Free Movies and Other Things You Didn’t Know
According to a recent poll of my readers, there seems to be a sections of the TAPA website you might not be aware of. Also, since most of you are into movies, I thought I’d give you some tips on how to get movies for free (at least if you’re in LA). Where the Jobs […]
How Long Should a Cover Letter Be
Last week, I was helping a reader with her cover letter, and she asked if multiple paragraphs would deter the recipient from reading the whole thing. Not at all! You absolutely should break your email up into small, digestible paragraphs. A big block of text looks like a novel; short, punchy paragraphs look like a […]
The Name That Goes on Your Resume
What name should you put at the top of your resume? You’d think the answer would be obvious, but it does come up from time to time in my resume service, so I thought it bore writing about. The name you put on your resume is the name you go by. If the name on […]
When To Follow Up
Jane writes in: I sent in a resume to a job posting and was emailed by a First AD thanking me for my interest in the shoot and told me “to expect an email in 3 weeks.” Should I send a follow-up e-mail/call in two weeks (etc)? What’s protocol to following up a job possibility […]
Take a (Paragraph) Break
When writing a cover letter, or even your resume, you should remember that text is, surprisingly, a visual medium. It’s not as mimetic as, say, film, television, or painting, that’s true. But you still glean information from text just by looking at it, not reading it at all. Here’s what Stephen King says in his […]
You Need a Cover Letter
After sharing a job posting on TAPA yesterday yesterday, the HR person at the unnamed firm sent me an email: If you could please add “and cover letter” in the last line I would really appreciate it 🙂 What this says to me is, at least one of my readers (probably more than one) sent […]
Is It Too Late to Start?
John writes in with a few questions: Should I find out who the production coordinator is before I start sending out cover letters? I graduated film school but have no paying job experience or internships. I’m twenty-four, am I too old to start taking Craigslist listings and no-pay jobs to just get contacts? Where to […]
When You Don’t Know Their Name
Steph writes in: I am in the process of sending over my cover letter and resume to an open crew call for a new series. I am putting my name forth to be a Set PA. My issue right now is that I am unable to verify if the AD or 2nd AD that worked […]
References
Temple asks: Do you feel I should always include references, or just if they specifically ask? Short answer: Always. Long answer: there’s no sense in saying “references available upon request.” They know that already. What kind of applicant won’t provide references? You’re basically just making them take an extra step to get information they want and, not unimportantly, […]
Draft Cover Letter
Eric asks: In your post “Bad Times“, you wrote “I actually have a rote PA application template, saved in the drafts folder of my Gmail; my resume is already attached. When I hear of a new job opening, all I have to do is fill in the name, and maybe details if I have specific […]
Email Cover Letters
Elysia asks: When a production, indie or major, asks for applicants to send a resume via email should you attach a cover letter as well or write it in the body of the email? Absolutely include a cover letter. Without a cover letter, people will assume you just don’t care about the job, and you’re […]
Cover Letter
Bryan writes in: I have been out of work since December and I am dying to get back to work. I read what you had to say about cover letters and it makes sense but I am having a difficult time simplifying it. I have been sending out resumes like a mad man and I […]