Meet Krista Parkinson | CEO and Founder of GET HIRED WITH KP, Career Coaching Expert

We had the good fortune of connecting with Krista Parkinson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Krista, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
My name is Krista Parkinson. I’m a former WME Agent and started my own business: GET HIRED WITH KP (formerly known as My Grads Get Jobs), a company dedicated to helping driven, committed, and passionate people get hired in the entertainment business. Whether it’s a college student landing their first internship or a seasoned professional looking to level up their career, I want to help people realize their dreams.

But before all of that, I lived a very different life.

I am originally from Indio, California (before Coachella made it cool) and was raised in a strict culture. I went to Brigham Young University and moved out to Los Angeles at age 23 with no fancy connections. Until that point, I had lived a somewhat sheltered life. I then moved into my first apartment in Hollywood with a roommate I had only known for 4 days before moving in with her and was hired as a temp at the then William Morris Agency (now WME).

Because of my background, I always felt like the biggest outsider in Hollywood (to put it in perspective, I didn’t have my first alcoholic drink until I was 30 and tried coffee at 34!). But this is exactly why I love helping college students and recent grads get jobs in Hollywood! We all struggle with finding our place, and I can identify with not fitting in. However, I didn’t change myself to fit in. Instead, I found a way to be more of myself, and by doing so, I gained credibility with some of the biggest names in entertainment. I worked for Tony Hawk as a VP of his production company “900 Films” and later as an SVP of a company where Mark Cuban was an original investor. Every job led to another job that was even better than the first. That’s what I help my clients do now. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a fancy film degree or are from a connected family. I can show anyone how to build an authentic professional network through the methods I teach.

If you feel like an outsider trying to “break in” to entertainment, or maybe you are working at your current job and are looking to “level up” your career and get promoted, I’d love to help. Just reach out via hello@gethiredwithkp.com, check out my course GetHiredinHollywood.com, come to a Coffee with KP session, or if you need more customized help, I offer private coaching. I am here and happy to help you get HIRED in Hollywood, just like I got to do when I was 23.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Hi, I’m Krista!

Like many of today’s college students, I graduated with a communications degree but with no idea of how to start working in the entertainment business. I moved to LA and thought I’d just “figure it out.” With some help from my grandfather, who was not in entertainment but was a natural networker, I ended up getting hired at the iconic William Morris Agency (now called WME). I started as an “in-house temp” (aka “floater”) and within a couple of years, I was promoted to the position of talent agent, representing and finding jobs for creative people like hosts, actors, writers, directors, producers, etc.

That experience gave me a foundation for a solid career in entertainment.

After 8 years at that talent agency, I worked as Vice President of Development for Tony Hawk’s production company, 900 Films, and later as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing for an entertainment finance company, Content Partners. Mark Cuban was one of its original investors and while there, I helped secure a role for him on HBO’s “Entourage.” I just loved helping people get hired; whether it was our billionaire investor boss or a friend’s daughter who was recently graduating. I’d help wherever I could.

I realized I had a unique understanding of entertainment employment: I knew what hiring managers and executives wanted. I shared it with young adults, particularly juniors, seniors, and recent college graduates, and I helped them identify their specific interests and get them hired at desirable companies. More than that, I had the connections and skills to make it happen.

So I started sharing my method.

In 2013, I created a syllabus and taught my first class called “Breaking Into the Entertainment Business” as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, the nation’s top film school. The class started with 25 students and grew to over 100. However, I knew that my message of how to get your first job and/or internship in entertainment resonated beyond the classroom. I wanted to share what I knew with students and recent grads from around the county and the world.

In the fall of 2016, I founded MyGradsGetJobs, a personalized career-coaching company that empowers college students and recent graduates to target and land their first internships and jobs in the entertainment industry.

In just a few years, I’m proud to have successfully launched over 800 young careers working as assistants to talent agents, production assistants, interns, and other positions at prestigious entertainment companies in both LA and NYC. These companies include The Ellen DeGeneres Show, HBO, Warner Brothers, Paramount, and elite talent agencies like CAA, UTA, ICM, WME, and Gersh.

I love sharing my method with students at universities, large events, guest lectures, and in one-on-one coaching via Zoom. Now, I am so excited to announce that MyGradsGetJobs is expanding and rebranding as GET HIRED WITH KP to help anyone, no matter their age or expertise, build a lasting career in Hollywood! We just launched “Coffee With KP – On Demand,” a platform filled with video recordings of nearly 100 informational meetings with industry pros. Our guests range from showrunners of hit series, to heads of studios, to agents and managers from places like CAA, UTA, WME, Gersh, and 3 Arts. I’m also launching my famous “Get Hired In Hollywood” course online, so anyone who wants the fundamental tools to “break-in” the entertainment industry can do it from the comfort of their own home.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing one of my clients get hired, and that’s what GET HIRED WITH KP is all about, getting you HIRED.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
1. Hiking at Kenneth Hahn 2. Meeting friends at Hugo’s
3. Lala’s on Melrose (going there since it opened)
4. Louka in Beverly Hills
5. Getting my sweat on at the training loft
6. Getting coffee at Continental Kitchen Cafe

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wendy Ellin – Productivity Expert, International Speaker, and Author of “Working From Home…How’s That Working For You?”

Website: mygradsgetjobs.com

Instagram: @krista.parkinson

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-grads-get-jobs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyGradsGetJobs