An anonymous reader writes in:
I interned at a sports agency for a summer. Through a couple people I knew, I was able to get interviews set up with Gersh, ICM and WME. However, none of them worked out. My experience is just not enough, and every job I look at seems to say “1-2 years in the entertainment industry required”.
At the end of the day I want to be an agent, but love the entertainment business in general and would definitely be open to other aspects. The tricky part is most studios I’ve talked to have said I need agency experience before they will interview…
Ah, the old no-job-without-experience/no-experience-without-job conundrum.
I used to work for an agent, and he had a saying: “Farmers farm, plumbers plumb, and agents lie.”
I don’t often give this advice out, but in the case of someone who wants to be an agent, I think you should totally lie.
Don’t say you interned at this sports agency; you were an assistant there. For a year. And if you’re applying at ICM, maybe you interned at Gersh, too. Who knows? It’s not like they’re going to check.
Basically, I’ve come to believe this whole “experience” thing is bullshit. You know you can do the job. Once you get the job, you’ll do it well. Everyone wins! (Except for the guy who actually has experience yet doesn’t get the job, but fuck him.)
If this sounds a little amoral to you, then, well… don’t be an agent.
8 Responses
@Joseph I think I need to take some lessons from you on networking timing because out of every 10 people I talk to, occasionally one person “thinks” there’s a job open on their show and then it’s always filled when they forward my resume! And there’s only so many times (usually once, maybe twice) I feel comfortable asking someone if they know of any openings.
@Adam
My experience with PAing is that I get most of my jobs by Networking. Out of the 100 resumes I send out I get maybe 5-8 responses. but out of every 10 people I talk to that are hiring I get 6-9 responses. NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK!!!!
Good luck with everything!
Would you give that advice for something that is looking for an assistant job outside of an agency or someone that is looking to become a PA?
Poe’s Law, my friend.
When trapped in the Catch 22 of experience-required/experience-denied, you really can’t afford to play by the rules anymore. Just be sure you really can do the job, then tell them what they want to hear.
And once you’ve got the job, don’t look back…