More on Assistant Jobs

Joe writes: I just came across your post on how to be a Writer's Assistant and you mentioned about being other assistants first. So, I know that to be a PA you should contact the UPM, but is that also the case if you want to be an Office PA? Or what about just work at a production company or studio? Human Resources?

It really depends on the job, show, etc. - because different people will be in charge of hiring. Sometimes it's the showrunner's assistant, sometimes it's an HR person, sometimes it's a UPM, production coordinator, etc. If you're going to go the cold-calling route for shows you probably want to track down the production office and ask whomever answers the phone. At production companies and studios it's usually a combination of HR and the assistants who are replacing themselves. But in my experience there is a wide variety of people who are in charge of hiring assistants, PAs, etc., and no one plan or route will work for everything.