Category: Job Hunting

Feb 21

Pilot Season

 

Within the world of scripted television there are a few different “seasons”.  There is staffing season, where all the writers a hired to new shows, and then there is pilot season which is currently happening now.

What is pilot season you ask?  Well pilot season is where show pilots begin production and start to pitch to the big networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW) near the end of the season.  For those of you that don’t know a pilot is a either a full episode or a demo reel of the show being pitched to the network.

Normally you hear of actors flocking to LA and NY for pilot season because it could be their big break, but I got to say, pilot season should be just as important to us production assistants and other crew members as it is to actors.  Because of the high amount of pilots being shot there is a good chance you could land a network gig if the pilot you are working on gets picked up.

So instead of sitting around trolling craigslist for your next gig, purchase a copy of Variety or The Hollywood Reporter or even subscribe to email lists like The Mercury Report or Production Weekly.  In these publications they list several shows as well as movies that are in development or pre-production and they usually have some form of contact information.

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t hear anything back because if the pilot has already been shot, then the production company is just in the fun waiting game with the network.  While some shows may get picked up right away others will have to wait until staffing season in April-June when networks start to officially announce and order their lineup for the next year.

So get those resumes polished up, and your interview clothes ready to go because who knows how many calls you could end up getting.

Happy pilot season everyone!

 

0
comments

Posted in Being a Production Assistant, Career Path, Job Hunting, Los Angeles, Production

Jan 27

The Power of Sending Emails

The most common way for people to find work in this industry, especially for those just breaking in, is to troll the popular job websites like realitystaff, media-match, mandy and craigslist.  These websites can be great, however,  you have to think about how many people are applying to these same positions.  With hundreds of people applying your resume can easily be lost in the shuffle.

With this thought in mind,  I decided to take a different approach to my daily job search.  I thought that if I send of my resume to companies that aren’t hiring right now, that maybe they would think of me in the future.

So I googled several production companies and started sending my cover letter and resume to them.  A few days later, I got an email response back asking me to come into their office for an interview (go me!).

The moral of this story is to break up your normal job website routine.  Try contacting companies directly to see if they are hiring, or hiring in the future.  You never know what may turn up from your efforts.

Happy job hunting!

 

1
comments

Posted in Job Hunting

Jan 24

Another great job search resource

Another great resource for production job hunting is Cynopsis Media.  They send out daily emails about shows going into production, executive moves, tv ratings, and job openings.  You can subscribe to all of their email lists by clicking here.

0
comments

Posted in Job Hunting

Jan 23

Film Jobs on Google Groups

So if you guys noticed on the right hand side of my blog there is a new icon that says subscribe to Film Jobs.

This is how I send out the UTA job list along with other production job postings.  If you are looking for a job in the entertainment industry you should definitely  subscribe!

0
comments

Posted in Job Hunting, UTA Job list

Nov 19

Questions about Production Weekly and Mercury Report

Emily sent me an email asking me this question:

Hello Rachel,

I was reading your blog and I was hoping you would be able to give me some advice. I was recently working as a set decorator on a reality show but due to the budget they had to let me go. I have been franticly searching for a job and I have exhausted all of the free websites as well as all of my contacts. I was debating using Production Weekly or Mercury Report but I wanted to know whether either would be worth the money? As well as which one is better?

Thank you,

Emily

For those of you that don’t know, Production Weekly and the Mercury Report are websites where you pay a subscription fee to receive listings of different films and new television shows going into production and their contact information.

I personally have mixed feelings on these services.  First a foremost the prices to get them are pretty high.  Production weekly costs $59.95 a month, while Mercury Report is $52 a month but you will only get 4 issues or you can pay for a 6 month subscription which is $225 or a year which is $400.  I don’t know about everyone else however, working on a PA salary that is a lot of freaking money to shell out.

Each service I think is hit or miss when it comes to actually getting a job from them.  Most of these listings say that the production offices aren’t open yet and to not call them, while others say that the PO’s are open but when you call they are fully staffed and annoyed that you are calling. The trick is calling them exactly when the PO opens or a few weeks before they start principal production.  Good luck though, because you and everyone else will be calling then too.

The benefits of signing up though are that you do get to see everything that is going into production and some way to contact them about it.  If you don’t mind cold calling them and getting some fairly nasty attitudes then I would say go for it.  They are somewhat beneficial to add to your job hunt but keep in mind they are pricey so make sure you can afford it.

If you do decide to get the reports make sure you check out Mercury Report’s How To Use tips to correctly call these productions.

Another option besides these services is signing up for IMDB’s pro service which is $99 a year.  There you can search through all things in production and most have contact information for the production company or the studio.

As a side note:  Production Weekly and Mercury Report do not have listings for reality shows in production.  It is only films and scripted tv shows.  For reality tv listings your best bet is realitystaff.com, and media-match.com.  Also I can’t reiterate enough how important it is to keep up with your contacts, so even if you have exhausted them now, hit them up in a month or so to see where they are at.

6
comments

Posted in Film Community, Job Hunting

Nov 02

Staffing Season

I have been super MIA lately so I decided to get back into the swing of things with answering Kristi’s reader question:

Hi Rachel,

I just found your blog and I thank you for putting all the information out here. I had a couple of questions I wanted to ask you about becoming a Production Assistant. I have completed several internships within the entertainment industry this past year, and my last internship was with Fox Broadcasting in the department that handles all the reality programming. So I’ve worked on the network side of the business, but I really want to begin working on set, and naturally start at the Production Assistant level.
I have names and contact information of people that are in charge of handling all the hiring of crews and PA’s, but I was wondering when the best time to start reaching out to them would be. For example, a couple of shows that I am interested in working on are on hiatus until January. Do I wait to contact the production managers until early January, or do I start contacting them now? My main question is when do shows start hiring PAs for the season? Do they do all the hiring at the beginning/pre-season, or do they also hire during mid-season?
Thank you so much for any help you can provide!
From what I have found in the past few years of working is that crew and staff hiring seasons for the entertainment industry varies depending on what type of project it is.
In general the staffing season for scripted tv is May-June.  In May is when all of the networks announce their fall schedules of what shows they are picking up and which ones are re-newed or cancelled.  During this time is when you should be sending your resume to everyone you know in the industry.  Some shows do come on mid-season so in January there is a small window of available work.  After that they will only hire when someone either is fired or promoted.
Reality tv works a little differently since they only air for half of a television season.  This means throughout the year more reality jobs can be found because they are constantly going into production.  There is a down-time though which is generally November to the end of December because of the holidays.
Films I have noticed go into production during seasons like Winter 2011 or  Spring 2012.  Your best bet for looking for film crew jobs is to start looking in November for the Winter ones and February for the Spring ones.  The best places to find out about movies going into production are usually subscription services.  My favorite ones I have found are productionweekly.com and mercuryreport.net.  You can also buy Variety magazine or The Hollywood Reporter which have a list of things going into production.
As for your contacts I would say that if they are starting production in January then they will probably begin to hire crew sometime in December.  I would suggest contacting them mid-December with your resume and let them know that you are available and would love to work with them.
If you are really interested in working for reality tv there are also a few websites that are good to constantly check to see who is hiring.  My favorite are realitystaff.com which is free and media-match.com which you have to pay a monthly fee for.
For more advice on finding work check out my older post “Ways To Find Your Next Gig“.
I hope this helps!  Happy job-hunting!

18
comments

Posted in Career Path, Job Hunting

Sep 27

Job Hunting Questions

Sarah sent me a question about job hunting:

Hey Rachel,
I just want to say I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog and have found your tips on cracking into the business very wise. I have a couple of questions if you don’t mind. I’m a recent college graduate and received my B.A. in TV Production this May. I have been an intern for different companies for over a year and have a decent amount of office experience and on-set experience thanks to my school projects. However, I have been sending out plenty of applications online through entertainmentcareers.net and have only had a few interviews but no luck yet on snagging a job. I have a couple of contacts from my previous interning, but definitely not alot. I’m feeling somewhat concerned that perhaps my cover letter or resume might be an issue. Any help or advice would help so much. Thank you for your help!

  Fellow job hunter,
                                                                                                                             Sarah 

Well first congrats on graduating in May!  Welcome to the real world :)

Finding your first production or entertainment job after college can be very difficult, especially depending on what type of jobs you are looking for.  To find an assistant job you would go a completely different route than if you are looking to work on set as a production assistant.  I’ll explain both ways you can go, and then try to help you figure out why you aren’t hearing anything back after you apply.

Assistant Jobs

The assistant route is a good one to take if you are looking to be a talent agent, studio executive and sometimes a producer.   Assistant jobs, especially for big studios or producers are very cut throat and hard to get.  These are not easy jobs by any means think of The Devil Wears Prada.  However, if you stick with it and work your butt off it could get you to where you want to be.

Now how to find these jobs.  There are several websites you can go to which I mentioned before but you have to keep in mind that hundreds of people are applying to the same jobs that you are so you need to stand out (more on that in a minute).

Another good way to go is to also take a look at the websites of the studio or production company you want to work at and see if there are job listings on there or if you can find an HR contact.  For these jobs it is better to find out who exactly is hiring and get your resume to them rather than the random gmail account (for example assistantjob@gmail.com) where your email will get lost with the hundreds of others.

The best way I think to get jobs though is through referrals and networking.  Contact anyone and everyone that you know in the industry and let them know that you are looking for work.  If you don’t really know anyone then go to networking parties/events, which you can find information about online.

Production Jobs

The production route is good to take if you want to become a director, producer, editor, director of photography or any other production position.

These jobs you can also find online on those websites however it is the same as assistant jobs where hundreds of people are applying to the same four jobs.  I certainly would say to continue to apply to these jobs online but do not let this be your only avenue of finding work.

Networking I think is even more important for people looking for production jobs rather than those looking for assistant jobs, because most production jobs are not posted online.  You have to know someone that knows someone to send your resume to.  So again contact anyone and everyone you know and go to networking events.

Now back to your question as to why you might not be hearing anything back.

There are three reasons why people don’t hear back from jobs posted on entertainmentcareers.net or other websites.

First, your resume got lost in the hundreds of other resumes that got sent in.  The only way to help yourself in that situation is to send your resume in first.  That means you need to stay on top of the job websites and as soon as you see a job or a gig you want apply for it.  I actually have a saved draft of my resume/cover letter in my email so I can just add the email of who I need to send it to right away.  That way I can get an alert on my phone while I am away from home and still be able to apply to that position.

Second, you don’t have the qualifications that are needed for that job.  Are you applying to producer jobs when you have barely been a PA on set?  Or are you applying for assistant jobs that require 3 years experience?  Make sure you take a look at the qualifications before you apply, that way you will have a better chance.

Lastly, the reason why you might not be hearing back is because your resume sucks.  I don’t say that to be mean.  I just can’t tell you how many resumes that I have seen that are absolutely terrible.  Check out my other post about resumes and that should help you out.

If you still have questions about your resume after you re-worked it or if you just want another set of eyes on it I can take a look at it for you.  Email me at rachelmmarks@gmail.com

Hope this helps with your job hunt!  If you have anymore questions let me know.

4
comments

Posted in Being a Production Assistant, Being an Assistant, Job Hunting

Jun 22

Ways to find your next gig

 

Lately I have been asked a lot about how I find my next gig.  From what I have seen over the years there really is no “right way” to get a job in this industry.   There are tons of stories out there of insert-big-celebrity-name-here’s brother-in-laws nephew getting a job because he is “close” to that big name celebrity.  But what about everyone else that doesn’t have the hook up from someone big?  How do they manage to break in?

Well honestly it takes a lot of work.  To break into the industry not knowing anyone is probably the toughest and most frustrating thing you will ever do.  Your best bet is to check out job lists and websites.

One of the biggest job lists is of course the UTA joblist which has all of the assistant jobs available in Hollywood.  I send it out through the film job google group so sign up to be a member to get the list. Keep in mind the the UTA joblist only has assistant jobs, not production jobs.  So if you want to work on set you will have to find jobs elsewhere.

Other job lists that are good to check out are Production Weekly and The Mercury Report.  Both of these can be found online, however, you do have to pay to receive them.  These two lists have everything that is going into production including contact information.  I have actually gotten a job by randomly emailing one of the companies, so it never hurts to just send an email.

You next best bet for job hunting if you don’t know anyone is to hit up the job websites such as realitystaff.com, media-match.com, mandy.com, craigslist.org and productionnotices.com.  These are all pretty great websites that post several job openings but keep in mind they, yes even craigslist..just really read when you apply to something.

Finally the most important place to find jobs is through networking and making friends.  Hollywood runs on who you know so networking is vitally important.  Make sure you always have your past coordinator’s emails or phone numbers because who knows what they could be working on next.   Websites like keypa.net (which is now apparently The Hollywood Ladder) hosts networking events a few times a year.  Also look into your local film commission or any other filmmaker group in your area.

How do you all find your next gigs?

5
comments

Posted in Being a Production Assistant, Job Hunting

Apr 14

UTA Job List

If you are interested in receiving the job list a long with other entertainment job postings please go to http://groups.google.com/group/film-jobs

Request to be a member of the group.

 

0
comments

Posted in Job Hunting

Apr 04

Comments about UTA Joblist

 

So after posting that I have the newest UTA joblist and I am willing to email it out to you I received an enormous response.  While looking through some of the comments I noticed this one posted by Tyler and I felt like I really should address this:

I would love the list as I am looking for a part time gig to go with my bartending job once a week. Thanks

Ok here is my huge problem with this comment.  The UTA job list does not offer part time gigs.  If you are looking for a part time gig to go along with bartending then I would highly suggest trying to find something else.

The UTA joblist is a list of assistant jobs that are full time and that are available in Hollywood.  The list is sent out to hundreds of people so you can imagine that these jobs are rare and highly sought after.  I can also assure you that if you do not live in Los Angeles you will never receive a call for one of these positions.  Hollywood tends to mostly hire from within but the rare times it does not it will offer interviews to those people that live in that city.

If you are serious about an assistant job in Hollywood I would suggest contacting companies directly rather than trying to land a job through this list.  Try websites like media-match and realitystaff.com as well because they usually have some pretty great positions on there as well.

 

2
comments

Posted in Being an Assistant, Job Hunting, UTA Job list

« Older Entries