Work in Radio

Vicky Hawksworth

Presenter

BBC Radio 1

First things first...

Getting into this industry isn’t a one-size-fits-all.

Everyone has a different story so don’t get caught up in comparing where your peers are or thinking you need to be in a certain place at a certain time. 

My tips...

• Find your own voice, draw inspiration from other presenters, but ultimately be yourself and develop who you are on air because this will be your selling point. The industry already has a Greg James and Chris Moyles, those spots are taken! 

• Tailor a demo to the station you’re applying for so they can hear how you would sound on their station. Be prepared to make a 1000 or 10,000 demos and send them out. Most will be ignored but don’t let that get you down because in the words of Lady Gaga ‘There can be 100 people in a room and 99 of them don’t believe in you but all it takes is one and it just changes your whole life…” 

• Get as much experience as you can, practice as much as you can and learn from the people around you. Ask them how they work, ask them to listen to your demos and ask for feedback and advice.

• If you’re a student get to an SRA event - I was told in my third year that was ‘the way into radio’ - I went to one event that lead to an internship and then my first job in radio. It’s important to get into the same room as people in the industry.

• Once you’re in - work hard because radio is a small industry full of brilliant people who will support and help you. If you show them how great and willing you are, then you’ll have made great connections.

• Finally apply for things even if you think you won’t get it - I did and it got me to Radio 1. 

If I can go back in time...

I would tell myself to listen differently.

I focused on what was being said which is important, but I gave less time to think about the audio elements, the bed changes, the clips, imaging within a feature and these are all really important things to note when you are then on air. I wish in my years of shows in community and local stations I had challenged myself more to come up with features and games that required a lot of different clips and elements because juggling all of that on the desk while presenting and presenting well is a craft and the more you can practice the better! 

Secondly, I would say don’t be afraid to not only get a foot in the door but kick the door down. Send a second email to that radio station. I always worried I was mithering but the truth is people have very full inboxes and very busy schedules and it can’t hurt to remind them you exist.