Pitch Yourself on YouTube

It's a tough job pitching for work as a television screenwriter in L.A., and last week writer David McMillan decided to try a new approach. According to the L.A. Times McMillan created a video pitch and placed it on YouTube. He sent the link to 100 industry contacts he'd amassed during his career in L.A., and although he hasn't landed a job yet, he's garnered positive feedback and an article about his ploy in the newspaper.

"I love the bold move," said Carol Barbee, executive producer of "Jericho" and the former show runner of "Judging Amy" who assigned McMillan his first script. "I think any way you can get people's attention -- as long as you come off as competent and professional -- can't hurt."

"When assembling a TV staff, you're also assembling a group of personalities to share a writers room," David Rambo, a writer-producer for "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," said via e-mail. "The video conveys a personality, and that may help David in his job search."

Landing a job isn't easy. This year alone, said Glenn Geller, senior vice president of current programming at CBS Paramount, his studio expects to hire a mere seven writers out of the hundreds who apply for its 21 shows.