First Jobs Bats 1,000!
by Benjamin Pola
The USC School of Cinematic Arts' First Jobs Program has reached the incredible milestone of placing more than 1,000 SCA alumni in their first industry jobs, with 624 of those positions secured during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program marked the achievement with a celebration party attended by participants on both sides of its success equation—the SCA alumni who apply for jobs, and the employers who hire them.
Also in attendance were SCA Dean Elizabeth Daley, and Aaron Kaplan of Kaplan Entertainment, the celebrated television producer and USC alumnus (A Million Little Things, The Chi), who proposed the program to help SCA alumni land their first paid jobs in the entertainment industry.
First Jobs works by partnering with companies like Kaplan Entertainment, who agree to consider SCA’s eager, well-trained, recent alumni as potential employees. In the initial launch, Kaplan was joined by SCA alumni Nahnatchka Khan, Josh Schwartz, Tim Story, and the late John Singleton, who all pledged to consider program participants for entry-level jobs. Since then, the program has grown to include over 700 participating employers. Since launching in 2017, the program has also coached, mentored, and encouraged hundreds of recent alumni, 1-5 years out of school, through monthly professional development webinars, mock interviews, and 1:1 career talks.
First Jobs is run out of SCA’s Office of Industry Relations and overseen by Lisa Fox, Media Talent Development Manager. Fox and her student workers are the cornerstones of the program’s success, managing the day-to-day operations and providing support to both alumni and employers.
First Jobs alumnae Isabella Donato, now an executive assistant at the CW, says the program gave her job search a needed boost. "At first, I was searching for jobs on my own through LinkedIn and it felt like I was getting nowhere, which was pretty dejecting,” says Donato.
I landed my first job in the entertainment industry because of First Jobs. Since then, I have been given the opportunity to become a director and foster my skills as a filmmaker. It gave me a gateway to success.
Andrew Reid ’17
MFA, Film & Television Production
“So when I joined First Jobs, it was so helpful to get all the emails with the opportunities listed out because these positions are not always publicized. And that alone is hard because you can’t apply to something you don’t know about.”
Each week, Fox curates and distributes an exclusive job list from the participating employers. It connects First Job participants directly to hiring managers and HR departments, giving them a level of access that is only available through the program.
David Zander and Eriks Krumins of MJZ, the largest commercial agency in the world, say that for companies like theirs, having access to a database of qualified candidates is also a game-changer. “The biggest thing for us is that things move pretty quickly in the advertising business,” says Krumins. “So, what has been so meaningful and helpful for us is being able to go to Lisa, knowing that the program has done a lot of pre-vetting for us. We literally just take the candidates she refers to us. We’ve had a great experience so far, and all our clients have as well.”
Kaplan says the trust on both sides, and the quality of the SCA applicants is what makes the program successful. “First Jobs is only as powerful as the companies and the people who support the program,” says Kaplan. “USC’s Cinematic Arts program is the #1 school in the world and now the entertainment business has the privilege of thousands of its students entering the industry.” He adds: “I am so grateful for the dedication of our First Jobs partners. Fight on for First Jobs!”
TV writing is incredibly competitive and challenging and I'm incredibly grateful to have Lisa Fox in my corner since I graduated. Over the years she has connected me to great writing opportunities through First Jobs.
Rose Surnow ’15
MFA, Writing for Screen & Television
Since the program started, more than 60 First Jobs alumni have been promoted from their entry-level roles to more mid-to-senior-level positions at the same companies. This is encouraging for many MFA graduates, who often come to the program with some professional experience already.
First Jobs is open to any School of Cinematic Arts alumnus or minor degree holder who graduated from their programs within the last five years. The program’s job board covers the range of degree programs that SCA offers from animation roles to writer’s assistants to various crew positions and gaming opportunities. As Miranda Hutchinson, an Assistant at CAA and another First Jobs alumnae, put it: “There is no harm at all in joining. It will only give you more resources. It’s a win-win any way you look at it.”
For more information on how to get involved with the program as an employer or an applicant, contact Lisa Fox at firstjobs@cinema.usc.edu.