 This month, we're celebrating the 7th anniversary of Hollywood Resumes! We are so excited to enter our 8th year in business and appreciate all our loyal customers for your support over the years. When we launched Hollywood Resumes, both of us were working full time -- Angela as a children’s TV development executive and Cindy as an entertainment marketing executive. We really had no idea what Hollywood Resumes would lead to, but we saw an opportunity to help others in the industry with their job application materials and started a business that we felt was desperately needed by many. As it turns out, we were right – we had underestimated the demand for not only resume writing services, but for career support in general, and this is what has allowed our business to grow over the years, including becoming a full-time job for Cindy! As we reflect on our time in business, we find ourselves thinking about the benefits and costs of starting a business as a side hustle. The most obvious advantage of a side hustle is that it can generate extra income, which is really helpful in an industry like ours with large pay inequities (though we don't think the solution to this system-wide problem is for everyone to work multiple jobs!). It's also really great to have a way to cover hiatuses between freelance roles or employment gaps after a layoff. There are many options for side gigs these days: If you just need some extra cash, you can find gigs on the apps (Uber, Instacart, DoorDash, etc.) or do some tutoring, dog sitting, or nannying. There's also the option to find industry-related part-time work like reading scripts, writing for online outlets, or freelancing on short shoots, which can give you some exposure to new contacts and/or the ability to upskill while you work. Over the course of our careers, we've done versions of the above to help pad our bank accounts, and if you have the time and the need, go for it. But to start Hollywood Resumes and grow it successfully, we needed to think about more than just money. If you're contemplating launching a side business, it's important to consider how the business fits into the larger picture of your career. What will success look like for you? What interests and skills do you want to lean into in your business? For us, learning how to become entrepreneurs factored in prominently, and ultimately, launching our own business has enriched our lives and careers in many ways. The fun thing about side hustles is that they don’t have to be even remotely related to your full-time work. Or they can be, but they may let you flex an entirely different set of professional muscles and explore areas the industry you wouldn’t normally be dealing with in your full-time job. For example, we both really love teaching, and we’ve had a fun time leading courses, workshops, and webinars for our customers and corporate clients – something that never figured prominently in our full-time work. We've also enjoyed building relationships with people across the industry outside of the niches of our full-time roles -- we've met people who work in totally different sectors of entertainment, and learning from them has offered us a unique perspective in our own fields. But you might find that you'd love to create a business that allows you to totally disconnect from the industry, and that's okay, too. One of the main reasons we pursued an entrepreneurial side hustle was because we wanted to build something ourselves and be the chief decision-makers. Even when you love your work, there are going to be times where you feel frustrated with the direction of your department or company, and maybe you don’t feel heard by your supervisors. When this happens, it’s really nice to come home and work on something that you have full control of – your side hustle! You’ll also learn a lot by being in this type of leadership position, and you’ll have a chance to experiment without asking for anyone else’s approval and make mistakes without encountering the wrath of your boss. When you’re feeling small at work, a side business gives you the chance to feel empowered! Another major benefit of running your own business is that it can enhance your career story. You'll learn a lot about a lot -- for example, we learned how to construct a business plan, create an SEO-friendly website, build strategic partnerships, conduct market research, provide customer service, run digital marketing campaigns, and navigate the legal and accounting elements of business ownership. While these skills aren't necessary for the work we've done full-time, they've presented themselves in a variety of ways in our other jobs, including making us more aware of how companies function day-to-day and measure success. Plus, they've given us great conversation starters when networking and strong talking points for job interviews. The most important thing to keep in mind, though, is whether you will be able to see your business through. We had no idea that we'd be where we are today when we first started out, but we did have a plan, and we didn't launch overnight. Take time to do your due diligence, outline immediate goals that are achievable based on your current capabilities, and map out ideas for later growth. How many hours per week can you devote to your business? What are reasonable expectations you can set for yourself? What will you need to accomplish before you launch? If the only thing holding you back from starting a side hustle is fear, we encourage you to give it a shot! And we’d also like to reiterate how great it has felt to help so many of our clients over the years – this has definitely been the #1 most rewarding aspect of starting a side hustle for us. We look forward to serving you for years to come! -- Angela Silak & Cindy Kaplan ‘Tis the season…for maintaining your network! If you’ve been an avid Hollywood Resumes newsletter reader, you know that we’re big fans of taking time during the holiday season to send a quick note to your contacts to let them know you’re thinking of them and update them on anything that’s happening on your end, whether that’s embarking on the job search, starting a new job, or having one of your pet projects get the green light. But how exactly do you conduct this holiday outreach? Some people opt for a newsletter-style update, where they send one long update email to all their contacts. This approach is certainly easier than writing individual notes, and it can even feel a little less daunting – but most people won’t respond. If you just want to share news to stay on people’s radars and are okay with a handful of generic responses, you can go this route. However, if you’re hoping to turn your outreach into more meaningful conversations, and potentially even catch-ups in the new year or referrals during your job search, sending individual notes is the way to go. These don’t have to be long or complicated, but they should be specific. For example: Hi Contact! Happy holidays! I hope you’ve been well since we last saw each other at the HRTS mixer in March. I recently watched the Iliza Shlesinger comedy special you worked on and absolutely loved it! Do you have anything else coming down the pike you’re excited about? As for me, I’m headed back to Des Moines to spend the holidays with my family, and I’m hoping to start searching for my next role in January. I’ve learned a lot about indie film during my time at Indian Paintbrush, but I’m ready to take on a new challenge. I’m targeting roles on the buyer side, ideally in TV drama development. If you can think of anyone I should meet with in that world or hear of any job openings, please let me know -- I'd really appreciate your help! Best wishes to you and yours during this holiday season, and happy new year! The key is to keep your outreach genuine but simple, and make it easy for the person to respond. There are likely some contacts you’ll want to be a bit more formal with, but still cordial and meaningful. A generic “Happy holidays! How are you? I’m looking for new jobs in the new year, so let me know if you hear of anything!” isn’t going to get much of a response. Know that you might not be able to reach everyone you know this way, but do your best to organize your contacts and triage who to reach out to, when, and for what. And you can always save some outreach for a new year’s greeting in a few weeks! -- Angela Silak & Cindy Kaplan Your resume is certainly an important part of your job application, but you’ll need more than a great resume to get your dream job. Many of our clients come to us frustrated because they’ve applied for tons of jobs and haven’t heard back. Often, their resume needs work, but sometimes, their job search strategy does, too. The first key to a successful job search strategy is having a target. What kinds of roles are you looking for? What companies or projects are hiring for those roles? Why would the hiring managers for those roles be interested in your candidacy? Answering these questions will help you narrow your search to jobs that you’re interested in and qualified for, thereby increasing the odds that you’ll get an interview. Then, you’ll want to make sure your materials are tailored to the specific job. Pay attention to keywords in the job posting and make sure you use the right verbiage in your resume. If the posting asks for a cover letter, write a fresh, clear cover letter indicating why you’d be a fit for the role. This seems simple, but plenty of candidates send in generic materials, and hiring managers can tell who put in the extra effort with their application; that’s the candidate they want to meet. Next, you’ll have to do the legwork to get a referral. Hundreds of applications come in for most Hollywood jobs, and you don't want your resume to lost in the shuffle. A pop of color or a fancy format on your document won’t do the trick, but an email from someone the hiring manager trusts might! Take the extra time to see who in your network can pass your information along to the hiring team. Once you start approaching your job search strategically, you’ll see better results. You may not submit to nearly as many jobs, but you’ll be submitting to the right roles for you and increase your chances of getting called in for an interview. Better yet, you’ll know the jobs you’re applying for are aligned with your vision for your career, and that’s perhaps most important of all. -- Angela Silak & Cindy Kaplan In Hollywood, many job openings require that you apply via email. For these types of job applications, you should always send a cover email -- that is, a short email indicating your intention in applying and interest in the role. While a cover email is not a formally required piece of a job application (you’ll never see it requested in the application instructions), it is one of the most important factors in getting your resume opened by a hiring manager. Especially for freelance or entry-level roles that are posted widely, hiring managers receive so many job applications that they tend to consider only the candidates who have articulated their intention in applying in a concise and friendly way in the body of the email. The good news is, writing a cover email is a quick and simple process! Ideally, you’ll address the email to an actual person (“Hi Jane,”), but if the email address is generic, “Hi,” or “Dear Hiring Manager,” is appropriate. Then, you’ll write a short paragraph stating your interest in a particular role, who you are/what you are doing now, any key selling points, and then indicate your desire to schedule an interview. In total, the cover email should be about 3-4 sentences. You can write conversationally – keep it professional of course, but the tone you would use in a regular work email will work here too. We’ve found that a good cover email makes all the difference in your chances of getting an interview – no one likes opening an email from a total stranger that just has an attachment, or the very stand-offish "Resume attached." Make sure you don't skip this step when you apply for roles via email, even if you're also attaching a formal cover letter per the application instructions. -- Angela Silak & Cindy Kaplan |
Hollywood ResumesWelcome to our career tips blog! To receive our updates via email, sign up for our weekly newsletter. You'll also get access to exclusive discounts, offers, and resources! Categories
All
Archives
January 2023
|
RSS Feed