Graphic career: European Tour Production's Leila Salarkia talks education, ticking boxes and being brave International Womens Day 2021 focus By Heather McLean, Editor
Thursday, March 11, 2021 - 17:15
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Leila Salarkia, head of graphics for European Tour Productions at IMG
Leila Salarkia, head of graphics for European Tour Productions at IMG, has had something of a whirlwind ride through further education, from biochemistry to animation, to get her current position.
She has spent a good deal of time in educational institutions as she gradually moved closer to the field she wanted to pursue a career in, which eventually led her to IMG and the European Tour.
Salarkia comments: I suppose you could say I started my career late.
She continues: My main worry when starting my career was that I was too old, and it would work against me. I have never put my age on a CV but when I went for interviews it would be obvious that I wasn't in my early 20s (despite my aggressive moisturising routine,) and I thought that maybe companies wouldn't want that for an entry level position.
Sports broadcasting needs more women and if you have an interest in sport, that's great and it's a good starting point for getting into the job. But don't let a perceived lack of knowledge or love of a sport put you off
When I was looking for graphics positions I worried that my skills wouldn't be sufficient and, like a lot of women, if I didn't tick pretty much all the boxes on the job requirements, I didn't feel confident in applying and thought I wouldn't get an interview or even be considered. Also, no-one can pronounce my name first time (thanks, parents).
Ticking boxes
On the lack of women in live sports broadcasting, she says it could be down to a sense of not ticking all the right boxes that prevents more women from applying for roles. She explains: Live sport is still heavily male dominated, and it would be great to see a more even balance. Men, in general, feel more confident in applying for roles, even if they don't have all the skills or qualifications, whereas women don't and so naturally you see fewer of them applying and getting jobs in the field. I think there is a perception, still, that sports are more masculine and women feel less comfortable going for those positions. I applied for the job because it was a graphics role; the sport had very little to do with it.
She says that needs to change and the key to making that happen is that women simply apply for roles they are interested in. She comments: If you don't think you tick every box, don't let that stop you from applying. It's incredibly clich d but you miss 100% of the opportunities you don't take a chance on. And when you get your interview, do some research on the company; that seems basic but I have conducted several interviews where the person in question knew nothing about European Tour Productions, and it's not a great sign.
Sports broadcasting needs more women and if you have an interest in sport, that's great and it's a good starting point for getting into the job. But don't let a perceived lack of knowledge or love of a sport put you off. As with all jobs, you learn a lot as you go and if you want to get into broadcasting or production, don't limit yourself to what you think you know; apply for everything. I didn't have an interest in golf when I started, but I was surprised how much I picked up by working around it and how an interest grew from that, and I'm thankful.
European Tour Productions' head of graphics Leila Salarkia out at a tournament being cold in a truck
Biochemistry to animation
Salarkia did her first degree, in biochemistry, straight after secondary school , but at the end of those three years she knew it was not the career for her. She then worked for 18 months before deciding that she wanted to pursue animation, which had been a love of hers from an early age.
She goes on: At the age of 25 I went and did an arts foundation course and then afterwards I completed a degree in 2D animation, graduating in 2012. I worked in retail to support myself as I applied for jobs as a runner to get my foot in the door and that's how I ended up at IMG.
I was looking for anything remotely related to animation and graphics, she explains. I applied for lots of runner positions at different television, film and production houses and IMG was the first to offer me a runner job and that introduced me to sports TV broadcasting.
As a runner you get to see and experience lots of different productions, which is a great introduction. Sports was never the major driving factor in my decision, but it's where I am, and I've stayed as it captured my interest.
Her running contract was for 12 months. She says of the job: The role itself involved helping out with day-to-day small tasks for different productions; there was a lot of tea making, tidying up, collecting and delivering food, collecting and delivering tape stock, being available to set up meeting rooms and get laptops hooked up to meeting room screens (we were the keepers of all the meeting room cables). I also did, on occasion, some basic paperwork admin when the facilities team required help.
I think running is a good way to get a feel for production and to show different aspects of a broadcast and how a company works. IMG gave us the opportunity to shadow different job positions a few times, so I got to sit in with the in-house graphics team, the ingest area and the satellite control room, all of which were valuable in their own ways.
Career progression
After her running job at IMG, she started as a junior graphics operator, and after two years was promoted to graphic designer, then five years later became head of the graphics team.
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Graphic career: European Tour Production's Leila Salarkia talks education, ticking boxes and being brave International Womens Day 2021 focus By Heather McLean, Editor 
