How to use your existing skills to boost your Hollywood job search

If you’re back in the job market after a long hiatus, you’re likely concerned that you don’t know how to look for jobs. Where you should apply? What are employers looking for these days? Where should you even begin?

Take a deep breath. Looking for jobs IS a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be as overwhelming as you might fear! In fact, many of the same skills you’ve deployed in your past roles will come in super handy during your job search. It can help to think of your job search as a work project -- simply navigate the required steps the way you would any other professional task.

For instance, a great job search strategy includes reaching out to your network and asking for help, either for referrals to jobs or introductions to other folks to expand your contact list. It can be very daunting to conduct outreach on behalf of yourself, but you probably reached out to people all the time in previous roles! If you are or were an assistant, you have experience tracking down info for your boss and contacting others to schedule meetings. If you work in production, you’ve probably conducted outreach to crew up a show, source props, secure locations, obtain permits, and rent equipment. If you work in sales or representation, you’ve mastered the art of the warm intro and cold email. As you leverage your network to ask for support in your job search, imagine that you’re reaching out to someone for a business purpose you’re familiar with, and it’ll be that much easier.

There are other skills you already have that will help in your job search too. Researching target companies is just like creating lists of writers/directors or casting targets. If you have strong project management or organizational skills, tap into those to create a job search calendar to triage when you search certain sites and hold yourself accountable when applying for jobs. Following up on the status of your application or job interview is the same as managing any other type of follow-up. And so on!

Once you take the pressure off, it’ll become easier to focus on doing the work of applying for jobs -- that is, reading the posting carefully, creating a targeted resume and cover letter, and asking your network for referrals. Trust us: You got this.

---

-- Angela Silak & Cindy Kaplan