The New Reality of Searching for Entertainment Industry Jobs

We launched Hollywood Resumes in January 2016, back when the only major streaming platforms were Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, and CAA and ICM were two separate companies, as were Disney, Fox, Warner Bros., Discovery...the list goes on. Job seekers needed our support telling their stories clearly in their resumes, but those who were qualified and committed could always find an open role. When we launched career coaching in 2019, it was to offer more robust support to job seekers who wanted to really take the market by storm or to help professionals navigate other tricky work-related situations. Now, on our ten-year anniversary, there's so much about the industry -- and the job search -- that has changed, and we're here to meet the realities of this moment, both in the services we provide and the insights we offer in this blog. 

New Reality #1: You might need more than one resume. We've always encouraged our clients to have a clear focus to orient their job search, but as the content landscape shifts, that clear focus is sometimes multi-pronged. Many entertainment job seekers are targeting roles within traditional film and TV while simultaneously applying for roles in vertical dramas, creator-driven content, branded content, immersive entertainment, or other emerging media formats. To be competitive for roles in these new spaces, you'll need to clearly translate your experience to match what the hiring teams are looking for. If you're applying for a vertical drama role, it might make sense for your resume to highlight a smaller web series or microbudget feature you worked on, while you'd want to emphasize a bigger project on your resume for a traditional role. Similarly, if you're considering a backup plan for roles outside of the industry, you'll want a resume that showcases more transferable skills.

It can be overwhelming to constantly change and adapt your resume, second guessing what to swap in and out. We've found that many job seekers either avoid this process entirely or outsource to AI tools that end up making their resumes sound generic and confusing. Or they spend hours tweaking resume after resume, focusing more on having a "perfect" resume than on leveraging their network. All of these approaches often result in rejections, exhaustion, and a drop in confidence. A more streamlined approach is to have a master resume that's already written for all the possibilities you're considering so you can quickly optimize and tailor your resume by pulling the right bullets for any given posting.

We're adding a master resume writing service to several of our packages, where we'll provide alternate text across your resume for up to 3 role types, annotate the document so you know exactly how to adjust it, and conduct a coaching session to help you implement the document. Check out our packages that include this new service:

Standard packages: 
Premium Professional Branding Package
Complete Career Transformation Package

Executive Packages:
Premium Executive Branding Package
Complete Executive Career Transformation Package

New Reality #2: Human to human connection is increasingly important. From day one of Hollywood Resumes, we’ve said that a resume is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to the job application process, and we stand by that statement more than ever. Why? Companies are increasingly relying on AI tools to filter candidates, which leads many job seekers to panic that their resumes won't get through the ATS. In turn, candidates are using AI tools to create their branding materials and submit blindly and widely to open roles. AI-generated materials are generic and lackluster, and "easy" submission tools are making hiring portals unmanageable. The result? A messy candidate pool that becomes unreliable to recruiters and hiring managers. So what do hiring teams do? They look for referrals from the humans in their networks. 

If you can’t network your way in, it’s nearly impossible to get an interview in this competitive job market. But let's be real: your network is likely as overwhelmed as you are. It's not enough to tell your contacts, "I need a new job." You need to be specific about your goals and value proposition so they remember you for the right opportunities and want to champion you to their networks. That's why we encourage our clients to be intentional about the roles they're pursuing. This starts with defining what you really want to do next, why you want to do it, and why you'd be great at it, then articulating your case during networking meetings and interviews. You may need to spend some time growing your network, reviving old connections, or reintroducing your new professional brand to existing contacts.

Your networking strategy goes hand-in-hand with strong professional branding materials -- a resume that will get through the ATS and that your contacts are comfortable passing along, a LinkedIn profile that increases your visibility on the platform, and in some cases, a bio that your contacts can circulate or that you can put up on your website to help you land fractional roles. All of these elements work together to create an effective job search.

Many of our clients have asked us for integrated packages that include professional branding material preparation and career coaching. We've created programs for job seekers with a clear vision who need help creating a manageable, effective job search process, as well as for job seekers who are considering multiple paths or making a strategic pivot:

Standard Packages:
Strategic Job Search Package
Complete Career Transformation Package

Executive Packages:
Executive Job Search Strategy Package
Complete Executive Career Transformation Package

New Reality #3: Breaking in and moving up is taking longer. We started our careers in the aftermath of the 2007 WGA strike and 2008 economic collapse, so we empathize with today's early career professionals who are trying to break in when the industry feels a little...broken. Right now, assistants are staying in their roles longer, which means there are fewer desks available for newbies, it's harder for current assistants to get promoted, and it's more important than ever to start your career in the side of the industry that interests you. While we've always recommended that entry-level job seekers target the roles that interest them most rather than casting a wide net, that's even more important now to avoid spending 10 years on a desk.

If it's going to take a while to land a job in entertainment anyway, you're better off earning money another way while you lay the groundwork for a role that will lead you somewhere you want to go. You also want to make sure you're positioned as well as possible to move up -- you need to be a cut above the rest when it comes to rolling calls, scheduling meetings, managing calendars, evaluating story, tracking projects, and understanding industry nuances and players. It's very possible to build a successful career when the industry is struggling, but to do so, you need to be excellent: that is, intentional, conscientious, and prepared.

Our entry-level packages are designed to help early career professionals stand out in a competitive job market and level up their assistant skills: 

Entry-level packages:
Basic Breaking Into Hollywood Package
Premium Breaking Into Hollywood Package 
Hollywood Assistant Coaching 

All of these changes to the job search process can feel overwhelming, and we understand there's an underlying grief for the way things were. But there is hope! The industry has been through changes before, and even if things look different, there will always be a need for great storytelling and great storytellers. You will find your place in this new reality, and we encourage you to focus on the things you can control -- like having great application materials and a clear strategy -- rather than the things you can't. We're here for you every step of the way and are excited to see where we all are in another decade's time.