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Talent Agencies · Stage 1

Talent Agency Assistant

The other end of the phone: get into a talent agency and learn how careers are made, one deal at a time.

Talent agencies are one of the biggest sources of jobs on MFJF's UK board. What an agent's assistant does hour by hour, how the big agencies and boutiques are built, the systems and words of the trade, where first experience comes from, what your Stage 1 CV should say, and a written plan to Stage 2.

2 hours · 6 modules · 18 lessons

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What you’ll learn

  • Explain what a talent agency does, how it earns, which departments it has and who is in the office, and describe an assistant's desk day and evening hour by hour.
  • Know the systems (Spotlight, agency software such as Tagmin, the diary, the client account) and the paperwork from availability check to commission statement, and have scored yourself against the twelve skills an agent hires for.
  • Have found three real routes to experience this month and know the rules on pay, unpaid work, hours, client data and confidentiality that apply to them.
  • Have a Stage 1 CV outline titled Talent Agency Assistant, a four-paragraph approach email to a named agency, and know what a reference means in this industry.
  • Have a saved plan from Stage 1 to Stage 2 and be able to say MFJF's five Stage 1 statements honestly.

Where this leads

By the end you will have written your own Stage 1 plan, checked yourself against MFJF's five Stage 1 statements, and know exactly what to do next: a mentor clinic, an Academy workshop, and Stage 2, the HotList.

Finish the course and you can build your personal plan: MFJF's three-stage planner for this role, ticked from Your Profile and your CV, with dated next steps and the CV line each one becomes.

Module 1

The role and the agency

20 min

What a talent agency actually does, how it earns, who is in the office and what your day contains.

  1. readWhat a talent agency actually does8 min
  2. readWho is in the office and what your day contains8 min
  3. checkCheck: the role and the agency4 min
Module 2

Before day one: skills, systems and the words

20 min

The twelve skills an agent hires for and how to get each one now, the systems and paperwork to be fluent in, the phrases you will hear from 9.30 on the first morning, and a scored audit of where you stand.

  1. readThe skills an agent hires for, and how to get each one now7 min
  2. readThe systems, the paperwork and the phrases7 min
  3. taskTask: your skills audit, with a score6 min
Module 3

Getting experience at Stage 1

20 min

The eight doors into agency experience, the rules on pay, unpaid work, hours, client data and confidentiality, and a task that turns three of the doors into dated actions.

  1. readWhere experience really comes from for this role8 min
  2. readThe rules: pay, unpaid work, hours, client data and confidentiality6 min
  3. taskTask: find three routes this month6 min
Module 4

Your CV, cover letter and first approaches

20 min

What a Stage 1 agency CV contains, built against the site's examples, the four-paragraph email, how to approach an agency without annoying it, what an interview asks, and what a reference really is.

  1. readThe Stage 1 CV, the email and the approach8 min
  2. taskTask: draft your Stage 1 CV outline8 min
  3. checkCheck: CVs, letters and approaches4 min
Module 5

The industry around the role

20 min

The circle of people an agency talks to, the three-year plan, where the skills lead, what people on the site actually did, and the library for this course.

  1. readThe map: who the agency talks to, the path, and where the skills go7 min
  2. resourcesThe agency assistant's library8 min
  3. checkCheck: the industry map5 min
Module 6

Your plan: Stage 1 to Stage 2

20 min

Your plan in your own words, the five statements as a self-certification, and the next steps on MFJF.

  1. plannerYour Stage 1 plan10 min
  2. readHow you know you are ready for Stage 26 min
  3. checkCheck: are you ready for Stage 2?4 min

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Where next

Your recommended next steps

Picked for Talent Agencies. Signed in, they follow your stage and the roles your answers point to.

  1. Find your role on the career mapEvery entry-level job by department, and where each one leads.
  2. MFJF Academy workshopsLive sessions with people who do the job, and the monthly career clinic.
  3. Speak to an MFJF mentorAsk someone who does the job what they wish they had known.
  4. Build your CV with the CV BuilderThe industry's format, built from your profile and your current CV.
  5. Industry ResourcesCareer guides, CV advice and example CVs for every department.
  6. See what entry-level jobs ask forThe job board, updated daily: read the ads before you apply.

Matching Talent Agencies right now

Live from the job board, the Academy, the mentor programme, the film-course directory and the reading list.

MFJF Academy workshops

All workshops →

MFJF mentors

All mentors →

Film courses

All film courses →

Reading and links

All Industry Essentials →