the job.

My first job helped me get where I am today because..: It taught me about working with people. If you go into being a pilot with life experience or job experience, it's a help because you can deal with situations and with people.

Best thing about my job: The views.

Weirdest day at work: We were coming back from Nice and we were just about to push back from the airbridge and we heard this horrible screeching grinding noise. I looked at the pilot next to me and we were asking the ground whether it was coming from outside, on the airbridge. It was actually the PA system on the aircraft but we tried everything. Oh and we had a bird strike coming into Nice. It was pitch black, and then I saw a bird coming through the cloud - which made a nice thud.

Toughest career moment so far: The training - it's intensive. By the end you feel a bit brain dead. By the fifth day you don't know what's up and what's down. It's all very technical.

The biggest myth about my job is..: That's it's a glamorous lifestyle. If you're working long haul for BA you do get to go away to some amazing places though. Also that it's very lucrative. The industry has changed quite a lot. To get into it you are saddled with a massive debt - I'm £120,000 in debt. The training school costs about £60,000 then your course on the aircraft with the airline is about £30,000. You can get a professional loan for about £50,000 but then you have to come up with the rest yourself. I guess the younger you are the harder it is. I started when I was 26, so I had a few years working. Forget it if you're coming out of school though.

If you want to work in this industry you need to..: Study hard, and think hard about it as it's expensive. If you really want to do it work to get the cash and work hard for it. And also remember that it's not a guaranteed job, even if you train. I know people who graduated and still haven't got a job. I was out of work for a year, it's not easy. You also have to be medically fit. And get an eye check.

If I hadn't had done this job, I would have..: Working for the fire brigade. I enjoyed working there in the engineering department. But I had always wanted to be a pilot.

Jane Fitz-Gerald is part of the Up for Hire Interactive team.

I want to be a... scientist

Jane Fitz-Gerald Jane Fitz-Gerald — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:50:42 +0000

From working on farms to technical assistant through to postdoctoral researcher. Find out how Jon Travers got to where he is now.

Name: Jon Travers

From: Cambridge

Childhood dream job: To be an environmental campaigner.

First job: Technical assistant at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

Other jobs I've done: Working on farms, in a food hall, on a market stall, as a DJ, as a Research Assistant in industry and for Cancer Research UK.

Current job: Postdoctoral researcher.

Number of years in the industry: 10 years.

Typical work hours: 40+

Qualifications/courses I took for this job: BSc, MSc, PhD. Sometimes it takes time to get started in a career in science after your degree since employers are unwilling to take people on who have no workplace experience. It can be a pretty depressing experience but not a hopeless one. The best way to avoid this is to try to do a sandwich degree course with a year in industry or be prepared to work lower grade technical position for a few months. It is not essential but it enhances your CV and additionally gives you networking opportunities, which are another important component of progressing your career.

Most useful skill I've learnt: Critical reading of other scientists' research.

Other experience I've learned along the way: Collaborative work in multidisciplinary teams; getting people to understand what I do when they are not expert in the field.

My first job helped me get where I am today because..: It demystified scientific research for me, giving me confidence that I, as anyone else with sufficient application, could enjoy working in science.

Toughest career moment so far: Getting to the end of the PhD; it is the hardest, loneliest moment of your career as a scientist.

The biggest myth about my job is..: That you need a PhD to be a scientist - there are many career paths in science whatever your aptitude, and not everyone is suited to do a PhD. The only path of these that requires a PhD is academic tenure.

If you want to work in this industry you need to..: Realistically, get a BSc. You need be flexible about the field in which you want to work at first and be prepared to move around geographically to find the best jobs for you at the time. Jobs are not easy to come by in the current economic climate and you may have to work below your skill level at times. But it's surprising how this can open doors for you in areas that you wouldn't have imagined otherwise.

The tip I'd pass on to anyone starting this job is..: Never stop reading about and learning the developments in your field - knowledge and technical expertise are the currencies of science.

If I hadn't had done this job, I would have..: Probably worked in music.

Jane Fitz-Gerald is part of the Up for Hire Interactive team.

Entrepreneur of the day: Fraser Doherty

Jane Fitz-Gerald Jane Fitz-Gerald — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:49:38 +0000

Scottish entrepreneur Fraser Doherty made it big with his business SuperJam. Find out how made it to the top.

Business: SuperJam
Age you started your business: 14

How I spotted the gap in the market for my business: When I started selling jam to neighbours I thought it would be a bit of fun and I might make some pocket money. It was only when I started selling my product at farmers' markets and got feedback from people that wanted a jam made 100 per cent from fruit, that I started to make it. As it grew I became ambitious. I met Waitrose at a meet-the-buyer day and they said it was a great idea and that I should give it a shot. It makes me proud now that hundreds of people put something I made on their toast every morning.

What's your USP: That the jam is made 100 per cent from fruit - it's all natural with no added sugar. I experimented for about a year in my parents' kitchen. I was at school, so I did my exams, then left at 16 to concentrate on making jam for a year. Then I went to uni for a year but by that time we'd got SuperJam into supermarkets.

How many hours you work a day/week: Probably 60 hours. I work quite a lot but I enjoy it and it doesn't feel like work.

What have you sacrificed for business? I don't think I've had to make any sacrifices. People ask me if I missed out on a childhood making jam. But no, I have tons of friends and am just lucky enough to have had this adventure. I've had to work hard, it wasn't easy.

What's the biggest surprise about being your own boss? That every day is different, as long as you go around willing and are open to new ideas. It's amazing to employ people - SuperJam is as much their baby now as it is mine. It's exciting to see them get excited and get ideas. We make jam in the factory of a 130-year-old family of jam-makers, I don't own one! It was a bit heartbreaking to see a label machine putting labels on the pots after I used to sit at home and hand make them all.

My school report said...: I did well at school, I'm not a drop out. It would probably have said I was into business because even when I was really young I was always coming up with ideas of things to sell. And teachers were really supportive.

I wish they'd taught me in school: There are things you can't learn in a classroom that you can only learn from making mistakes. For me that would be understanding how supermarkets and factories work. We did a bit of business studies, but so much of starting your own business is just trying things. And not being afraid of things not working, but you can't teach that anyway.

Did you ever feel like you might give up? Well you have to not mind failing, because you learn from that. There was one moment I almost gave up. I'd spent ages finding a factory, perfecting my recipes, designing labels. But I showed it to Waitrose and they told me it was all wrong and that I'd have to start from scratch. That was heartbreaking. When you start a business there will be moments where you think of giving up, but what kept me going was belief that that was what I wanted to do.

What advice would I give about this job? Do not be afraid. A lot of people have a dream so they should go for it. And to start small; especially with food, you can make a few, go to farmers' markets, sell those, make some more, and grow slowly. And find a mentor, someone you trust who can give you advice.

What advice would I give about going it alone? When you come up with a brand be focused and try and find one message about why people should buy your product. You only need one reason and if you can communicate that well then that is good.

What one skill/talent has helped you? Probably generally being not afraid. I realised young that I didn't have much to lose from doing this. So I gave it my best shot.

Best thing about my job is: Meeting lots of people. Travelling to some amazing places, I find that fascinating. I went to Australia and I'm just getting ready to go to Russia to launch SuperJam over there - it's exciting and I'm learning a lot from it.

And the worst thing about my job is: It changes every day, but also sometimes you wish it would move on... sometimes it's like you're waiting for a bus!

Business hero: The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick. I love the idea that you can start a business and you can use your business as a way to do good.

If you could go back in time and do one thing differently in your business, what would it be? I've made millions of mistakes, but making them taught me a lot of useful stuff!

Jane Fitz-Gerald is part of the Up for Hire Interactive team.

- Tips and advice - Up For Hire on Facebook
- Entrepreneurs Uncovered: Jamal Edwards
- Up for Hire: Entrepreneurs
- Entrepreneur of the Day: Nailgirls' Joanna Burrell
- Get Yourself Hired test
- BBC Three Blog: Up for Hire?
- 60seconds Sam: How can we help more young people into work?
- Up for Hire website
- Watch Up for Hire episode 1 on iPlayer
- Watch Up for Hire episode 2 on iPlayer
- Watch Up for Hire episode 3 on iPlayer
- Watch Up for Hire episode 4 on iPlayer
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- Catch up on the Up for Hire live chat: How to make it as an entrepreneur

Entrepreneur Uncovered: Jamal Edwards

Jane Fitz-Gerald Jane Fitz-Gerald — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:20:39 +0000

At 15, Jamal Edwards launched his online music channel, SBTV. SB comes from his MC name Smoky Bars, and the stars of the show were his mates rapping to camera. Within months, SBTV grew as the go-to channel for upcoming artists, outgrowing its grime beginnings and launching the career of acts such as Ed Sheeran. In five years and 50 million YouTube hits later, SBTV has earned the Simon Cowell seal of approval and 21-year-old Jamal heads his own major label imprint and is the face of Google Chrome.

Business: SBTV: online youth lifestyle broadcaster

Age you started your business: 15

How many hours you work a day/week: 24/7... no time to rest!

Motivation: To reduce the stereotype of young people being the lost generation and to inspire.

Education: Acton High School and Ealing College (BTEC National Diploma in Media Moving Image).

My report card said: 1 B, 2 Cs, 2 Ds 1 E (I think)... I can't remember!

My careers advisor said I'd be: Not successful and would get a job in a supermarket or a fast food chain.

Subject I wish they'd taught me in school: Media/Entrepreneurship.

What advice would I give about this job: Be prepared to work long and hard hours and limit your social life.

What advice would I give about going it alone: Don't be scared and don't let any obstacle come in your way.

What one skill/talent has helped you: Being transparent because it's an important asset, and having a diary to plan.

What's the most useful thing you've learnt while doing this job: You can't please everyone.

Best thing about my job is: Working with my team. There are 12 people in the SBTV team and we all have a collective vision and drive, which is necessary.

And the worst thing about my job is: There isn't anything that's bad, it's all good right now.

I take inspiration from: The people around me doing great things.

If I was out of work now I'd...: I dunno what I'd be doing, probably still working in men's retail as I was there before SBTV!

Up For Hire Live tackles one of the biggest issues for you, unemployment. Watch episode 4 tonight at 9pm and episode 5 at 10.30pm. Get involved! Tweet @bbc3tv using #upforhire.

Jane Fitz-Gerald is part of the Up for Hire Interactive Team.

- Tips and advice - Up For Hire on Facebook
- Up for Hire: Entrepreneurs
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- Get Yourself Hired test
- BBC Three Blog: Up for Hire?
- 60seconds Sam: How can we help more young people into work?
- Up for Hire website
- Watch Up for Hire episode 1 on iPlayer
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Entrepreneur of the Day: Nailgirls' Joanna Burrell

Jane Fitz-Gerald Jane Fitz-Gerald — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Joanna Burrell and her sister Lynda-Louise are the Nailgirls. On returning to the UK from her former New York base, ex-fashion editor and stylist Lynda noticed with her sister the lack of proper clean and affordable nail spas. So they set up their own and also set about developing their own chemical-free ethical nail polish too. They are now launching a new limited edition range of nail polish to match the fashion catwalk collections each season.

Business: Nailgirls spa and the Nailgirls chemical-free nail polish product. My sister, Lynda is the creative director and I handle the sales, marketing and financials.

Age you started your business: Lynda is 34 and I am 37. We started the business about three years ago.

How I spotted the gap in the market for my business: I lived in London and Lynda was in New York and the one thing I noticed when I visited her was that were really nice clean nail spas. And for her and her friends it was a very normal event to go for a manipedi [manicure and pedicure]. In England, there were only nail spas in hairdressers and nothing that was stand alone.

Your USP: Our nail polish is chemical-free, which is great for mothers who are breastfeeding and women who are pregnant. Also, Nailgirls is a British company and one of us is always at the spa at all times.

How many hours you work a day/week: When I was employed I used to work 8am to 8pm, so I would say now it's those hours or more. You put in more hours than actual employment and for me it's been the biggest shock. Everyone I have spoken to has put in more hours running their own business. But I am passionate about what I do and I love nail polish.

What have you sacrificed for business? You sacrifice your social life to an extent. You can go out but you have to be up in the morning. You can't really take a holiday. Although you're not able to go out or have a holiday it's not necessarily a bad thing. Even when we're not in store we're still working. Also the wages are not as good as being employed by someone else, but there is fulfilment in other ways. When I was in my job I used to get jealous of the people that were doing what they loved.

What's the biggest surprise about being your own boss? That there are never enough hours in the day. There's never a good time to stop working

My school report said: It always said something along the lines of that I always loved people, that I was ambitious and that I just got on with it. In my business, it's helped, because I am required to communicate with people and develop relationships with clients. If things need to get done, I get them done. I think when schools look at your qualities they are usually right, but you have to know how to channel those qualities. I think schools always put more emphasis on the academic, but there are other jobs. I think it's important for young people to think about what they enjoy and make a career out of it.

I wish they'd taught me in school: There are a lot of sexy careers. I didn't know about being a music producer. We were never encouraged about these careers. We were never told that you could be a business development management in music or fashion. You think in order to be in these industries you have to be creative but there are other possibilities.

What advice would I give about this job? I think you've got to have a plan. You can lose focus, because you'll always have people telling you how to go about doing things. But you need to stick to your plans and keep focussing on your goal. Also you should keep an eye on your figures.

What advice would I give about going it alone? It's hard not to get distracted with people so you should always try to stay focussed.

What one skill/talent has helped you? Not being scared to try new things. It might be the wrong thing but at least you've tried it. You need to follow your gut.

Best thing about my job is: The diversity.

The worst thing about my job is: I can never really switch off. Some people can, but I am always thinking.

If you want to be like me/work in this industry: You need to be a people person and have to have some business acumen - you need to understand the commercial process.

Business hero: My parents because they have always said we should try everything. My sister, because if she hadn't said just do it, I would have never left my career. I know some people who have started internet companies from scratch, and then have gone on to sell them. For me those sorts of women are my business heroes.

If you could go back in time and do one thing differently in your business, what would it be? I would have pushed. I would have gone back and started some projects earlier. I would have taken more risks - you ponder on some decisions because you are so nervous and worried.

Up For Hire Live tackles one of the biggest issues for you, unemployment. Watch episode 3 tonight at 9pm. Get involved! Tweet @bbc3tv using #upforhire.

Jane Fitz-Gerald is part of the Up for Hire Interactive Team.

- Tips and advice - Up For Hire on Facebook
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- 60seconds Sam: How can we help more young people into work?
- Up for Hire website
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I want to be... a director

Jane Fitz-Gerald Jane Fitz-Gerald — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:55:13 +0000

Lee Salisbury works on a couple of Britain's most popular soaps. Find out what life is like as a director and how to get there.

Name: Lee Salisbury

Lives: London/Leeds

Current job: Director EastEnders and Emmerdale.

Number of years in the industry: Eight years. A year and a half on EastEnders.

Typical hours: It really varies. EastEnders is filmed in blocks of four episodes. So you have four weeks of prep, two weeks of filming and then the edit. During the prep, you can devise your own time scale, so it's not a 9-5 job. Sometimes you work weekends or nights. The filming is pretty much 7am-7pm though.

Typical day: A lot of my work is prep time. You have script meetings, you have to camera plan, which is going through every scene and working out how you're going to film it. On set when you're filming, you have a read through with the actors and map how you planned it. But when you're actually filming you only really get 20 minutes for a scene, so the preparation is so important. You also film out of order, so you need to be on top of it all. On set, you lead the way. You're in charge of production, crew, actors, costume and everyone's got questions, so you don't have a minute. You're dealing with a lot of pressure, so my aim is to not be stressed. It's all about establishing trust with the cast and crew.

Qualifications/courses I took for this job: I went to university to do media studies. I did loads of work experience while I was there. It's the only time you can work for free really, so you should do it. You have to put your time in. I worked on Live and Kicking, Watchdog and Talking Telephone Numbers as a runner. I didn't know what I wanted to do. So I worked my way up, then I was a researcher, then an AP, then I started directing on Holiday and worked in factual - What Not To Wear and Location, Location, Location. Then I took a director's traineeship on Emmerdale. It's sort of like an apprenticeship into directing drama. You had to be a director already. I'd just done Crimewatch so I had the experience of directing reconstructions. In a soap, it's hard because it's a hard pace. I was on Emmerdale and I'm actually a freelance director so I still work on it.

Have you directed any of the big storylines? Yes. I did the Queen Vic fire, I did Barbara Windsor's leaving, I just did Ronnie's exit episode. I mean, I watch EastEnders, and that is big! That's when I realise I'm meant to be to doing this job, because I know I can cope with it. You do go home and go "Oh my god, I can't believe I've been telling Barbara Windsor what to do!" But the buzz is fantastic! For everyone on set, there are constantly big stories, it's so great. It's constantly changing.

Childhood dream job: I always wanted to be in telly but I thought it was unachievable.

First job: Runner on the Ozone. Runner on the Holiday programme.

Other jobs I've done: I worked in a supermarket and I delivered flowers.

Most useful skill I've learnt: Being able to deal with a variety of different people. And I think I've honed the skill of knowing how to instantly treat someone. On a soap you could be dealing with execs or actors or runners, so you need to be able to speak well with each one of them. People skills are important.

Other experience I've learned along the way: Because in telly there's often a time pressure, I've learnt how to really control my own time. You really need to be self-controlled to get everything done. And I wasn't prepared for it being so lonely, when you're working in the prep stages you're on your own. And I've learnt loads of technical skills. I'm still learning loads now.

My first job helped me get where I am today because..: I got made a post production runner. So I learnt how an edit works, technical formats - so it wasn't just making tea. That was really useful.

Weirdest day at work: I remember when I was on Holiday, all of my friends were jealous because I was constantly away. But to me it wasn't glamorous because it was full-on, exhausting. I remember sitting in an infinity pool with a beer in Madagascar going, I don't know how much longer I can do this job. I look back now and I can't believe I couldn't enjoy it more.

Toughest career moment so far: Probably the Queen Vic fire because of the pressure. As a director, you're really only as good as your last job. So if people had hated it that would have been my name muddied. It was a risk doing it. But I'm glad I did!

The biggest myth about my job is..: That it's glamorous.

If you want to work in this industry you need to..: Start doing your own stuff. Especially with the technology available, you can start making short films. When you go for jobs they want to see your own personal stamp on stuff. When you're studying you have time to do it so do it, so you should put the work in.

If I hadn't done this job, I would have..: I really don't know. I would have been happy to go into print or radio. But it was always going to be in the media.

Up For Hire Live tackles one of the biggest issues for you, unemployment. Watch episode 2 tonight at 9pm. Get involved! Tweet @bbc3tv using #upforhire.

Jane Fitz-Gerald is part of the Up for Hire Interactive Team.

- Tips and advice - Up For Hire on Facebook
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