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Job Search Strategies That WorkApplying harder isn't working for most of you. Applying somewhere else might. The numbers coming out of the last two years say the geography and structure of entry-level hiring has shifted, and a lot of us are still job-hunting like it's 2022. The honest pictureThe Bureau of Labor Statistics puts motion picture and video employment at a peak of 289,000 in October 2022, with recent levels sitting roughly 100,000 below that. Los Angeles kept shrinking too: FilmLA reported 2025 on-location shoot days down 16.1% on 2024, just under 20,000 for the year. TV took the worst of it. In Q3 2025 it fell 20.7%, per Deadline. You already knew it was hard. Here's the part that's useful. Features held up. Indies hire beginners.In that same rough quarter, feature shoot days went up 9.7% to 522, a lot of it independent work. That's exactly where first-timers get their names on a call sheet. If you've been chasing streamers and studio TV, point yourself at indie features instead. California's tax credit has a trainee clauseAB 132 raised California's Film & TV Tax Credit cap from $330 million to $750 million a year for five years, signed June 27, 2025 and effective July 1. Entertainment Partners notes Program 4.0 includes a trainee provision, and those trainees must be hired in addition to experienced union crew, not instead of them. That's a protected way in, written into the rules. The DGA says the expanded credit has funded 170 projects so far, projected to create nearly 35,000 cast and crew jobs. FilmLA's Philip Sokoloski has said all along the full effect would take time. It's arriving. Postings aren't where most jobs liveAn AD writing for Beyond Film School puts it bluntly: this is a freelance business with no HR department collecting resumes, so people hire who they know. FilmLocal adds the cheap, repeatable stuff — research departments before you apply, make a short reel from spec or student work, be findable online under your real name, and follow up within 24 hours referencing something specific you actually talked about. Do this weekPick five indie features shooting near you and find the production coordinator. Ask your state film office about trainee or incentive-linked entry programs. And send three follow-ups you've been putting off. That's the map. Today's New JobsWe've got 140 jobs open this morning, 14 of them added since yesterday, and the fresh ones are always the least crowded. Recommended Job of the DayProduction Management Internship is our pick. It's with a world-leading kids' and family animation studio, sitting inside the production management team and reporting to the Director of Production, so you'd watch animated series travel from development all the way to delivery. That's the bit of animation nobody teaches you: schedules, crew, budgets, chasing assets. It suits anyone organised who likes animation as a business, not just a fandom. One useful move before you send it: learn the rough shape of an animated series pipeline so you can talk about where things bottleneck. Do it today. Applications get read as they land, and shortlists start forming from the early ones.
Assistant sits in the television finance and operations team at one of the biggest film and TV content companies going, supporting the head of finance strategy plus the wider department. Permanent, $45,000 to $50,000, with medical, dental, vision and 401(k) matching. Numbers-minded and tidy? Get it in early, because early readers get shortlisted. Assistant is a desk job at a leading global talent agency, supporting a music brand partnerships agent in Nashville. Phones, calendars, meeting prep, tracking docs, expenses and marketing decks for brand clients. Real interest in how artists work with brands beyond touring is the thing that'll set your application apart from the pile. Production Assistant puts you in the sports division of one of the world's largest media companies, watching streaming, broadcast, cable and podcast output for clips worth cutting, then getting titles, tags and thumbnails right so they're actually found. Editing plus audience instinct. Miss this one and you'll wait a while for another like it. Also on the board — 140 live roles, 14 new today
If you have questions about these opportunities or would like to discuss your career goals, please feel free to reach out at any time. We’re here to support you! All the Best,
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Upcoming Virtual Workshops Thu 24 Sep, 7:00pm EDTDon’t F*ck Up The Coffee: Getting the Gig, Keeping the Gig Free for members
TV director Andi Armaganian (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Supergirl, Stargirl), who cut 100+ episodes before directing 30+ episodes, explains how entry-level crew actually get hired and, harder still, asked back. She covers the differences between PA roles, how referrals really happen, the on-set habits that quietly end careers, working around a director without overstepping, and turning one job into the next. For anyone chasing their first PA job — no experience needed — you'll leave knowing what "reliable" means to the people doing the hiring. Free for all Members. Book your place Thu 8 Oct, 7:00pm EDTMFJF Monthly Career Clinic Free for members
Starting a career in the film industry is a lonely business, but just imagine each month if you could speak with an experienced filmmaker and get answers to all your questions and concerns. Better still you can share your worries and listen to others, compare notes and learn all the tricks and tips to getting ahead in the Film Industry. Well, now you can via the MFJF Monthly Career Advice Clinic! Come along each month to get your questions answered and learn from our amazing community. The clinic takes the form of a virtual 60-minute workshop hosted by experienced filmmaker Christina Northrup. Christina will present each month and take live Q&A from anyone who wants to talk, if you want to just listen that is absolutely fine. The overall aim of these monthly workshops is to help you establish your film career! Starting a film career can be very lonely, constantly thinking you are on the outside looking in, desperate for somebody to recognise you have what it takes. And the truth is you are not alone, everyone feels the same. Sharing our concerns, listening to others and having an experienced filmmaker pass on her guidance is one very large step in the right… Book your place |
Today's Daily Job ListProduction Assistant Permanent Job · 2 Weeks · Closes 4th October One of the world's largest media and entertainment companies is looking for a Production Assistant to join its sports coverage division. In this job, you'll watch across streaming, broadcast, cable and… Assistant Permanent Job · 2 Weeks · Closes 4th October One of the world's largest Media and Entertainment Companies is looking for an Administrative Assistant to join their Creative Advertising team. You'll support the Head of Creative Advertising day to day… Production Management Internship Internship · 2 Weeks · Closes 4th October A world-leading kids' and family animation studio is looking for a Production Management Intern. You'll sit with the production management team, reporting to the Director of Production, and see how… Assistant Permanent Job · 2 Weeks · Closes 4th October One of the world's leading film and television content companies is looking for an Assistant to join their Television Finance and Operations team. You'd provide day-to-day support to the Head of Television… FX Design & VFX Internship Internship · 2 Weeks · Closes 4th October A world-leading entertainment company is looking for an FX Design & VFX Intern to join the motion design team inside their in-house marketing group. As a Motion Design Intern, you'll help concept and build… Assistant Permanent Job · 2 Weeks · Closes 4th October A leading global Talent Agency is looking for an Assistant to support a Music Brand Partnerships agent in their Nashville office. As an Assistant, you'll manage phones, calendars and meeting prep, keep… PA Production Crew · TBA · Closes 22nd September A the employer Company is looking for a PA for two days in San Francisco, on 4 and 5 October. The rate is $300 for a 10-hour day and $360 for 12, and the second day will likely run to 12. Parking or… the employer Assistant / Driver Production Crew · TBA · Closes 22nd September A UK the employer Company is looking for an LA-based the employer Assistant / Driver for a premium music-led unscripted series. You'll drive a the employer vehicle for local pickups, deliveries and runs… the employer Assistant Production Crew · TBA · Closes 22nd September A the employer company is looking for experienced the employer Assistants for an upcoming music-based series. The shoot runs 10–16 October 2026 in the Franklin / Kingston Springs area of Tennessee, and the… 1st AD Production Crew · TBA · Closes 22nd September A the employer Company is looking for a 1st AD for a shoot running from 1 to 4 October. They're open to emerging as well as mid-level ADs, so if you've got a few sets behind you and you're ready to run the… Assistant to Co-Chairman Permanent Job · 2 Weeks · Closes 4th October A leading global entertainment and sports agency is looking for an Assistant to Co-Chairman. You'd be supporting the Co-Chairman who heads up the Below-the-Line and Motion Picture Literary departments… the employer Assistant Production Crew · TBA · Closes 22nd September A the employer company is looking for a the employer Assistant to help crew up a short psychological crime thriller, running around 20 to 25 minutes. In this job, you'll be working alongside the cast and… Production Assistant Production Crew · TBA · Closes 22nd September A graduate the employer is looking for a Production Assistant, plus various other set roles. These are volunteer positions, so unpaid, but the shoot is short and self-contained: three days across a weekend… Various Crew Production Crew · TBA · Closes 22nd September An independent Director is looking for Various Crew on a one-day photo shoot and short film in Toronto on Sunday 27 September 2026. Roles going are Producer, DoP/Videographer, AD, MUAs and Stylists. The… |
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