C4 receives a substantial amount of speculative CV's and unfortunately we are unable to individually reply to these. According to potential suitability some of the applications will be kept on file for 3 months. We discourage speculative candidates from sending in show reels to C4, please see the comment below with reference to presenting.

Applications for current vacancies will be acknowledged by email or post as soon as possible. Due to the volume of applications received, for some vacancies, we regret that we are not able to provide feedback to individuals who are not invited for interview.

The Channel currently operates a Preferred Supplier List, which is reviewed annually. The next review is due to take place in September 2004. C.V.'s sent into the Channel from recruitment agencies or consultancies who are not on our PSL will not be considered.

We are in the process of reviewing this area, and are currently only accepting students studying within the IT sector.

Channel 4 doesn't produce it's own programmes therefore we do not run training schemes. We do, however, place a strong emphasis on internal training and development and contribute to training within the industry through various organisations. For information on training within Broadcasting and Television please contact Skillset (T: 020 7534 5300).

In addition, every two years we sponsor four people from ethnic backgrounds (to encourage diversity in the industry) on the Film & Television Freelance Training's (FT2) New Entrant Scheme. This is a competitive and well-recognised scheme which aims to get people into junior grades (e.g. camera, sound, edit, etc) within the freelance industry. For Information please telephone FT2 (T: 020 7734 5141).

Presenting

Anyone wishing to become a presenter will need to produce a showreel to forward to production companies and casting agents. To help you we have listed some points to remember when making one:

• A showreel should be interesting, fun and certainly no more than 4-5 minutes in length.
• Include several short scenes e.g. reporting from a special event or interviewing someone in a mock studio.
• Remember that the first minute is the most crucial to gain the viewers attention.
• Don't go to great expense to make the showreel - try and get family or friends to shoot it for you.
• When you send your showreel to a production company enclose a covering letter and ensure your name, age and contact details are clearly marked on the video cassette.
• Never send your master cassette to a production company - they can't guarantee its return.
• Production companies may take some time to respond, especially if they are not currently casting.
• A directory with contact details for independent production companies can be purchased for the price of £30 from PACT (T: 020 7331 6000).

We hope the information provided has been helpful, and wish you the very best of luck in your chosen career.