The Job Search Begins

I was hoping I would get to update this blog more often. But the job search is going even slower than my updating.

I've been scouring through Craigslist hoping to find a job, even an unpaid gig, just for the experience. Most of the listings are looking for experienced editors, DPs, producers with finances. Like I said in my last post, people like me who are trying to "make it" aren't going to hire someone with no experience. How can they make a good film if a bunch of unexperienced college graduates are working on it? It's a bit of a Catch 22. You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience.

One of the paths into the industry I've learned of is being an assistant to a talent agent. After you've proven your worth, perhaps the agent will read your script. You'll build relationships with their important clients. But don't be fooled by the term "assistant." Apparently, it's no easy task. Whether a personal assistant, office assistant, or executive assistant, you need at least a year of experience as an assistant. Again, a Catch 22. Can I put "being a good son" on my resume? That's over 20 years of experience right there.

Now and then, a new listing would be posted that made my eyes glow. A production company looking for a production assistant that recognized it's no glorious role but it will get your foot in the door. Part time gigs that will teach you the business behind film and television. Paid internships, which are hard to come by.

I applied for several of these jobs. I received one response: a volunteer gig for a reality TV conference. Not exactly what I was hoping for. I even applied for a non-entertaiment-related part time admin assistant job with an after-school youth program. Even such an honorable company did not have the decency to reply. Such is the state of my job search. I would have assumed there would at least be more listings recruiting PAs for indie and student films, but they are few and far between.

I started to consider other temporary gigs, perhaps as a full time administrative assistant. But, as I've been reading more blogs (looking to better mine), I found The Anonymous Production Assistant, a very helpful resource from a PA. One post about networking says:

Now, I’m surrounded by people who won’t settle for second best, who aren’t satisfied with simply getting by, and who are definitely smart enough and talented enough that they can’t imagine anything less than conquering Hollywood.

I like those five people.

I like that attitude. Like I ended my last post, I am forcing my way into Hollywood. And I won't do it by filing papers in a cubicle. At least for now. My student loan bills haven't started coming in yet. Eventually, I might have to settle temporarily. I've read mostly about going into TV, not film. Maybe there's more luck there?