i don't know where to go from here

[atak]

I work in the entertainment industry. It's such a hard business to get into that everyone says you just need your foot in the door. well I have my foot in the door but i don't know where to go from here. Last September I got a job as an assistant to both a producer and a literary agent. I really like it but I'm starting to feel anxious because I'm not in a place that being promoted in a possibility. I think that they would use their contacts to get me wherever I want to go but I don't know how to bring up the subject and I don't know how to ask for help. I am the worst person at networking and I hate asking people for things. I have been consistantly looking for work for a month now and haven't gotten a single call by doing it on my own.

what should I do? How does one go from being an assistant to having an assistant?

[M4A1]

I was in a similar situation as you. I couldn't find any jobs related to what I studied after graduation in May, 2001. It took me 3 whole months to set something up, but it was only a support position that didn't require a college degree, and the pay sucked because of that.

I knew I was better than that. I always get my work done well ahead of the deadline, and I used the extra time that I have left to better myself. During that self-improvement process, I begin to build confidence for myself. This is what I have realized. Uncertainty brings you frustration and fear. Should you allow that uncertainty to build, it’ll consume you, and you’ll be victim forever. The first step you must take is to build confidence in yourself instead of fear. I just got my promotion last week. I’ll start my new job in 2 weeks.

Uncertain of whether they will promote you? What do you want to get promoted to? Be a manager? Someone who has his own “assistant”? If so, you need to show that you can be a leader. Being uncertain and shy are not characteristics of a leader.

Start building that confidence, then go and ask your boss for 5 minutes to talk. Tell him how you feel. Tell him that you believe that you can be doing more, and like to get his feedback on what you can do to put yourself in the right situation for a promotion. If you are afraid, or feel uneasy doing so, you are still not ready to take up more responsibility. If you are confident, but he did not give you a positive response to what you said-- then HE is the problem. Not you. If that’s the case, then you must realize that your boss is not a real team player, and at that very moment, you have to start looking just for yourself. Do whatever it takes to keep your current job, but put your focus on looking for another job somewhere else while you are working there.

Hope it helps.