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 […]
How to Become a Producer
Dylan writes: I just graduated in May and I plan on moving to LA at the soonest possible time. My question, though, is this: what exactly is the best route to producing features? I’ve heard advice to get an office PA job and try my best to attach myself to a producer that will take […]
Should I Mention that I’m Moving?
Mike asks: In two months I am moving to Los Angeles, and am wondering how to go about mentioning this in my cover letter. Does it just take a sentence or two? I know you’ve stressed being as brief as possible. As per the advice of my industry friends, they have prompted me to get […]
Am I Really Hired?
Kacy writes: I was hired as a PA on a new show for a big company. They weren’t sure when production would be starting and said they would email me once they had more information. They thought production would start sometime around mid-August. It’s mid-August and I haven’t received anything yet. I have emailed and […]
One Big Happy Family
When you work in a production office, you spend long hours with the same people for months. You get to know each other. You learn their favorite and least favorite foods. You talk about dating and relationships and your families and your sports teams. And when it ends, you get that feeling you got when […]
Always Bring Candles
Production offices celebrate more birthday parties than Chuck E. Cheese. And they’re usually spontaneous. Someone notices on Facebook that the creepy girl from accounting is celebrating a birthday. Quick! Send a P.A. to CVS to buy a funny, unoffensive card. Quick! Send another P.A. to get a cake (cost of cake correlates to position in […]
No Crying in Baseball
You’ve got problems. Your girlfriend dumped you. Your little sister ran away from home. Your parents got a divorce. A family member died. You sliced your finger open. The kitchen ran out of your favorite kind of yogurt. But you know what? Keep that to yourself, nobody cares. (Or whine about it on your stupid […]
It’s Always About the Food
On my new show, I’m responsible for [glossary slug=’craft-service’]crafty[/glossary] in the morning, lunch midday, and coffee in the afternoon. If it’s a late night, I’ve got to cover dinner, as well. It sounds menial and tedious, largely because it is. But that doesn’t make it unimportant. As one coordinator told me (many times), “It’s always about […]
“Just” a PA
When you tell people what you do for a living, there’s a tendency to undersell yourself. You say you’re “just” a PA. Stop doing that. You’re a PA, plain and simple. (Or you can be like everyone else in L.A. and say you’re a producer.)
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 […]
Don’t Be An Asshole
Everyone is going nuts right now because NBC fired Dan Harmon from his show, COMMUNITY. I’m not allowed to voice my opinion in real life, because friends of mine work on that show and because I’m friends-in-law with Dan. So I’m going to blog about it instead. If you’re an asshole who insists on wallowing […]