Job Search Hacks That Don't Work in Hollywood

One of the reasons we founded Hollywood Resumes was because there’s a lot of career and job search advice out there that doesn’t speak to industry norms. As people in entertainment are spending more and more time on LinkedIn learning “hacks” or reading about people who’ve gotten hired from some bold gimmick, we’ve seen an increase in mid-senior level professionals trying these tactics to no avail (or sometimes to their detriment). So let’s break down some gimmicks we’ve seen, and why they’re unlikely to work in entertainment.

Sending an unsolicited pitch for how you can improve the company. This is a big thing in tech: Tell us what’s broken and we’ll hire you to fix it! In tech culture, especially at start-ups, there’s a desire for people who are renegades and who will take initiative to “move fast and break things.” But in Hollywood, we are slow. There’s a lot of gatekeeping, ego, and power hierarchies. Coming into a studio and telling them their slate is terrible and you have a different strategy for them isn’t going to get you hired as a creative exec, but it could get you blacklisted. Similarly, sending any kind of pitch material is going to ensure your application isn’t read. There are too many legal advisements over copyright and reviewing creative material, and even if you’re not sending a script, any kind of pitch alongside your application is going to be ignored. That said, if you’re super senior and can land a meeting with a company to pitch how you could head up a new department or grow their business, go for it – but you’d get that meeting through old fashioned networking, not through a job ad.

Sending a video resume or cover letter. If you’re applying for social media/content creator roles, sure, go ahead and showcase your social prowess with a video that reflects your content style. This won’t always work, but in some cases, it could. But if you’re applying for traditional entertainment jobs, don’t attach a video instead of a readable file. No one wants to watch it, and rather than make an impression, you’ll be skipped over for the next resume in a pile of thousands. If someone does take the time to watch your video (or go through your “interactive” cover letter website, which is sort of the same thing), they’ll be watching it with a morbid curiosity, rather than professional intrigue.

Using AI to handle your search. AI can help with certain aspects of your search, mostly when it comes to researching targets or prepping for interviews. But Hollywood is a social and discerning business, and hiring managers aren’t going to respond well to mass cold outreach that was clearly written by AI. Plus, your AI-generated resume isn’t going to fool hiring managers, nor will it connect with the humans who ultimately do the hiring. Hollywood invented smoke and mirrors, and hiring managers can see through AI tricks. Feel free to use AI (with strong prompts and a healthy dose of skepticism!) to help organize your thoughts or replace Google as a search engine, but don’t outsource the things that have historically worked in getting people hired in this town: making human connections.

Also, keep in mind that all of these "hacks" aren't even shortcuts -- they still take time. Time is valuable, and you'll see better results if you spend it crafting and maintaining a sustainable job search strategy using tried-and-true methods, like telling a compelling story on paper and networking your way into companies of interest.