The episode follows the series' eponymous protagonist SpongeBob, a yellow anthropomorphic sea sponge, attempting to get a job at a local fast food restaurant called the Krusty Krab.

Series creator Stephen Hillenburg initially conceived the show in 1994, and began to work on it shortly after the cancellation of Rocko's Modern Life in 1996.

For the series pitch, Hillenburg originally wanted the idea of having SpongeBob and Squidward on a road trip, inspired by the 1989 film Powwow Highway.

A French narrator introduces an aquatic city known as Bikini Bottom containing an ecstatic, hyperactive, optimistic, naive, and friendly yellow sea sponge Aplysina fistularis named SpongeBob SquarePants.

SpongeBob initially reconsiders his decision on the perceived count that he is not good enough, until his best friend, a pink overweight starfish Pisaster brevispinus named Patrick Star, convinces him otherwise.

Soon after SpongeBob's departure, five buses containing ravenous anchovies stop at the Krusty Krab, all furiously demanding meals.

SpongeBob surprises the two by returning from his errand, having bought a spatula perfectly matching Mr. Krabs' specifications, which he uses to speedily cook Krabby Patties for all the anchovies.

After Mr. Krabs leaves to count the day's profits, Patrick arrives and orders a Krabby Patty, and is hurled from the establishment upon a primarily unseen, and audibly manic, reprise of SpongeBob's cooking feat.

The pilot ends with Squidward calling for Mr. Krabs in the hopes of getting SpongeBob in trouble for the presumed mess he has created.

"Help Wanted" was written by series creator Stephen Hillenburg, Derek Drymon, and Tim Hill, and the animation was directed by the show's supervising director, Alan Smart.

[4] Hillenburg initially conceived the show in February 1994 during a campfire at a surfing trip in southern Baja California in a sketchbook and began to work on it shortly after the cancellation of Rocko's Modern Life in 1996.

[8] One of the original ideas was to write an episode with SpongeBob and Squidward on a road trip, inspired by the 1989 film Powwow Highway.

[14] When given money and two weeks to write the pilot episode,[15] Drymon, Hillenberg, and Jennings returned with what Nickelodeon official Albie Hecht described as "a performance [I] wish [I] had on tape".

[16] Although described as stressful by creative director Derek Drymon,[15] the pitch went "very well"; Kevin Kay and Hecht had to step outside because they were "exhausted from laughing", making the cartoonists worried.

[16] With help from Hill and art director Nick Jennings, Hillenburg finished the pitch and sold SpongeBob SquarePants to Nickelodeon.

[18][19] When the crew began production on the episode, they were tasked to design the stock locations where "the show would return to again and again, and in which most of the action would take place, such as the Krusty Krab and SpongeBob's pineapple house.

The idea was "to keep everything nautical" so the crew used ropes, wooden planks, ships' wheels, netting, anchors, and boilerplate, and rivets.

[11] Pittenger said "So really, the sky flowers are mostly a whimsical design element that Steve [Hillenburg] came up with to evoke the look of a flower-print Hawaiian shirt—or something like that.

"[8] Kenny originally used the voice of SpongeBob for a very minor female alligator character named Al in Rocko's Modern Life who appeared in the episode "Dear John."

"[25] The production team placed most of its music budget on using "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight", which Carr described as "a sadly familiar scenario with most cartoons for television.

"[8] The writers were able to use the music, as one of the women who worked at Nickelodeon at the time "knew somebody somewhere who had access to something", and she brought in a copy of the song on CD.

The sad part was Tiny Tim died right around the time we were writing the pilot, so he never knew we used his song.

[28] In April 1998, the original version of "Help Wanted" was showcased in Austin, Texas, alongside the series premiere of CatDog and Action League Now!, during an event for kids and families.

"Help Wanted" was excluded in the SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season DVD, featuring the rest of the first-season episodes, since its release on October 28, 2003.

[8] It was not included because Nickelodeon did not want to pay Tiny Tim's estate for the DVD rights, because his music in the episode was copyrighted.

[38][39] The episode "Help Wanted" was also a bonus feature in the series DVD called SpongeBob SquarePants: 10 Happiest Moments that was released on September 14, 2010.

[41] Upon release, the DVD set was quickly sold out at Best Buy and was selling "briskly" at online retailers, including Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart.

[44] The event also hosted the screening of the winning videos from the inaugural SpongeBob SquareShorts: Original Fan Tributes competition.

[52] Eric Coleman, vice president of animation development and production at Nickelodeon, lauded the episode and called it "one of the best pilots" because "it conveys a strong personality".