Building a Career on Passion, Not Comparison

As you progress in this industry, you're encouraged to be hungry and to dream big, but no one really teaches you how to be content. What if a better road to achieving your goals is one built by approaching it from a place of satisfaction, appreciating the milestones rather than viewing them as impetuses for improvement? 

You Know What They Say About Comparison 

It's no surprise that social media fuels this unhealthy need; on a bad day, my evening entertainment comprises of 'doom scrolling' until I hit the sweet spot of spiralling and doubting everything (although shout out to TikTok for teaching me to cut an onion without crying). Unsurprisingly, the outcome of this is a big ol’ serving of inadequacy. But what if, instead of comparing myself, I took a step back and asked myself, objectively, whether I enjoy my job? Because the answer is 'yes'. Do I feel satisfied with the jobs I produce? Also yes. And most importantly – Do I believe I can promote my own passions and effect the change I wish to see? Absolutely!

Escaping Roadblocks 

So, what are these changes? For one, more female crew members. The industry has come a long way, but there’s still work to be done to ensure better female representation on set. At Recipe, our incredible production team has been working to achieve just that, testing out different crews and taking the time to hire more women. This does, of course, require stepping outside of your comfort zone, working with new crew, and taking chances on people – but it is all worthwhile.

Along with this, I've noticed how little this industry caters to people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. At university, training alongside incredibly talented and driven classmates, I saw friends unable to pursue this career because they couldn't afford the free work required to 'be employable'. Personally, I was fortunate to be able to move home rent-free, and while I could only afford a few weeks of work experience, it opened doors for me. 

All too quickly the work experience depleted my meagre savings; I knew I couldn't afford to work my way into the industry in a traditional way – a runner's rate wouldn’t cover much more than the train fare. So I developed a different plan of working my way up to directing in a more unconventional way.

The Road Less Travelled 

The journey began at a teeny advertising firm, where the ‘art department’ on shoots consisted of dragging in discarded sofas from the side of the road (for real). It was wild, but also kind of familiar after the guerrilla filmmaking of university. Here, I got to be a director, animator, and client manager – a real jack of all trades.

My next job landed me in corporate video. This was some really gritty stuff for the oil and gas industry which came with tradesperson training like ‘Survival at Sea’ (find me in a plane crash) and ‘Working at Height’, which saw me abseiling out of a pylon. At the time, it felt like a far cry from the glamorous advertising I wanted to be a part of, but looking back, what a cool job! Here I expanded my skill set to videographer and producer, along with more directing, making the most innovative videos about turbines that you’ll ever see.

Next stop was Kids TV. This was the first milestone for me. I’d walked past the Nickelodeon offices as a teen and dreamed of working there. It took a LOT of puns in my cover letter to convince them I was more than my corporate CV. Here I worked as a creative and producer, but this role also allowed me to direct my own creative. It was my first taste of full shoots with crew, talent, and big budgets. Getting to direct commercials and sponsorships with talented and skilled crew was a huge learning experience as well as a taste for what was to come.

The final stop on the memory train is the present day – Recipe. Here I get to direct for a smorgasbord of clients that are so tonally different – there's no room for boredom. But here I faced a new set of challenges; my unconventional career path, while having educated me in many things – like all stages of creating adverts – it also left a big hole in my education on set with crew terminology (like what even is a ‘craft table’ or a ‘sausage mark’?)

Take the Pressure Off

As a woman in a position of power, you flood yourself with expectations. You need to be independent; you must be in control and, of course, worthy of respect. All of this comes with a dose of imposter syndrome. The best thing I’ve ever done for myself is to let go of the idea of needing to be a certain way. Not knowing something doesn’t devalue everything else that I bring to the table. Instead, just ask what the hell a sausage mark is!

My point is, there's no right way to do this. You must carve your own path and don't be afraid to be true to yourself; that might just be the thing that people like the most about working with you. And whilst we are at it, let's congratulate ourselves every once in a while — the grass doesn't always have to be greener.