How to Get a Job at HGTV

Everybody's done it: you get home, you flip through the TV channels and stop on one of those home-improvement shows. As you see people finding their ideal homes and watching the decor go from drab to debonair, you look at the host and decide the job looks like a lot of fun. HGTV is cable TV's center for such programming, and getting a job on-air is often part of a broader career in entertainment, communications and home improvement.

Instructions

1. Exude an entertaining personality. HGTV is part information and part entertainment. People can and do learn by watching the programs, but they have to want to watch them. Part of a show's appeal is the appeal of the host. Having a background in any of several fields will help. These fields include broadcast journalism, mass communications, marketing and performing arts, specifically TV and stage acting.

2. Become educated. HGTV hires hosts who know their stuff. Yes, it's TV, and yes, it's entertainment, but successful shows also require content. For example, consider the host of HGTV's top-rated "House Hunters" show. Suzanne Whang is a comedian and actor, but she also has a degree in psychology--something that no doubt serves her well in assessing whether a home or apartment fits a client's needs.

3. Make yourself known. TV hosts (think Dr. Phil) often start out as featured guests. People become featured guests when they have credibility and personality. Writing a book or establishing a name for yourself in a local market is a gateway to renown. Consider Bob Vila, the TV home improvement pioneer. He restored a Victorian home in Massachusetts in the late 1970's. The Boston Globe wrote about the project, the local PBS affiliate filmed a pilot episode and "This Old House" was born.

4. Know the company. HGTV is owned by Scripps Networks, LLC, which also owns the DIY Network, Food Network, Fine Living Network, Great American Country and SN Digital brands.

5. Know its people. Jobs in entertainment largely are a matter of "who you know." While this may sound like patronage, and in some cases it is, the simple fact is that if a person with hiring authority already knows and likes someone who can do the job well, that person stands a great chance of landing the job.

6. Put the move in perspective. Few people who host on HGTV and similar networks endeavor specifically to do that; instead, the jobs are part of a broader career path or simple circumstance. Guy Fieri, host of three network shows, started out as a chef and restaurant manager; he then competed on and won "The Next Food Network Star." After that, his TV career was a lock.

References

• Scripps Networks: Career Opportunities
• HGTV.com: Suzanne Whang
• Bobvila.com: Biography