The Desk Can Wait: Lessons From the Mailroom

By Claire Farnsworth, Talent Assistant at IAG

When I first applied to the company, there were two open positions in the New York office: 1) Talent Assistant, and 2) Agency Trainee. I submitted an application for the talent desk—an application that would [potentially] lead me directly to my first Hollywood gig. Foot = In The Door.

After the first interview—and after the NY-based HR rep carefully explained to me that “Agency Trainee” was just a fancier, perhaps more dignified way of saying “mailroom,” of course—I had been effectively talked into wanting the mailroom position, instead.

Whether this “interception” was intentional or unintentional, subconscious or conscious, divine or mundane….remains uncertain. What I can say, though, with certainty is that I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Had I taken the role I originally applied for—assuming I would’ve been offered the position at all—apart from the fact that my Entertainment Industry Debut would’ve been defined by the blind acceptance of a notoriously cursed high-volume desk, without the knowledge and skills I acquired from the mailroom, in truth, I likely would’ve walked away prematurely.

I was the second post-pandemic mailroom hire in the freshly reopened New York office which was—and, though much larger now, comparatively still is—a uniquely intimate place of work. For my two-person mailroom team, a smaller office meant guaranteed facetime with agents across all departments. Plus, the particularly low turnaround rate* for assistant positions called for a greater need for desk coverage when assistants were OOO.

*Granted, a slower pace does translate into fewer opportunities for a mailroom employee to move up

I didn’t consciously notice at the time, but the simple, passive act of sitting and observing the general culture and functionality of the office as a mailroom clerk offered me a major leg up. I gained a clearer understanding of each agents’ respective personalities, preferences, and practices.

Being in the mailroom is kind of like being seated in the front row of a stand-up comedy show. You have this exclusive, first-hand account of the big show.

And you’re also very likely to be called on—instantaneously integral to the plot—you won’t always be able to expect it, and it will be mildly terrifying every time.

Perhaps the most notable experience from my mailroom time is from a desk I covered for a combined total of two, maybe two-and-a-half months—the very same I had originally applied to. And I did a good job! In fact, [someone told me that someone told him that] the agent even deemed my performance as “not bad,” if I may so brag!

Yes, I Totally Nailed That Sh*t. But frankly, I wouldn’t have been ready for it without the vantage point that comes with being in the mailroom.

(Incoming: a second simile I just made up to describe the mailroom—) The mailroom is like ordering at an ice cream shop; it’s the perfect opportunity to try out a range of different flavors, but no one is going to make you taste a sample. Look for opportunities to sit and chat with agents, to shadow assistants, to ask questions, and offer a helping hand as a way to learn about all departments.

[Special bonus advantage to spending time in the mailroom: You steadily turn into the guardian of office lore, possesser of tea.]

So, anyone who may feel “stuck” in the mailroom, or overly-eager to jump on the next desk that opens up, regardless of the department and/or agent, my advice to you is this:

(Well, follow your gut, first of all. And if what I have to say goes against your gut, then ignore me! Your path is your own. [Insert third cliche here.])

Don’t feel rushed to leave the position you’re in if you haven’t fully squeezed (squozen?) out every last drop of the [figurative] mailroom lemon there is. Remember: Your mailroom experience is what YOU make of it. It’s quite possible—easy, in fact—to fly under the radar, to do the bare minimum, to leave without any connections or knowledge. You have to actively seek out these opportunities in the mailroom (and in life!). They will not be handed to you, after all…

The mailroom is a wonderful place that allows you the ability to be both on the inside and on the outside, simultaneously. It’s close enough to the action, so that you can begin to truly wrap your head around the way the industry works—while also maintaining a certain distance, enabling space to digest information, unclouded by the classic Hollywood Assistant Panic.