BBC Careers

Applications have now closed for this year's scheme.  Please visit www.bbc.co.uk/careers for other opportunities.

It’s your chance to join one of the greatest broadcasting organisations in the world.  

We are offering a year’s paid work as a trainee in one of our UK newsrooms – in online, radio and TV.

You will be mentored throughout by a senior BBC journalist.  There is no guarantee of a job at the end but we will do our best to help you find one.

This highly competitive scheme attracts thousands of entrants – could you be one of the successful twelve joining us in 2013?

Find out more…

First and foremost you will be a good writer and communicator – with the potential to be even better.  Maybe you've demonstrated this through student magazines, community or hospital radio, blogging, or work experience at a local newspaper?

You'll need to be able to write quickly but accurately.  You will already be thinking about how to grab the attention of our radio audiences – and what makes a great picture for our  TV programmes and websites.

The BBC need people who reflect the diversity of the UK so we can create fantastic programmes and services for our many audiences www.bbc.co.uk/careers/why-join-us/diversity

We are more concerned with your talent, potential and passion to achieve great things with us than with your academic background.

Find out more about the Journalism Trainee Scheme by using the index below to navigate around the site.

Generic feedback for 2012 applications

Before applying….read the website carefully and answer the pre-selection questions honestly.  Do you have the right amount of experience?  Are we aiming the scheme at you?  Are you highly motivated, passionate and resilient about wanting to be a BBC journalist?  Don’t apply because you think it looks quite interesting.

Why should we give you a place on the Journalism Trainee Scheme? What would you bring to the BBC?
This is about your motivation – we are looking here for evidence of real passion and commitment.   What would being on the scheme do for you – and, just as importantly, what can you bring to us?  It’s important to use your own words here – not ones that you think might impress us.

Please tell us about your experience related to journalism (for example blogging, writing for newspapers). If you don’t have any specific journalistic experience is there anything else that might demonstrate your drive and potential? (maximum 300 words – please indicate your word count in brackets)
This is reasonably straightforward – we are looking for any experience journalistically that might enhance your application.  Please don’t put links to work that you have done – we will not have time to read them.  Be succinct – only list significant or relevant experience – not the subject of university or college theses.

The BBC makes programmes for every part of the UK population. How would insights from your background or life experience help us connect with an under-served audience? With this audience in mind please suggest an idea for a news story and explain how it would work on radio, TV and online? (maximum 300 words – please indicate your word count in brackets)
There are two clear parts to this answer – the first is about a story suggestion and the second is how you would make it work.  Many applicants write about their university experiences and being students.  We are looking for broader suggestions that can be turned into programmes that will attract audiences who perhaps feel that they don’t have many programmes aimed at them.  You need to think about your own insights and background and you need to be familiar with BBC output.  It is important to answer the question fully and to make sure your story suggestion explains the different ways you would cover the story for TV, radio and online.

Please watch the Six O'Clock News from Monday 30th July by clicking here. Please review this programme and tell us what editorial issues you think it raised for the programme makers.
Here you need to assess the programme in a constructive way.  What was good about it? What could have been done differently?  Explain your reasoning. What did editors have to consider on that particular day?  This includes the choice and length of items and the way they are covered.  We are looking here at your editorial instincts as a potential broadcast journalist and whether you think it met the needs of the target audience.

Overall – it goes without saying that the application needs to be well-written.  It should not contain spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.  Too many times, for example, presenters are mentioned and their names are spelt incorrectly.
You also need to stick to the requested word counts.  Too few and it looks as if you could not be bothered to make the effort – too many and it looks as if you are not able to sum up the important points.  We are looking for great story-tellers and this is your chance to tell us your story.