You’re on a roll! Rolling calls- what are they and how the hell do you do it?

This is the hollywood life. The life of assistants. It’s tough- for more years than you’d like. It’s worth it, though and it weeds out the individuals who like the idea of the job but not the hard work that is required.

I love mentoring prodigious young hoodlums. This is why I LOVE being the internship coordinator at the current TV show I work for on a major studio lot. I say this because I want you to believe what I write and say. I’m here doing it.

I believe in good mentors because they truly can change lives, or at least aid in gainful employment.

I had my interns send me their resumes and was SHOCKED.

Some interns confused a cover letter with a resume.

Some interns misspelled items or in some cases chose the wrong word altogether. (Inept and adept have two VERY different meanings)

Then I noticed that most interns were not using key terms that anyone in Hollywood searches for when hiring. I asked one intern about why she didn’t say she’d been rolling calls on her resume and she asked, “I’ve never heard of that.”

Oh my poor, precious babies, why must the CSU system provide such sub par education, especially in the entertainment industry when we live so close to it? Rolling calls is an essential skill to get your start in this industry. It’s almost as basic as the skill of walking and breathing.

So allow me to impart my wisdom to any potential Hollywood assistants or temps out there:

Rolling calls 101-

Sometimes the devil- I’m sorry- your boss must leave the office. (Also, sometimes your boss is not the devil, but an angel, rather. It depends on if you are working for a top agency or not. :p)

When they leave the office, it could be to head to a meeting, to grab lunch, to head to a seaweed wrap, to get a quick lipo, to screw the pool boy, whatever, the point is you are chained to your desk (that place that keeps you from remembering what your apartment looks like or even where it is).

Rolling calls is simply connecting your boss to the individuals he requests to speak to when out of office.

Essentially, your boss calls you and lists off people he’d like to speak to or to see what messages he’s received.

“Yes, three messages. Your wife wants to authorize hiring a cirque du soleil act for her 21st birthday. Your ex-wife is going on a menopausal women’s retreat this weekend and will be sending the boys your way. Oh, and [director] wants to discuss representation for two new projects,” you tell your boss after he calls you.

After he gets his messages, maybe he’ll have you call someone back. Or maybe he’ll call new professionals altogether.

Either way, you will put your boss on hold and call whomever he wishes to speak to.

Most likely you will reach an assistant to be put on hold while the executive or talent you are calling decide whether they want to accept it.

If you get someone on the line you must then transfer them to your boss.

Here’s the key to rolling calls, when your boss is on the line, you will listen to his conversations while muting yourself. This is part of learning AND staying updated to write a note paraphrasing the call or writing down important details.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. You are dealing with very difficult personalities and sometimes the unthinkable happens: you receive another call while your boss is on the line with someone else. Or maybe you get two calls.

You must then place them on hold until your boss is free and successfully transfer them without accidentally dropping the call. You are usually on the line with a fellow ~~bitch~~ – assistant. Hopefully they are ADEPT and transfer it correctly, because if they are INEPT you will still most likely be blamed.

If you can do it effectively, maybe your boss will think you shit glitter. And if he doesn’t, make him believe it:

Image may be NSFW.
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