Whom I Refer
Unemployment 2012 will come to an end on Monday. I finally got a job. In the last few days, I’ve been offered four other jobs. Naturally, I had to pass on all of them, which begs the question… WHERE THE HELL WERE THOSE JOBS WHEN I NEEDED THEM?! The universe works in funny ways. Since I […]
The First Origin Story
I’ve created a Facebook page for TAPA! I’m not really sure what to do with it. Heck, I can’t even figure out how to repost my blog entries on the fb page. If anyone knows anything about that, please send me an email. Speaking of Facebook, some people who seem to know what they’re doing […]
Interview Prep
I had an interview yesterday for a writer’s PA gig on a new TV show. My last few interviews have gone pretty well, so maybe I walked in a little too cocky. It turned out to be my worst interview in years. Part of it were elements beyond my control. While in the lobby, I heard […]
Origin Story
One of the most common questions I get, especially one someone emails me to use my resume editing service,{{1}} “How do I find my first job, if I have no experience?” The short answer is, as always, work for free (or, preferably, intern before you graduate from college), until you have enough experience to get […]
“In the Next Day or Two…”
As my unemployment comes to a temporary respite, I was thinking about a phrase I’ve heard a lot lately: Expect a call in the next day or two. Usually, it’s a friend of mine who calls to tell me about a job opening. He (or she) gives me the preliminary info and tells me that […]
A New Way to Network
Walking around the lot today, I ran into a UPM I worked for last year. During that show, she had recommended I read a book that was very important to her life. (She also claimed it was the second most read book in the world, but that isn’t actually true.) Anyway, I had read the […]
Turning Down Work
On my last show, I was bumped up to Production Secretary during wrap. The bump was largely nominal (although I did also receive a raise), since I was performing essentially the same duties I had already been performing. As we were winding down, I was told, “TAPA, you shouldn’t have to PA again. After this, […]
“Hey, Remember Me… Gimme a Job”
Hollywood is slow right now. Everyone I talk to seems to be in agreement. As I mentioned, more and more shows are packing up for the Bayou State. Consequently, I’ve started actively emailing old bosses, checking to see if they or anyone they know is hiring. During most unemployment spells, the calls come to me. […]
Reader Advice
Some of my oldish posts have been getting comments, recently. Not really sure why this is happening now, but they do bring up interesting points. Sarah replied to my post “No, You Don’t Need to Go to Film School”: You don’t need to go to any school, but film school is one of the few […]
Lucky Friday the 13th List
Maybe you can find a job as Kevin Bacon‘s Assistant.
When to Lie in an Interview
I interviewed recently to be the assistant to an EP on a network TV show. My interview philosophy has changed over the last few years. When I first started out, I lied my way through nearly every question in an interview. When they’d ask what I wanted to do in Hollywood for the rest of […]
Louisiana
I saw the best minds of my generation… take their shows to Louisiana. Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but more and more, it seems like every show is filming in The Pelican State. As we speak, roughly thirty shows are in Louisiana. THIRTY! That includes Cataclysm, Ender’s Game, Django Unchained, and the Untitled Diablo […]