Hiring a new person
I’m hiring a second full-time employee, a position I’m calling Director of Digital Things.
In addition to my actual job of screenwriting and directing, I currently do all the tech stuff: the websites, the wiring, the coding, the iPhone app that’s thisclose to beta testing. And I enjoy it. The luxury of a writer’s life is the freedom to explore and obsess.
But the list of things I’d like to do is so much longer than what I could conceivably do that it makes sense to bring in somebody with similar ambitions and a specific mandate. Rather than, “Wouldn’t it be neat if…” I’d like to be saying, “Hey, figure out a way to do this.”
So I’m hiring somebody who can.
My assistant, Matt, will continue to handle my schedule, travel, research and proofreading. The new person will handle stuff related to this website and many new projects.
I see this as a full-time job. Salary would be commensurate with experience, and there’s health insurance.
I’d prefer the person live in Los Angeles for occasional face-to-face discussions, but she or he would be working outside the office most of the time. The new guy would be free to — encouraged to — pursue outside projects, as long as the real work came first.
After a string of terrific and very different assistants, I’ve learned that hiring someone is never a matter of checklists. Each employee brings experiences and abilities that change the nature of the job.
But I can safely predict this person will need to be very digital, with a good balance of design sense and general geekery. A good candidate for this position would be able to talk about most of the following with ease:
Great opening title sequences of the last year.
Pros and cons of breaking out CSS into multiple files.
The feeds aren’t updating right. Is the problem on WordPress, Feedburner or somewhere else?
Whatever happened to the Stone typefaces?
Books you’ve bought just for the cover.
Is that short URL scheme a good idea?
Why isn’t Google hitting this page? What SEO should we bother with, and what should we ignore?
Is it worth outsourcing comments to something like Disqus? Could we get Scrippets to work with it?
If you were marketing a web series about giant killer plants, what outlets would you target and how?
Since jQuery’s already loading, what else could/should we have it do?
Getting an offsite backup server going.
How quickly can we get The Variant onto the new Apple device?
If we needed to swap hosts in 24 hours, what are the first six things to do?
Five desert island typefaces, and whether TypeKit is worth it.
Setting up A/B test pages to track two possible layouts.
A great candidate might also have expertise in several of the following:
Coding everything from PHP to Flash to Ruby to Objective-C
Motion graphics and VFX
Shooting and editing
Gadgetry and game development
You’ll notice that “writing” is nowhere in these criteria. To date, all of my assistants have been screenwriters, and all of them are now working in the industry. But I don’t see this new position as being a particularly good stepping stone for an aspiring screenwriter.
But it is likely a stepping stone for something else, and a paid opportunity to explore some areas of interest for a year or two. In addition to maintaining existing properties, there’s a range of new projects I’d like to tackle.
Here’s the hiring process:
Candidates email digital@johnaugust.com. Include a bio with work experience and background, interests, and (most importantly) links to work you’ve done. I’m particularly interested in seeing websites you’ve designed, along with an explanation of their goals and techniques. But I’m also curious about other projects, like iPhone apps or short films or something else you think I’d be interested in. I’ll be hiring a person, not a portfolio, so let me get a sense of what you’re like.
By the second week of February, I’ll narrow down my choices to a few great candidates. I’ll give each candidate a small budget and a reasonable deadline to come up with a site for a specific project, such as The Remnants. We’ll have coffee and talk about what you did and why.
I’ll pick the person who seems the best fit.
Do not apply in the comments. Let’s save the comments section for feedback about the nature of the job and general discussion.
33 Responses to “Hiring a new person”
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January 25th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
I wish I knew how to code. I only know a ton of social media stuff. I’ll pass the word to some designer friends.
January 25th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
I loved the blog post. That is what ‘now hiring’ ads should look like. It was honest. It reminded me of the ad for a position at a burger joint in Australia – http://www.flickr.com/photos/28554048@N04/2860889931/.
I love my job and can only do like 5 of the things on the list and one of them was about the book I bought because of the cover (Hood) but I now know my approach next time I am hiring at my radio station. Also, on my next film I am taking a similar approach to hiring crew.
Thanks.
January 25th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
I’ve applied for and written a few webby jobs in my time, but that’s one of the best job descriptions I’ve ever read!
On a typical job description you tend to get “demonstrate a good working knowledge of SEO”, which many applicants read and think “yeah, I reckon I can do/blag that”. But the direct questions make them think straight away: can I answer that or not.
It sounds like a fantastic job – I’m sure you’ll find the right person.
January 25th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Whoa, can we (non-applicants) see the results of #2?! That sounds really cool. Haha, I totally wish I were qualified for this job, ’cause you sound pretty awesome (although demanding, in a good way) to work for.
Also, what are your thoughts on outsourcing comments to Disqus? I’ve seen a lot more blogs moving to that lately, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. It’s an OK system, but there must be some benefit I’m not understanding (besides logging in with already established IDs). Maybe I’m just weird, but I really don’t need all my comments across all the blogs I read to be linked to one another.
January 25th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
@Chance McClain:
That’s a great link. Thanks.
@Kristan:
I may end up letting others see what happens in #2. It’s a good idea.
I’m mixed-to-negative on Disqus overall. Outsourcing seems like a good idea until you have to make it work with something.
January 25th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
I’ve never been a fan of outsourcing comments. I see no reason for another company to be handling my data.
January 25th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
How do you usually go about finding your 1st assistant? Do you take recommendations from your previous assistants, ask various people in the industry for anyone qualified, post it on your blog? I’m curious to know how prospective applicants hear about these types of openings. I know it’s word of mouth but who’s typically privy to the search for a new assistant, particularly for a writer, director, or producer?
Good luck with the search! I wish more job openings were this thorough and personable. Sounds like a sweet gig – unfortunately I’m not THAT tech-savvy, and a New Yorker.
January 25th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Ditto ToTheEnd’s comment about your excellent description. What a pleasure to read!
January 25th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
I don’t know how to follow Living Room Rules.
January 25th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Realistically John, you shouldn’t expect one person to possess all of these skills or attributes you mentioned. This person would be a needle in a haystack of needles. Even if you were to find this person, don’t expect a humble salary. This person would be very expensive to hire. Rightfully so, since this person is part marketing, front-end web designer, back-end coder, tech support [hardware], motion grafx/ Vfx, gadgets and gamer.
This is alot of education and training rolled into one. You would be very lucky to find a person with at least half of these qualifications because really, thats what the job entails — two jobs rolled into one. Not to mention having a love or at least familiarity of the screenwriting/Hollywood world.
Me, I have about 75% of the qualifications you mentioned. All of which are at an intermediate level. But the difference with someone who has intermediate versus expert skills, the intermediate would work harder for you and be more loyal.
The expert would want more money and would always be on the lookout for the better gig.
Oh and body odor, I’m sure this all-encompassing techie geek would have some kind of personal hygiene issue.
Don’t get me wrong John. There’s nothing wrong with searching/posting for this ideal employee. And thats cool. It’s just looking at that list of requirements, its really two jobs. Thats why most of the responses I see so far are prolly good people with half the qualifications.
Perhaps one could be full-time and the other a part-timer. That could work. Just throwin that out there.
You’re prolly thinkin, “It isn’t unrealistic to search for this person that has all these skills, look at myself, I am proof of that. I just need an extra hand.”
Wouldn’t it be nice to clone yourself John? :-)
Whoever you hire though, they are lucky to have a knowledgable, friendly, courteous, boss.
January 26th, 2010 at 1:55 am
Love the Books Bought Just For The Cover question!
I have bought dozens of books on title alone, though just about any book with a guy in a trenchcoat holding a gun in one hand and a dame in the other will get my $6.99.
January 26th, 2010 at 8:12 am
(OT) This struck me as hilarious — “The luxury of a writer’s life is the freedom to explore and obsess.”
So far the luxury of my writer’s life has been to experience rejection.
At some point in a future post, I wonder if you could talk about what your writing day is like, or take us through how you work from start to finish on a script? I was suprised to read in this post that your assistant does your research — only because I’d imagine that having to hack through it all yourself would provide you with certain plot points or dialogue bits you’d never get when viewing it through someone else’s eyes.
January 26th, 2010 at 9:18 am
John – is there a place screenwriters post to find writing assistants? Is it all “who you know” or is there any other way to find established writers (produced or unproduced) and apply to be there assistant?
January 26th, 2010 at 11:20 am
@Annamaria, @Plissken:
Most of my assistants have come out of the Peter Stark program at USC’s Cinema school, though I’ve always interviewed candidates from a range of backgrounds.
For writer’s assistants, I rely strongly on recommendations, so the best way to find yourself one of these (admittedly rare) jobs is to make a good impression with professors and co-workers, particularly if you’re doing PA work on a film.
@Needle100:
I’ve had a remarkable number of really amazing candidates in the past 24 hours, so I’m optimistic that I’ll find someone great.
January 26th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Theoretically, what is the cut off point for apps?
January 26th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Plissken: Once in a great while you’ll see something on the UTA list — I landed an assistant gig that way, and have subsequently posted openings there from time to time.
The main thing, and it kills me to have to say this, is that almost every assistant job I’ve gotten has come through the various low/no wage positions I took on while in school, and just after. I think all the time about how much harder it would have been if I hadn’t had the money for film school (#1 benefit: student status, which most internships insist on) and could afford to work for nothing/close to it.
It seems incredibly, incredibly unfair — and I have since been forced by employers to hire assistants for way too much work for way too little money, with the explicit promise that in a year’s time, they might have more money, probably still too much work, but at least a decent job title. (When I say forced, I mean, I could either hire someone for $9/hr, or I could do that job and my own, for the same rate.)
I hate everything about this system, but I’ve also invested so much in it that I almost had a rage-induced blackout a little while ago, when a young, foolish intern emailed me to see if there were any chance he might get a freelance script this season. I try not to have rage-induced blackouts for any reason, so I took this to be a sign that I’m pretty Stockholmed up at this point.
(For the record, I did not flip out at the intern. I buried my head in my hands, took a deep breath, and then shared with him the list of current assistants who had been paying their dues in hopes of such a break for the previous several years.)
January 26th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Let me say that most places I go say they can’t keep me long because I’m so expensive. I won’t go through everything above but I guess I can answer all of those questions.
January 26th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
I need an assistant. Because I don’t understand 90 percent of what you’re talking about. I feel dumb.
January 27th, 2010 at 3:34 am
Hey, John! Two questions:
How did you learn to code and which languages do you know?
What happened to the Stone typefaces? :)
January 27th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Wish you weren’t so Apple centric or this might be very tempting. Tempting and Apple in the same sentence, sorry for that. Good luck in the search John, as well as all your other projects. This site has been a great resource and its goot to hear that it will be an ongoing endeavor.
January 27th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
@Greg:
I’ve gotten a lot of great applicants. I’ll let some more come in start of next week.
@Marija:
I learned to code in BASIC and HyperCard. I can stumble my way through Javascript, Python, Ruby, PHP and Objective-C. I’m not great in any of them.
Stone Serif/Sans/Informal were a big deal for a while in the early 90s. I looked up the designer (Stone), and I really like his more recent work, too.
January 28th, 2010 at 11:08 am
John I’m going to get my app in by the end of the weekend!
January 28th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Funny you should call it “Director of Digital Things” when whoever gets the job won’t be directing anybody, unless you plan on hiring some subordinates for him/her to direct.
January 29th, 2010 at 9:10 am
I don’t understand a single one of those things.
Luckily I do pretty well as my own assistant. I even made a drunken pass at myself at last years Christmas party.
January 29th, 2010 at 11:26 am
I’m going to use this as a model for help wanted ads on Craigslist and so on. You are far more likely to get someone who will be qualified for what you want by listing out the typical day’s questions, than a list of “qualifications.” cheers and good luck in the search!
January 30th, 2010 at 11:50 am
John -
You’ve probably already thought of this, but it would be cool if the new guy could get a mobile version of johnaugust.com up and running.
Mike
January 31st, 2010 at 4:19 pm
@Needle#100 It all depends on what someone wants out of life, doesn’t it?
February 1st, 2010 at 10:43 am
I literally just moved to Los Angeles two weeks ago, was digging around for work, and actually thought, “Why can’t John August need an assistant right now?” -
Only I’m a director. And a screenwriter. And I do motion graphics.
So…. there’s pain.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:41 pm
I’d love to have those answers myself.
February 2nd, 2010 at 1:46 am
too bad im in tel aviv. that list of topics looks interesting enough to leave my websites on the side and get that job. well, if you ever open your branch in israel, im your gal.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:27 am
I would love to shadow the new digital person to learn about all that XXI century stuff, and I’m from around the hood. My corrupting offer? Some Koo Koo Roo; better yet, some Kiku. Z Pizza, or sandwiches from the cheese and wine shop, optional.
February 3rd, 2010 at 3:32 am
@ John
I’m glad you got candidates. Secretly wish I was one of them. :-P
@ dianejwright
That is true. Between writing and my addiction to the DIY mantra, I think I’ve spread myself in too many areas techwise. I need to be more like John and focus on the one thing that matters — writing. Then one day if I am fortunate enough, I’ll post a job for a Director Of Digital Things. :-)
February 4th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Forgot to mention, I bought this book for it’s cover: http://www.amazon.com/Theoretical-Models-Abstract-Musical-Transformation/dp/0313301581
And it’s title. Only made it through a chapter so far.