Production Assistant Resume: Examples (2026)

Production assistant jobs are a common way into film, television and commercial production, and they are hired fast. A key PA, second assistant director or production coordinator often has a day or two to fill a spot, and reads your resume quickly. They want to see the productions you have worked on, how many days, whether you worked on set or in the office, and proof that you are reliable, quick on a walkie and safe behind the wheel of a van.

This guide shows how to write that resume, with a full example for a set PA applying to a scripted TV series, summaries for three levels, bullets you can adapt, the skills and tools productions ask for, and what is real about training programs and unions. If you are also looking for post-production work, see the video editor resume example.

These are the skills production assistant postings and crew calls ask for most. Use the ones you have done on a real production.

Hard skills

• Set lockups and holding traffic
• Background holding and wrangling
• Walkie sign-out and radio etiquette
• Distributing call sheets, sides and script revisions
• Production runs and pickups
• Base camp and cast trailer support
• Crafty and catering setup
• Company moves and parking coordination
• Office paperwork, copies and deliveries
• Driving vans and cube trucks

Soft skills

• Staying calm on long, fast days
• Taking direction and relaying it clearly
• Showing up early every day
• Anticipating what the team needs next
• Keeping confidential scripts and information private
• Being polite with cast, crew and the public

Tools and software

• Two-way radios (walkies) and surveillance headsets
• Microsoft Office and Google Workspace
• Printers and copiers in the production office
• Maps and navigation apps for runs
• Production messaging apps and group texts
• Basic hand tools and carts for load in and out

Pick the one closest to where you are and swap in your own days and credits.

First production assistant job

Film student with 3 short films and a 5-day music video as a volunteer PA, plus 2 years in a busy restaurant. Organized, fast and calm under pressure, with a valid driver's license and First Aid and CPR training. Available for set or office PA work, including early calls and weekends.

Experienced production assistant

Production assistant with 3 years and 250+ days on scripted series and features, including 2 full seasons as a set PA. Trusted with lockups, background and base camp, and often asked back by the same AD teams. Seeking a key set PA role.

Key PA or moving up

Key set PA with 5 years and 450+ days, leading teams of up to 8 PAs on a network drama and 2 features. Runs PA schedules, walkie assignments and background holding. Seeking an additional 2nd AD or production coordinator role.

Each names the task, the size and the setting. Change them to your own productions.

• Locked up 3 street entrances on a downtown night shoot for 11 nights, keeping the public out of frame on every take.
• Checked in 200 background actors a day, handed out vouchers and moved groups between holding and set.
• Drove 2 cast shuttle vans between base camp and set, with every actor on set by call time for 30 days.
• Handed out 90 call sheets a day and sent the digital version to the full crew list each evening.
• Ran 8 to 12 errands a day for the production office, from rental returns to lab drop-offs.
• Kept craft services stocked for a crew of 60 on a 20-day feature within the daily budget.
• Set up and struck base camp tents, tables and heaters for 4 company moves in one week.
• Tracked PA start and end times on the daily production report draft for the 2nd AD.
• Distributed 5 rounds of script revisions to cast and department heads within 2 hours of each release.
• Trained 4 new PAs on radio channels, lockup positions and set etiquette in the first week of shooting.
• Handled 1,200 pounds of equipment carts during load in and load out at 6 locations.

No license or certification is required to work as a production assistant. What productions do ask for is practical: a valid driver's license and clean record (set by each production, not by law), availability for long days, and sometimes First Aid and CPR. Union rules for crew depend on the production and the union contract, so do not claim union status on your resume unless a union has confirmed it. The credentials that are worth listing:

• First Aid, CPR and AED training from the American Red Cross or another recognized provider, listed with the year.
• A valid driver's license with a clean record: not a certificate, but most PA postings ask for it, so put it in your summary or skills. Mention van or cube truck experience if you have it.
• The Assistant Directors Training Program, if you are accepted or graduate. According to the Directors Guild of America, it is jointly sponsored by the DGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, trainees complete 350 or 400 days of paid work on film and television projects, and graduates who meet the program's requirements are invited to join the Guild. There is a West Coast program and a New York program, each with its own application rules.

The example is for Isaiah, a freelance PA in Albuquerque applying to work as a set PA on a scripted TV series. Here is how each part works.

Header: name, headline Production Assistant, Set and Office, phone, email and city. Albuquerque tells the production he is a local hire there.

Summary: 2 years and 140+ days in the first sentence, then the set tasks he handles, then the license and van facts, First Aid and CPR, and availability for a full season.

Selected credits: four credits with role, project type, days and year: 38 days on a streaming drama, 26 on a feature, 54 in the office of a limited series, and 12 commercials over 24 days. None are named, since the productions have not given permission.

Experience: freelance set work grouped as one job with 88 shooting days: lockups on channels 1 and 2, background up to 120 extras, 2,500+ walkie sign-outs, and call sheets for 80+ people. The office PA job adds 6 to 10 runs a day with zero driving incidents over 54 days.

Certificate, education and skills: Red Cross First Aid, CPR and AED from 2025, a crew training certificate, and set skills written in crew language.

• No days or dates. Worked on several films tells a 2nd AD nothing. Count your days for each project.
• Naming unannounced shows. Many productions work under confidentiality agreements and code names. Describe the project instead.
• Inflated titles. Calling yourself a coordinator or assistant director when you were a PA is easy to check with one phone call. Use the real title.
• Claiming union membership you do not have. Membership and eligibility are set by each union. Leave it off unless the union has confirmed it.
• Leaving out the driving facts. Runs and shuttles are a large part of the job. If you can drive a van or truck with a clean record, say so.
• A long, designed resume. A 2nd AD hiring for tomorrow wants one clean page with credits at the top.

Other creative and entry-level resume examples close to this one:

• Video editor resume: for the post-production side of film and TV.
• Photographer resume: for camera and stills work.
• First job resume: if this is your first paid job of any kind.
• Entry-level resume: for recent graduates starting out in any field.

Every example is in the resume examples hub, grouped by job and situation.