Category: Networking

Help! I've applied for 50 Hollywood jobs and haven't received any interview calls!

5/24/2019

The job search can be frustrating -- especially when you feel like you’ve been submitting tons of job applications and aren’t getting any bites. But if you’ve sent out 50 applications and haven’t heard a word on any of them, it’s likely that you’re doing something wrong. Here are some questions to ask yourself that can help you assess the problem:

Are you qualified for the jobs you’re applying for?
Go back and take a look at the jobs you’ve been applying for. Re-read the job descriptions -- do these jobs actually make sense for you? Will the skills and experience you put in your resume prove you can do the job? If you’re an assistant applying for director-level jobs, it’s unlikely that you’re going to get any calls. It’s okay to reach a bit, but be realistic with your expectations. Conversely, you don’t want to apply for jobs you’re overqualified for either. If you’ve been an assistant for five years, it’s probably time to start looking at coordinator positions -- employers aren’t interested in hiring people who will get burned out quickly or start asking for a promotion after three months. Besides, you start to seem desperate if you’re applying for jobs that are too far below your level. Compare your resume to the job postings to see how well they align. If you don’t have a lot of the key required skills or are already doing work beyond what’s asked for, you may not be applying for the right jobs. Be a little more selective with your search, and try to focus on those jobs that match your qualifications.

Are you excited about the jobs you’re applying for?
Aside from being qualified for a job, it’s also important that you’re excited about a prospective position. It’s easy to spot a generic cover letter from someone who isn’t particularly passionate about the role. So don’t waste your time with applications you’re not excited about. A good test to figure out which opportunities are right: Try writing your cover letters from scratch -- you’ll find that they’ll flow much more easily for the jobs that really are a fit. Then, focus on those opportunities. You’ll have more luck if you’re going for quality over quantity.

How are you actually applying for these jobs?
If you’re both qualified and excited about the jobs you’re applying for but aren’t hearing anything back, you may be going about the job application process wrong. In Hollywood, most people are hired through referrals or promoted internally, so if you’re only using the online application to submit your resume, that’s probably your problem. Try to find a direct contact that can get your resume into the right hands. If you don’t know someone at the company or in the department you’re applying for, you can use LinkedIn to try to find a connection. Ideally, you’ll find someone who knows someone who can pass along your resume, but if this isn’t possible, a cold email can work too. Make sure you’re taking extra steps to get your resume to the hiring manager -- it will help prove how much you want the job.

Do you have a strong resume and cover letter?
If you’re doing everything above right, your problem is probably your resume or cover letter. A disorganized resume or cover letter with typos and poor writing is obviously not going to get you an interview, but that’s not the only thing that can make for a bad resume and cover letter. Do your resume and cover letter tell a story? And is that story one that shows you’re right for the job? You MUST tailor your resume and cover letter to the job posting. You should always try to create a new cover letter for every job application, and sometimes, you should create a new resume as well (or at least make some tweaks) -- especially if you’re applying for executive level jobs. Take note of the nuances in the job posting, and make sure your resume and cover letter reflect the core skills of the role. A strong resume and cover letter match the job posting and demonstrate why it makes sense for the company to hire the candidate.

We recognize that all of this may sound like a lot of work -- and it is. But if you can be a little more targeted in your search and thorough with your process, you won’t have to send out nearly as many applications to secure an interview, and you'll be less stressed out in the process!

--Angela Silak & Cindy Kaplan

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How to get back in touch with a contact you haven't spoken to recently

1/17/2019

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One of the toughest aspects of networking is maintaining relationships. You can schedule all the informational interviews in the world to learn more about companies and roles you’re interested in and follow up accordingly with a thank you note and some check-ins. But let's be realistic -- with time, you’ll get busy and let a few of your contacts slip away. It may feel awkward to get back in touch after you've let communication lag, but if you handle your approach gracefully, it's actually not that a big of a deal to reconnect. Here's how to go about it:

As uncomfortable as this may seem, you're going to need to reintroduce yourself. Especially when it comes to informational interviews, you must remember that you are not the only person your contact has met with to conduct an informational interview. In fact, an informational is likely the least memorable meeting a person will have in a given day. So when you’re reaching back out to these contacts after a month or more has passed, you’ll need to help jog their memories a bit. One great way to do this is to reply to the original email chain from when you scheduled the meeting or sent a thank you note (this is the reason that an emailed thank you note is much more important than a handwritten one). If for some reason you have to start a new email chain, you should give the person a little recap of who you are. For example, “I’m the NYU student studying documentary film that you met with last July while I was interning at NBC.” It might sound weird to do this, but it helps the person on the other end by not forcing them to dig back through emails to figure out who you are.

Starting your email this way gives you the opportunity to transition into explaining what you're currently doing. "Since we last met, I've been working as a development assistant at Imagine Entertainment." You can share a tidbit or two about your current position -- something as simple as how much you've learned, or if you think they'll appreciate it, a little nugget about how something they mentioned back when you met helped you. Don't kiss up too much, but if there's something simple and true, it's worth sharing.

Then, you can get to the impetus for your outreach. It's probably best to avoid asking for a favor for yourself after too much time has passed (unless it's particularly timely, like their department is actively hiring for your dream job), but it's within bounds to ask on behalf of someone else -- passing along a friend's resume or trying to set up an informational for a colleague shows you're willing to pay it forward. You can also reach out when there's nothing you need -- just reconnecting for the sake of it, or because you read something interesting about your contact in the news.

The new year is actually the perfect time to renew these connections. There's a good energy in the air to meet up for drinks and re-establish a relationship. And you never know how you may be able to help your contact with their 2019 career goals! That said, this advice does work year-round as well. It's not ideal to lose touch, but life happens, and it's good to know there's a fail safe way to maintain your network when you get too busy.

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Why in-person informational interviews are much more valuable than phone calls

11/9/2018

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When reaching out to contacts for potential informational interviews, you should do everything in your power to set a face-to-face meeting instead of a phone call. An informational interview with the right person can be one of the biggest boosts to your job search, but only if you can make a good impression. And that’s hard to do on a phone call. Think about it: Would you hire someone based off of a phone interview? Probably not. Your goal for an informational interview is to lock down a contact that could potentially put you up for jobs at some point, but it’s unlikely that anyone is going to go to bat for a person they’ve never even seen. Especially when dealing with higher level executives, you need to keep in mind that they’re on the phone with various people all day long, and without being able to put a face to a name, they’re not going to remember you for more than a day or two. Unless you’re speaking with someone in a different state, find a way to get that in-person meeting.

But aren't you supposed to let your contact dictate the terms of the meeting so they aren't inconvenienced — and isn’t it an inconvenience to ask for a face-to-face meeting? The answer is no. When requesting an informational interview, simply ask for a meeting and let the other person select the location and time. Don’t suggest a call as an option. If that’s what they end up coming back with, tough luck, but more likely, they’ll find a window to fit you in at some point, even if it's several weeks out. Expect that you’ll probably be rescheduled a few times, and that’s perfectly fine. Take what you can get — even a 15 minute face-to-face meeting is better than a phone call when trying to make a lasting impression.

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Where to look to find job postings and open positions in Hollywood

8/23/2018

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If you’ve recently moved to LA and are starting to look for a job, you may be feeling a bit lost. Although there are tons and tons of companies and open positions in the entertainment industry, you probably aren’t seeing too many good job postings if you don’t know where to look. Especially when searching for assistant positions, sites like Indeed.com or even LinkedIn aren’t always the most helpful. Here are six resources that might lead you to something great:

Referrals. Referrals are by far the best way to land jobs in Hollywood. Most positions are filled through word of mouth, so it’s essential to have a great network if you want to find out about open roles. Make a list of your top companies and start setting up informational interviews with people at those companies as quickly as you can. And don’t forget to network with people at your level! Assistants are often the first to hear about open positions.
Company job portals. After you’ve made a list of your top companies, set up a schedule for checking their job portals every day. You can submit your resume through them, but you aren’t likely to hear back unless you’ve gotten your resume into the hands of the right person. This all goes back to networking, but the portals will help you identify open positions and know when to reach out.
Trade publications. Stay up to date on the trades. Look out for announcements of new companies, new divisions, and new projects and try to figure out who’s leading the charge to fill out the new teams. You can always send a cold email with a congratulatory note to build a new relationship with someone whose latest endeavor interests you.
Tracking boards. Tracking boards are email listservs or Facebook groups that facilitate communication within the industry. Lots of job postings are listed on tracking boards, so if you’re ever given the opportunity to join one, do it! The catch to tracking boards is that you need to be invited and accepted to join, so it may take some time to get on one. If you're not on any boards yet, ask your contacts about theirs. They may be able to add you to one or be willing to forward job postings.
Paid subscription services. There are a couple of subscription services dedicated to publishing Hollywood job postings. Hollywood Job Opps and EntertainmentCareers.net are two popular ones that you could consider for entry-level positions. If you're looking for production jobs, Staff Me Up may be a good resource. Lots of people use these services, but paid members have access to postings first, so if you log in frequently, you could be ahead of the game. Even if you don't want to fork over the money, you'll still get access to valuable postings. Either way, you'll maximize your chances of landing an interview if you ping your contacts about any companies you apply to where they may be able to put in a good word.
Entertainment-focused job lists. The UTA job list is probably the most well-known collection of Hollywood job postings that goes out every week. It used to be very exclusive, but now everyone gets it, so you’ll have to be smart about applying for jobs listed there and boost your applications with some networking follow ups. You should also look for lists that may go out through your university or any professional organizations you’re a member of.

You'll notice that each of these suggestions has something in common: networking. If you want to maximize the number of interviews you’re getting, you’ll need a few allies. The good news is, many people are willing to help! Don’t be shy about reaching out -- it will pay off in the long run, and then you’ll have the opportunity to pay it forward to others trying to break into the industry.

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