One of the most common questions{{1}} I get asked is, “Where do I look for jobs?”
The first and best option is: people you know.
Every week or two that you’re out of work, you should email (or text, as appropriate) people you’ve worked with, and let them know you’re available. That’s not just former employers, either. You should be telling your friends and co-workers, too. Just because they’re not in a position to hire you, doesn’t mean they don’t know that person.
There is a Google group for coordinators, called the Coordinator’s 911. (It used to be the Coordinator’s 411, but the organizers of that group shut it down in order to create Production Yak; the less said of that, the better.) Members will often ask each other for PA recommendations. If you’re friends with someone in that group, they just might recommend you.
And don’t forget about the power of social media. If someone notices you’re “looking for work” status update, they might contact you, instead of the other way around.
It’s also a good idea to meet new people. You don’t have a job right now; you can go out every night of the week, if you so choose. Get out there, make friends, network.{{2}}
Of course, this isn’t always effective. Sometimes your friends are just as jobless as you, and your old boss has a full staff. That’s where the Internet comes in.
If you’re looking for crew jobs, the best sites of found are Mandy.com and StaffMeUp.com. A newer resource is the I Need a PA Facebook page. I personally have not gotten a job off of it, yet, but it seems fairly active.
At the bottom of this list is Craigslist. Almost everything on there is low (or no) budget, which means the pay and professionalism will be equally low (or no). Still, if you’re new in town, experience is what you need, so that’s where you go.
If, on the other hand, your goal is to be an agent, or studio executive, or some other suit job, you have more options. First there’s the UTA Joblist, available right here on the TAPA website. Another useful site is EntertainmentCareers.net.
Also, most studios and networks post job listings on their websites. The problem here is, because of corporate rules, all jobs must be posted publicly, even if the person offering the job already knows who they want to hire. They have to make a show of considering other candidates.
What this means for you is, while you might see dozens of job openings, only a fraction of them are legitimately open. And, of course, you’re competing with the hundreds of people who are also applying via the website. I’m not saying you shouldn’t apply, but don’t feel bad if you don’t get a call back.
Do you have any other resources that I missed? Share them in the comments below!
[[1]]The other most common is, “Why are you so sexy, TAPA?”[[1]]
[[2]]This is probably a good time to plug the TAPA networking event in a couple weeks.[[2]]
3 Responses
This is a super useful article. I’ve written an ebook about making it in LA and have been developing a website for providing resources for those new to LA. I’ve been looking into different non-union job resources for awhile, and although I see some familiar names on the list, there are a couple of new ones on there to explore. Thanks for the tips… I’ll be passing this along!
Years ago I had just quit an assistant job in entertainment news because I wanted to get into scripted development. Earlier that year I had met a woman at Barney’s Beanery because we were both wearing the same team’s football jerseys on a Sunday. She happened to work for a very well-known film director.
I sent her an email because I was looking for work. We’d watched maybe five professional football games together, that was the extent of our relationship. Turns out she knew of a development gig that was hiring and I got the job.