Dodge College alum Andrew Schuster currently works for a film production company, and is parttly responsible for hiring new interns each semester.  He wrote to us,

Chapman students generally send better applicants than most but I thought it would be helpful to share the perspective of someone who hires interns.  I know I would have valued that perspective when I was in school.  Attached is a document I wrote with some cautions and advice when applying for an entertainment internship… This is in no way associated with the company I work for and these are my own personal opinions.

We love this enthusiasm (something we feel which characterizes Dodge graduates) and agree this is a really valuable perspective for students today working towards careers in the crowded, competitive entertainment industry.  Without further ado, here are…

The 10 Ways to Not Get an Interview for an Entertainment Internship:

  1. Don’t even worry about sending a cover letter. No one reads those things anyways right?
  2. When you are applying to DreamWorks, mistakenly address the cover letter to Pixar.
  3. To save time just send a generic, one size fits all cover letter not tailored whatsoever to the specific company you are applying for. Your letter is so good that no one will know.
  4. Write only about yourself and how great you are. Every sentence should begin with “I”. No need to write about why you want to work for the specific company.
  5. Ignore the company’s specific needs listed in the internship posting. If the posting is for a film development internship, it is safe to assume that they want to hear about your production experience as a PA on your friend’s indie music video. Also, don’t bother to include that you like to read the occasional script.
  6. Don’t hold back. Write about your obsession with Mr. DiCaprio and your need to work for him. Tell him you have his Growing Pains episodes on loop in your dorm room and you are sure to be hearing from Appian Way any minute!
  7. Go ahead and send in that poorly formatted three page resume. Nothing makes a resume stand out from the pile like listing your feat as captain of the water polo team, your work experience 5 years previous at Red Lobster, and the 4.0 you achieved in high school. Bravo!
  8. Lie! Your uncle is Katzenberg, you’re film has been accepted to Sundance, and yes of course you can receive college credit for this internship (even though you have graduated). No one checks this stuff.
  9. Stalk the company’s receptionist and constantly inquire into the status of your application.
  10. When you still haven’t gotten a call, just show up at the company’s office and pretend you have an interview. Who knows, you just might get past security.

The Top 10 Explained:

  1. Always send a cover letter, even if the posting doesn’t specifically ask for it. This is the only way the person doing the hiring will be able to get to know your writing style, your personality, and whether or not you have a clue. Your cover letter says a lot about you, so put some effort in! Also, make it brief. More than two sentences, but definitely no more than page.
  2. Triple check your letter and resume before hitting the send button. Did you attach the wrong letter? Did you misspell the company name? These obvious mistakes are deadly.
  3. Always, Always, Always write a custom cover letter for each company you are applying to. The people reading the cover letters read a lot of them and they can smell the ones that were mass produced from a mile away. It is usually an instant ticket to the recycle bin. You are much better off picking a small handful of companies to apply to and putting in the effort than mass mailing fifty generic applications.
  4. Yes people want to hear about your goals and dreams, but more importantly, they want to know why you want to intern at their company and why you would be a good fit. So do some research! Get on the internet machine and look up the company’s credits and any piece of information you can find. Then find a smooth way to work a small piece of that info into your cover letter. This shows you have done your homework and actually want to work there.
  5. There are clues in every internship posting about what the company is looking for. Pay attention to them. That being said DO NOT just regurgitate the posting in your cover letter. Chances are that the person reading your cover letter is the same person who wrote the internship posting. See why this is a bad idea? Instead, use past experiences to demonstrate how you are good at the things they are looking for. Lastly, pay attention to what kind of internship it is. Is it in production, development, at an agency? There is a difference between interning for a production company in the development department and interning in production. Learn what that difference is and adjust your application accordingly.
  6. If there is a big star attached to the production company, you can say you like his or her work, but please don’t go overboard. In fact it is best to say you like the company’s work instead. Leave the star out of it. Many of these companies are very paranoid that they might hire a “fan” instead of an intern. So don’t go there. They are also on the lookout for actors masquerading as interns. They don’t want those either. Lastly, if you didn’t get the Appian Way reference, do some research!
  7. One page resume’s only! Period! No exceptions! These people are busy and getting a resume over one page already puts a negative perception of you in their head. You have too much experience to fit on one page? Trust me you don’t. At least not relevant experience. Don’t Include: Non-industry related job experience more than 3 years old, anything from high school, a list of every film school project you have worked on, excessive extracurricular activities, every class you are taking, a GPA under 3.5 (and even then no one cares that much)…The list goes on but you get the idea. Do include: Any professional industry experience you have, any previous internships, current work experience, previous office experience, a reasonable amount of community service, an objective, and contact information. You can fit that in one page.
  8. Don’t lie. People do check this stuff. Especially if your lie is industry related, you will probably be caught. This matters more when you have interviewed and they are considering you for the position. The person hiring will do their homework. So be mindful of your Facebook page, twitter account, blog, anything that can be publicly looked up about you. This stuff matters now days.
  9. Calling to make sure your resume has been received is one thing. If you are going to do this, be super polite and be as quick as possible. The receptionist is busy, underappreciated, and may even be involved in the hiring of interns. Calling more than once is NOT ok. If they like your resume and cover letter they will call you.
  10. Don’t show up unannounced. This is a big red flag and you look like a stalker. Enough said.

Good Luck!  – Andrew Schuster