Dear Bob (unemployed freelancer),
It is very tough out there at the moment. You may have been out of work for weeks, if not months. Life is costing increasingly more. Work is slow to pick up.
We see you and hear you. We know you! We ARE you.
And yes I did say Bob. Because it doesn’t matter if that’s not your name (cool if it is though), but on the People in TV: Available Facebook group, #WeAreBob has been born thanks to Producer Tom Solan who wrote a brilliantly funny, and sadly resonant limerick:
There’s a great producer called Bob,
Who’s available for a new job,
He’s been producing for years,
But has a few fears,
Like losing his house and starving to death and going insane from boredom and thinking everyone hates him now and have decided he can’t work anymore and what about the cost of living crisis and his car needs fixing and he’s watched literally everything also his name isn’t Bob it was me please give me a job.
Tom’s charming but hard-hitting words hit a chord with others, and has reminded us what a warm community we have against the odds, with people stepping in to share their own #IAmBob story (and CV!). As a result, something beautiful has begun, as fellow content makers drop their guard, share their situation and post honestly. To quote Casting Producer Lori-Jade Fadden, ‘I swear a lot, set my standards impossibly high, am neurodivergent and potentially a bit weird… but I never, ever fail to deliver… This is potentially the least professional intro I’ve written in my life, but at this point I’ve got nothing to lose. #IamBob. #Bobbi. #Boberta.”
Kim Bunn announces that “I too am Bob. And I have an Uncle Bob. Be more Bob… I’m a wizz at multitasking, you should see how I can handle a Zoom whilst negotiating Peppa Pig”
One other freelancer said that she felt so detached that she needed a kind of a ‘weather forecast’ of the industry (if you feel the same you can find one from our January industry live session here). In short, the post Covid boom/bubble popped and things slowed down for Winter, like they used to. Things are taking a little longer to pick up, and there’s a sense of ‘fewer, but bigger’ commissions. But there will still be lots of TV and streamer/digital content to make, people are consuming content more than ever before – it just may feel a little slower this year…
But back to you.
Let’s get #WeAreBob and #IAmBob variations going viral. You may be out of work and feeling isolated, bored, sorry for yourself, scared. But you are definitely not alone. Prove it by commenting below introducing yourself and your usual job title, what you’ve been doing to keep occupied whilst out of work, any useful tips for others and any solidarity you can offer.
You can’t feel alone if we are ALL Bob together! GO.
NB Thanks Tom, Lori and Kim for letting us share.
Our team would love to hear from you… Send or update your CV and details here, and browse the roles on our jobs board here. Talented People’s Live Sessions on Facebook are popular, so watch our social feeds for the next important and inclusive industry chat and join in with your own questions. You can find all previous ones on our site here. Follow Talented People on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn so you don’t miss good TV industry talk and news, as well as our latest job opportunities…
**As a proud champion of diversity and equality in production, Talented People takes positive action to reach and represent marginalised or under-represented groups in the industry – be that race, disability, sexuality, gender, socio-economic background or religion, or indeed any other personal circumstance we can encourage conversation to support to get the best talent into the right jobs without prejudice e.g. jobsharing / flexible working requirement.**