When I am looking for PA's I actually prefer people with little or no PA experience. In past experiences, I find that when I hire people with no experience they are very eager to work. Being a PA is far from glamorous and some of the responsibilities that they have are not necessarily the most challenging. I find that when someone has been a PA for a long time they tend to have a chip on their shoulder and feel that they are entitled to more. They become lazy and less willing to do some of the jobs that they are asked to do. I am looking for someone that is excited to be here and wants to learn. Being in production, I love when I see a resume of someone that wants to get into production and not writing. Nine out of every ten candidates wants to be a writer. That doesn't mean that I don't hire PA's who want to be writers. It just means that if you want to be a producer or on the crew make sure that your resume indicates that. You may have a slight advantage over other candidates.When you are hiring office assistants or PA's, you will frequently consider people with no prior industry experience. So how do you decide which people are worth interviewing? What makes a resume or cover letter stand out?
I want to address the statement in bold. Many students ask me, should I reveal that I want to be a writer in my interview? Some people say yes, some say no. Here is my personal experience:
Chris Arrington gave me my first industry job -- a PA on the sitcom According To Jim. My resume listed my internships – I had worked in both production and with writers -- as well as my part-time job a set PA on a local news show. It also listed that I majored in scriptwriting. When Chris asked me if I wanted to be a writer, I was honest. I said, Yes. But that’s not all I said. I told him I was equally interested in production, which was true. I told him that I had written, directed, and produced my own series in college and that the most important thing I learned was that at 2 am, when you’re still shooting, the most valuable person on set is the one who brings you coffee and asks if they can get you anything. I said I understood that to be the job of a PA and that I was happy to be that person for someone. And I got the job.
It’s not that production coordinators dislike aspiring writers. They dislike students with a sense of entitlement. Med students don’t graduate med school expecting to be immediately hired as surgeons. Yet writers graduate college expecting to immediately be hired as television writers. If that happens to you, congratulations, you are the exception, but starting as an assistant is the customary path to the writer’s room. You must be willing to work your way up. I’ve worked with PAs who refuse to do certain jobs, such as organize the supplies closet, because they believe they’re above it. They believe they should be in the writer’s room. That attitude will only get you fired. The truth is, you will work on at least one show where you believe you are a better writer than some of the writers in the room, but you can’t let that affect your attitude or your work ethic. Don’t concern yourself with the other people on the show. Concern yourself with what you can do to advance your career. My first day at According To Jim, I cleaned out the writers’ refrigerator. I had nothing else to do, so I just went into the kitchen and started cleaning. Chris fell in love with me that day. I didn’t clean the refrigerator to get praise. I did it because I knew that THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO AS A PA IS TO FIND SOMETHING TO DO.
And for the record, I had a blast as a PA. People always talk about being an assistant as if it’s such a miserable job. It’s not. It’s actually really, really fun. Look at it this way: you’re going to go to Starbucks for yourself; is it that degrading to be asked to pick up a couple of extra cups of coffee for the writers? Working on a TV show in any aspect is a extraordinary job. Enjoy it.
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