| TYPES
OF JOBS The next decision you should
make at the outset of your job-seeking adventure (and
it is definitely going to be an adventure) is what field
you want to work in. There are myriad facets of entertainment
and media, which means that, unlike most other businesses,
there is a niche for every talent. If you are newly
Year_of_Graduation from college or graduate school (i.e., you
haven’t held a full-time job for more than a few
months), then you might do well to sit down and make
a list of your best and worst (or, let’s say,
less-best) attributes.
For example, let’s pretend you hate manual labor.
You’re definitely an “indoor” kind
of person. Automatically, you can rule out applying
for Production Assistant, or PA, jobs. PA jobs, while
giving a great introduction to life on a film or television
set, are labor intensive and require long hours. You
probably won’t be very happy working under those
conditions if you don’t like getting your hands
dirty.
Alternately, if you have a terrible time getting yourself
organized, if you are always late for appointments,
or if you dislike typing, then you won’t want
to interview for assistant jobs at the studios or production
companies. Being a good assistant requires fastidious
attention to detail and a natural ability to organize.
Without these qualities, you won’t be very happy
working at a desk.
Another consideration is time. If you want to write
or act, then you probably need a flexible schedule.
PA jobs and assistant jobs won’t give you flexibility,
so you might consider applying for personal assistant
work with an actor, or scouting around for freelance
“reader” jobs at various production companies
(see glossary). Conversely, if your talent involves
happily staring at a computer screen for hours on end
creating Web sites or graphic art (and if it does, I
truly admire what you do because I can barely work a
light switch), then you want to be in close proximity
to people who will recognize your abilities and quickly
put you to use. Therefore, you will want to rule out
all of the earlier suggestions and go for an assistant
job in a post-production house or at a special effects
company.
The suggestion here is to actively avoid things that
you know you can’t do happily for a year. A little
bit of up-front honesty about what you can and can’t
do will go a long way in helping you have a pleasant
first experience working in the business.
If you aren’t really sure which cog in the Hollywood
machine appeals to you yet, as most people aren’t,
I would encourage you to apply for an assistant position
at one of the studios or larger agencies. These companies
are the only two entities in Hollywood that even partially
resemble your parents’ corporate America. They
function as larger companies have to, with rules and
regulations, and an infrastructure that exists to protect
their employees. Most of these companies have an internal
“pool” of floating assistants who act as
temps until they land in the right place, which is a
great way for someone starting out to get the lay of
the land.
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