Recent grad Tyler Flowers writes about his first year in the television business.
Halfway through my “Late Show” internship, I started thinking about my next move.
With David Letterman on my resume, I was fairly positive that I could land a production assistant job on any show.
My first interview was with a very popular daytime talk show – not my first employment choice, but a solid place to get my foot in the door – as long as it paid full time and provided benefits. The interview went great, but they decided to hire internally.
A little discouraged, I began to lower my expectations for a first paid television gig.
Luckily, there are tons of listings on the Internet for television production employees. You submit a cover letter and resume through online job search sites, and they in turn send your information to the employers. Yet, I found this didn’t work very well. Out of about 150 resumes submitted, I only heard back from a meager seven.
So you can imagine my excitement when I booked my first interview through this process — for a Web site specializing in dating tips and love chemistry. Well, love was not in the air – I got dumped, without so much as a call back.
This is the hard thing to accept about the business. Often, people will not call you back to give you a no. It’s just the way it is. People who are hiring get at least 100 resumes a day. They don’t have time to tell everyone no.
The industry is very much about who you know. I wonder how many times I was turned down for the kid of some big wig that was owed a favor. Nothing is ever a sure deal. Being hired takes a combination of not only talent, but also contacts and timing.
One of the best moves I made was applying to temp agencies. New York is full of them, and I applied to six. You fill out all the necessary paper work and they start looking for jobs based on your qualifications. It relieves a lot of the pressure.
Since I needed to make money fast, I gave up working in television for the moment and began filling out applications to Dunkin’ Donuts, Payless Shoes and the local dog groomer.
Two months later, the temp agency came through right after I had gotten hired part-time as an administrative assistant at Columbia University.
That same day, I got a call from a local news station in upper Manhattan. They had received my resume and wanted to interview me for the morning show. Working hours were 4:00 a.m. to noon.
The lady asked me if I was OK with those hours and I exclaimed, “That is perfect!” She was a little confused as to why I was so excited about working such horrible hours, but I got the job.
I took the Columbia job too, working 13-hour days and making enough money to survive, while still working in TV. I made a ton of friends and contacts through these two jobs. In fact, one of the anchors at the news station is the reason I am currently employed.
He introduced me to someone, who put in a word in to someone else, who called another, who sent my resume to an HR employee and, voila, I now have a job.
It’s just the way it works.
Tyler Flowers works for a 24-hour cable news channel in New York. He hopes one day to become a segment producer for a late-night talk show.