You might want to rent Swimming With Sharks for a satiric look at the dark side of this job. The entertainment industry has many Web sites dedicated to assistant job searching. Many of these, such as ShowBizData and IFilmPro, offer industry news and job links. Jobs are posted by date and often require online resume submissions. Most companies discourage phone calls, so unless you have a contact at the company, do not violate that rule.
Some agencies pass around job lists that are only attainable through friends in the business.
Jobs on these lists often require at least a year of assistant experience, so by the time you make a few friends in L.A. you ll probably have the experience necessary to apply. Agency assistant jobs are perhaps the best training ground for breaking into the biz. These jobs pay little and expect you to work long hours, but the experience is invaluable. Not only do you gain an understanding of the way the entire industry functions, but you will forge friendships with your contemporaries who will move with you up the Hollywood ladder. An agency is the center of decision-making in Hollywood.