Commitment
Matthew asks: I was wondering how do you deal with a company asking for a 1-2 year commitment. Of course I’m going to say yes if they’re asking for commitment. Are they just trying to scare the non-committed away? What are the consequences of leaving for a better job? Is it right for me to […]
How Reply All Works (And BCC, Too)
It’s been called to my attention that I left out an important aspect of email yesterday— reply all. Once again, ugh. I can’t believe I have to write this post. There is one, and only one, circumstance in which you should hit the reply all button: if everyone on the CC chain needs to see […]
How To Use Email
Ugh. I can’t believe I have to write this post. A few of my readers are old enough that they needed a Thomas Guide and a roll of quarters in their car when they went on a run, but most of you don’t even remember AOL CDs. Growing up around computers, you should know proper […]
Vacation Plans
Caroline writes: I just got a job as an office PA at a TV show production office. Unfortunately, I had a trip planned for a month into the job that I long before I was hired. Would it be unwise to request a half day on a Friday and offer to work extra other days […]
Faking It and Following Up
Seán commented on Wednesday’s post: Be careful with the template resume though; I dismiss resumes I get which are not for the job on offer and are just boilerplate stuff. A very good point. As best you can, you should include information given in the job posting, just to show you actually know what job […]
Post-Interview Thank You Note
Bianca asks: I just had an interview with a coordinator. What are your thoughts on sending a post-interview note? Is that appropriate and what would I want it to say? Yes, it’s perfectly okay to send a quick email after the interview. In my experience, it probably won’t do much good one way or the […]
It’s About Time (Or: Yes, I’m Back)
Several people have commented or tweeted that I haven’t written anything in a while. The reason is, basically, this blog was started nearly five years ago, with over 650 posts. That’s quite a bit of material about a job a monkey could do. Eventually, you just run out of things to write. But don’t worry, […]
Things to Inspire You (Plus a Correction)
First of all, if you haven’t read this Cracked article, you should. It is either the most inspiring or most depressing thing you will read all year. * * * Shadya has a response to yesterday’s post, where I advised Alex not to just walk into a production office: Yes, I would say to go […]
Walk Right In
Alex writes: My friend and I are approximately 3 weeks away from departure to New Orleans and we are trying to figure out the best way to find our first PA jobs. We have heard from some people we know that are already there that it is better to simply walk into production offices and […]
Fan Mail
Eva writes: You are awesome and I love your site. That is all. 🙂 Thanks, Eva! You’re pretty nice, too. Even if I come across as a little cranky sometimes, I genuinely hope my blog is helpful to all the PAs out there, whether you’ve been in the business for years or are aspiring to […]
Knowing People in High Places
Jack writes writes in: I’m planning a move to LA in February next year to become a TV writer. I have a friend in development at a major network and another contact that executively produces a cable series. I’ve already met with them, they know I’m moving, and have offered to help and read anything […]
Production Meetings
Kara writes in: I have been talking to an AD for a TV show about getting a job as a Set PA for their upcoming season. He has contacted me about setting up an interview, but this happened a couple of weeks ago and I haven’t heard from him since. Thanks to social media, I […]