• Home
  • Services
    • Resume Writing & Coaching
    • Courses and E-Books
    • Corporate & Group Services
    • Free Resources
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Blog
Hollywood Resumes
  • Home
  • Services
    • Resume Writing & Coaching
    • Courses and E-Books
    • Corporate & Group Services
    • Free Resources
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Blog

Are you giving hiring managers enough context in your Hollywood resume?

11/8/2019

 
Picture
Your resume is supposed to tell the story of your professional life, showing hiring managers how what you've done in the past will help their company in the future. But many job applicants -- even in Hollywood, where crafting stories is the job -- forget one of the basic rules of storytelling: setting the scene. In a resume, that means giving the reader context for each of your positions to show the scope and nature of your role.

First, you'll need to show where you've worked and when you worked there in a clean and simple way. Like a script slug line, section titles will orient the reader. Make sure the company names in your resume are in bold and that you have a clear timeline to go along with them. And in most cases, your title will go below the company name (sometimes there are exceptions for freelancers). Why? Well, "Assistant to CEO" can mean a few different things -- maybe you supported the head of a studio, or maybe you assisted the head of a health insurance company, and one makes you a lot more qualified for a coordinator role in the entertainment industry than the other. A company name and job title can tell the reader a lot with just a quick glance, so this context is essential if you want a hiring manager to read the rest of the resume. And if your companies and titles don't give enough context, you can always add a professional summary or core skills section to the top of your resume to help tie your resume together. 

This formatting seems obvious, but that's just the first step to providing context -- most job applicants stop setting the scene after that initial framing. But that's where the story falls apart! If you want your resume to be great, you need to make sure the hiring manager has enough information to understand how your skills actually played out within your work environment. 

We like to use the first bullet point under each company listing in the experience section to give context to the hiring manager. This bullet should be the broadest and reflect your main job function -- sort of an overview of your job. And it will often require some sort of description of the company. For example, if you worked at a small company that no one has ever heard of, you'll want to explain. You might say you worked at a “boutique literary management firm.” With just those four words, the hiring manager can imagine you in a small office with a few co-workers, which means you’ve likely had a job where you wore a ton of hats, had close access to high-level executives, and maybe even had responsibilities beyond the scope of your job title. Additionally, you could also give more information about the type of work the company does, i.e. you worked at an “independent film production company specializing in low-budget horror movies.” Now the reader knows you have expertise in a specific area. This can come in especially handy if you’re applying for jobs in the same space. But even if you’re transitioning into another type of role, you’re still helping the hiring manager picture your work history.

If you worked at a larger company, you’ll want to find other ways to give context. A development executive at HBO doesn’t need to say that they develop content for a premium cable network. Everyone knows what HBO is, so you don’t want to waste valuable space explaining. Instead, give more information about the scope of your job, i.e. “Managed a development slate of 30+ scripted dramas.” Volume can be helpful in your explanation (number of projects, budget ranges, size of events, etc). So can illustrating the type of work you did, whether it's the kind of content (scripted dramas), the type of clients (A-list talent; brands across verticals), or the style of a show (top-rated docuseries). If you work at a well-known company in a lesser-known department you may want to give a little more information about the function of the department before, or in addition to, describing your job. 

After your first bullet point, you can break down some of the more important responsibilities and achievements. Even then, you should differentiate between what you were assigned to do and what you actually accomplished -- "managed editors" is fine to say, but "managed a team of 5 editors to deliver episode cuts" is lot better! You could even go one step further, "managed a team of 5 editors to deliver episode cuts for 13-episode season of top-rated reality competition series." The last version explains both responsibilities and results, which will be the most effective way to help an outsider understand your role. 

As you can see, there are many ways to give context to hiring managers, and the best resumes don't skip over any of them. Hiring managers have a ton of resumes to review and they don't have time to do guesswork. Connect the dots for them and remove the guesswork, and you'll have a much stronger resume!
​

-- Angela Silak & Cindy Kaplan


Comments are closed.

    Hollywood Resumes

    ​Welcome 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! 

    Sign up now!

    Categories

    All
    ASK HR
    Assistant Life
    Bios
    Career Coaching
    Cover Letters
    Industry Spotlight
    Internships
    Job Applications
    Job Interviews
    Job Search Tips
    LinkedIn
    Networking
    Personal Statement
    Professional Development
    References
    Resume Help
    Salary
    Script Coverage
    Social Media
    Thank You Notes
    Work Life

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    RSS Feed

Sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter to receive career tips, discounts, and access to our resource library!
SUBSCRIBE
Photos used under Creative Commons from Jimmy Benson, 401(K) 2013, christiaan_008, televisione, Dai Lygad, MarkMoz12, Krists Luhaers, Nguyen Vu Hung (vuhung), Hollywood_PR, State Farm, Joe The Goat Farmer, HandsLive, Glyn Lowe Photoworks., thedailyenglishshow, dno1967b, flazingo_photos, jmrodri, cliff1066™, Joe The Goat Farmer, flazingo_photos, starmanseries, anitakhart, jimmiehomeschoolmom, Glyn Lowe Photoworks., hfb, gminguzzi, thedailyenglishshow, Visual Content, mkhmarketing, Peat Bakke, Visual Content, vlauria, flazingo_photos, flazingo_photos, cafecredit, StockMonkeys.com
  • Home
  • Services
    • Resume Writing & Coaching
    • Courses and E-Books
    • Corporate & Group Services
    • Free Resources
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Blog