How To Work In Hollywood: Bring The Fresh in 2012I talk a lot in this blog...

How To Work In Hollywood: Bring The Fresh in 2014




I talk a lot in this blog...: Bring The Fresh in 2012 I talk a lot in this blog about the importance of getting a job in the industry… not only to learn and understa...

How To Work In Hollywood: Bring The Fresh in 2012I talk a lot in this blog...

How To Work In Hollywood: Bring The Fresh in 2012

I talk a lot in this blog...: Bring The Fresh in 2012 I talk a lot in this blog about the importance of getting a job in the industry… not only to learn and understa...

Bring The Fresh in 2014

I talk a lot in this blog about the importance of getting a job in the industry…
not only to learn and understand how it works, but to build relationships with
working professionals. So today’s question comes,…



“Get a job in the industry, even A
low-level job as an assistant, intern, PA, or runner” as a great way to
build your professional contacts. It’s a great idea but work is scarce
right now. Do you have any insightful tips on pursuing any of these
entry and low-level jobs?

Getting a job in Hollywood is all about connections and relationships.
Rarely will you land a Hollywood job solely on the strength of your resume
or past experience. Yet, as a points out, even positioning yourself to
make those connections can be tough. So here are some great ways to break
in and get your career ball rolling…

1. WORK AT AN AGENCY – There’s a reason people refer to working at an agency
as “grad school for the industry.” The big agencies, especially in television,
are the hub of all commerce; there’s not a sale or deal that happens without
going through one of the major agencies. As a result, agencies have their
fingers on the pulse of everything happening in Hollywood as it happens…



who’s buying, what’s selling, which shows are getting picked up, who’s
getting hired or fired. Nothing happens in Hollywood without agencies
knowing about it… often even before the other people involved!

Thus, agencies are often the BEST STARTING PLACE for anyone launching a
Hollywood career… even if you don’t want to be an agent.

In fact, many networks, studios, and producers won’t even hire assistants who
don’t already have agency experience!

…Which is why, if you walk into the belly of one of Hollywood’s top agencies,
you’ll find law school graduates, MBA’s, undergraduate interns… people of
all levels starting their careers. (I know a guy who started his own business,
built it into a multi-million-dollar, international company… of which he was
the CEO… then decided he wanted to switch careers, become an agent. He got a
job at one of Hollywood’s biggest agencies… in their mailroom. Now, his
knowledge and experience helped him excel faster than the other low-level
employees, and he’s now a full-fledged agent, but the point is:
everyone starts in the mailroom.)

Future showrunners hard at work
Working at an agency, you usually begin in the mailroom, sorting and delivering
incoming and outgoing mail. Once you’ve proven your mettle, you’ll become a
“floater,” or substitute assistant, “floating” from one agent’s desk to
another, covering for assistants who are out sick, on vacation, etc. As you
do this, you’re hopefully forming good relationships with agents throughout
the agency, especially in areas where you hope to work. (If you want to be a
screenwriter, you’re forming relationships with MP lit agents; if you want
to be a reality producer, you’re meeting alternative agents; if you want to
be a TV casting director, you’re meeting TV talent agents, etc.) Eventually,
you land on an agent’s desk permanently, working strictly as that agent’s
assistant until you’re ready to move on… either within the company, or
to an external job.

This whole time, you’re in the midst of a massive swirl of information.
You’ll read countless scripts—and learn to analyze them. You’ll know who
all the major players are (and meet many of them, as well as their assistants,
personally or on the phone). You’ll understand the ins and outs of negotiating,
giving (and receiving) notes, pitching a new show idea. You will learn more,
and meet more people, faster than you ever thought possible.

You’ll also build your Rolodex… not only with people within your company,
but with all the execs, managers, writers, producers, and clients with whom
the agency does business. These people not only form the foundation of your
professional network, they’re people who will get you your next job (and the
one after that… and the one after that). In fact, assistants at agencies often
know of job openings around town long before anyone else… so you’re perfectly
positioned to nab that writers assistant gig at How I Met Your Mother…
or the job assisting the president of NBC… or the new story producer
opening at Top Chef. For all of these reasons.....