Kayleigh, 33 - TV Casting Producer

I find interesting people for TV programmes and look after them throughout the filming process.

A-levels

Spanish, Psychology, Media Studies, English Language & Literature

Degree

Spanish
University of St. Andrews, Scotland (With an Integrated Year Abroad)

How I got to where I am now

Started as a Shop Assistant at Woolworths where I learned a great deal about customer service and how to handle people

Worked as a rock climbing instructor / Group Leader at PGL holiday camps. This taught me how to be resilient, many tasks didn't come easily to me but had to work at it

Bar tender in a 5* hotel - again, more dealing with the public and the importance of a good work ethic

Teacher of English as a Foreign Language in Spain and South America - learned to see things from other people's perspective

Head of Studies at a language academy in Spain - I ran the entire school, taught all the classes and even cleaned the toilet! I had to do it all, and I worked extremely hard to make it a success

All these previous experiences helped me when I decided to try and get my foot in the door in the world of TV. I began as a runner, which is a general dogsbody, worked my way up to researcher, then Assistant Producer and now I'm a Producer

My big tip...

Don't worry! You don't have to have your whole life mapped out at 18. Just do what you enjoy and use your time at university to discover your passion. There is plenty of time to figure out how you can then use your skills and talents in a job suited to you. Every job you have along the way will teach you something which will become useful later, so don't act as if you are above anything. Do it all, and learn from it. Also, there are many wonderful alternatives out there now. Uni isn't for everyone, so look into apprenticeships and on-the-job training too. The world is your oyster!