How To Pad Your Resume…
…without actually lying. Chris writes: I was what you might call a “day player” on a game show a few days ago. Is this experience worth mentioning in a résumé and cover letter, or is it better left unsaid — perhaps even reserved for an interview? First, don’t accent the accented é’s in “resume.” We’re […]
Resume Basics
Received a few resumes from some youngsters. (When did I get so old? Oh God, am I The Old PA?! Nooooooo!) They were rife with rookie mistakes. I’ve said all these things on the blog before, but for those of you who might be too busy (i.e. lazy) to go back through the annals, here’s a […]
The Tyranny of Chronology
I agree that a film should have a beginning, a middle and an end but not necessarily in that order. Yes, I just quoted a French New Wave director. Excuse me a second while I punch myself in the face. I’ve been seeing a lot of resumes lately for my cover letter and resume rewriting […]
The No-Experience Resume
Chris is experiencing a common problem: I’m about to start hunting for PA jobs in NYC after a 4 years as a reporting analyst. After a lot of thought I have decided that I would like to work in film/tv, eventually if I’m lucky and good enough as a writer or director. I have been writing […]
Objectives
Michael asks: Do you think that having “Objective: Seeking work as a Staff Set PA/Office PA or as an Additional PA/Dayplayer” on your resume is too broad of an objective? So far I have done some work as a Set PA on a couple major networks shows, but nothing as a office PA (I have […]
Demo Reel
Jordan recently commented on an old post about cover letters: Is it presumptuous to include a demo reel link in a resume if it is relevant? “If it is relevant,” I don’t imagine it would be presumptuous, but I can’t imagine a circumstance when it would be, at least for a production assistant. (Maybe you […]
The Factory Floor
Rachel writes: First off I love your blog! It’s comforting to hear that another PA is dealing with the same stuff I deal with. 🙂 I have been working as a PA for the past year on different reality shows. My resume is obviously OK (or at least decent) otherwise I wouldn’t be getting any work, […]
Touching Base
Reader Pamela writes: I was working on an awards show recently, hired as a recipient andpresenter wrangler, within one day bumped up to assistant stage manager for the recipient and presenters stage within one day. The executive producers and Stage manager praised me several times and said they would love to have me work for […]
Production Assistant Portfolio
Reader Drew commented on an old post, yesterday: I’m just starting to put together a resume for future jobs – I have two independent films under my belt – and for the examples I find, they have a portfolio section. What goes into a PA’s portfolio? Production photos of them? I think they just crammed […]
Can’t Find a Job
I’ve called up everyone I know, even the ones I hate and swore I’d never work with again. I’m cruising all the usual websites, even my old alma mater’s job board (which never has anything good, despite being the oldest film school in the world). I finally resorted to a tactic I absolutely loathe. I […]