The key to success as a Hollywood assistant? A can-do attitude!

If you're a Hollywood assistant, the expectation from your boss will be that you’re “young and hungry,” with a no-task-is-too-small attitude, and that you’ll be able to meet her every need. And when asked to do menial tasks, you should be able to accomplish them without too much effort and with a positive attitude. If you scoff at a simple administrative request, you can kiss your Hollywood career goodbye—if you’re not willing to pay your dues, you’re never going to be able to move up the ladder. In fact, one of the most important things to remember about all the random things your boss asks you to do: The answer is (almost always) "yes." Do whatever you can to fulfill your boss's requests -- aside from learning tons of new things along the way, it will help you advance in your career much more quickly. You'll be trusted with bigger projects once you've proven that you're capable of accomplishing smaller tasks.

But what about the requests that aren’t so simple? When your boss asks you to get a random New York-based PR person who she’s never met and does not have contact information for on the phone at 10pm ET on a Friday, how on earth can you be expected to succeed? You may have no idea how to accomplish this task, but don't immediately say "No, that's not possible." Instead, respond with “Let me see what I can do,” and spend the next hour searching Google and your network of assistant contacts for someone who can get that person’s cell phone number for you. If you can be resourceful, you might actually be able to do it (pro tip: Google searches will save your life no less than a million times while you’re an assistant). This is why being a Hollywood assistant is one of the most insane learning experiences you can have—you’ll realize that you have the power to accomplish things you never thought possible. And again, it's these moments of going above and beyond that will get you opportunities to try your hand at higher-level projects.

Unfortunately, sometimes you’ll fail. There are some requests that will be beyond your control, like when your boss needs a last minute flight, only wants to fly on the Alaska Airlines red eye from LAX to JFK, and refuses to sit in a non-premium non-window seat, but they're all sold out. If your boss isn't powerful enough for a private jet, they're not powerful enough to rearrange seating on a commercial airline, but they might not see it that way. Still, don't say no outright. Take the time to present an alternative. Is there a similar flight on a different airline? A flight leaving from Burbank instead of LAX or that gets in at LaGuardia instead of JFK? Think about what's driving your boss's very specific desires and try to find a solution that meets the underlying causes. If you can present viable alternatives or try to get ahead of problems, you'll impress your boss. 

Sometimes, you’ll have a difficult boss who will berate you for not having the perfect solution or for not fulfilling a crazy demand quickly enough. Or, they may ask you to do something illegal or unethical. Any of these things are awful, and if they happen, you should consider finding another job. You do not have to suffer workplace abuse.

Regardless of the situation, do your best to stay calm and solution-oriented in the moment. Your can-do attitude will be noticed by the other people in your office and external contacts, and that will help you build your reputation as someone competent and pleasant. That’s the type of attitude that’s going to get you ahead in this business. ​

---

-- Angela Silak & Cindy Kaplan