Felecia writes in:
So there are some people that I’ve worked with before who now write on other shows. I was wondering if I sent them my resume and they forward it to whoever does the hiring on their show, does the fact that it came from one of the writers matter? Or would it probably just get added to the pile of all the other resumes they have?
I did this once before where I sent my resume to someone I worked with who got hired as a writer on a show and they sent it to whoever it needed to be sent to, but nothing ever came of it. Should I bother trying again?
A good rule of thumb is: Who the hell knows?
Seriously, I’ve gotten jobs from stranger recommendations than a writer. My sister’s high school boyfriend, who I didn’t even know moved to L.A., got me a job once.
A lot of factors go into hiring someone– the needs of the show, the PA’s qualifications, their personality, internal politics, budget, the time of day, the coordinator’s mood, whether the moon is in flux with Mars. Who the hell knows?
A recommendation from someone is (almost) always better than a cold email. But any number of things could’ve happened between you writer friend passing on the resume and the coordinator actually calling applicants for interviews.
Even the most junior of writers get some deference from the office staff. Within a season or two, they’ll have “producer” in their title, and people will really begin to care what they think. Friends in high places are almost never a bad thing.
Just make sure you earn it once you land the job.
