Jeremy Cole is a Motion Graphics Designer for TV, but refusing to be complacent – he also does the odd job as a Producer, Director and Editor. These are his first 5 jobs.

1.    Tele-sales Assistant. I was 17, broke and all my friends had new Nike’s on their feet. I took an afternoon off college and went for an interview at a double-glazing sales firm getting the job without much question. I made few sales and was rarely paid. The guy I sat next to was overweight, balding and probably in his mid twenties – he ate ham from the packet and frankfurters from the tin. I soon left.

2.    Sales Assistant. Desperate to have new Nike’s on my feet, my second job took me to THE home of new Nike’s… Croydon. It was a sports concession inside a shopping centre. A lot of weed was smoked in the stock room and the store went under investigation for missing stock. One day, I turned up for work and the manager was ill and the assistant manager was AWOL. As the most senior staff member left, I took my two younger colleagues to McDonald’s and left the shop unattended. I was soon asked to leave.

3.    Sales Assistant. I was 19 and had failed my first year at Uni. After a summer of Job Centre visits I took up a part time job at the oldest off-license in Soho, The Vintage House. I returned to Uni, got my act together, and 3 years later finished with 1st Class Honours. In the meantime, I gave many discounts to local customers at the shop.  They’d later turned out to be TV Execs and I soon left to do some TV work experience.

4.    Runner/ Researcher/ Motion GFX. During my last year at University, I did several Runners jobs at different TV production companies. And after finishing, I proudly landed a job as House Runner at Remedy Productions. I stayed for 3 years – mostly as a runner, but later as a researcher & AP – during my last year I did all their in-house graphics for broadcast and left with my first Motion Graphics show reel. It was reely good.

5.    Freelance. I currently design and produce Motion Graphics with most of my work being for broadcast, as well as the occasional job for stage or web. Further to that, I also do the odd TV job as a Director, Editor or Producer. I’m incredibly passionate about what I do, and currently own two pairs of Nike’s.

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We’ve asked professionals in creative industries what jobs they have had in the past to get their foot through the door (or at least pay the rent). For more in the “My First 5 Jobs” series look here.