Robert was a great roommate. Sometimes he’d come home at about 2 o’clock in the morning when I was already in bed, and I’d hear strange noises in the kitchen — the kind where you know someone’s trying to be quiet but now you’re suddenly wide awake from curiosity? Yeah, that kind. I wanted to know what he was doing. So I’d get up and poke my head out of my room, and there he’d be. Sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor. Even after a night out. He had come home and gotten my little note asking him to take his turn at the kitchen cleaning, and he just wanted to get it done — at 2 o’clock in the morning. I would just smile, have little endearing thoughts about Robert, and go back to bed.

But not only was/is he a great guy roommate who was easy to get along with, he is a Master of the Schmooze. (The truth is, he’s told me, that he doesn’t even think of it as schmoozing, he’s just being himself. But to myself and others, we can see that he has an ability to connect with people in way that many of us would like to have for our own schmoozing purposes.)

Many years after we were roommates, I took him to an event at the Academy where a producer friend of mine was screening his film. After this screening for about 300 people, there was a cocktail party that was very crowded. Robert and I tried to make it over to congratulate my friend on his film, but we couldn’t take three steps without someone stopping Robert to connect with him. Either they had worked with him and were happy to see him, or someone close to them had worked with him and they re-introduced themselves. It was a phenomenon. The interesting thing about it, however, is that these people were not just crazed fans happy to meet Robert. The way they spoke to him was with genuine affection and a happy smile on their faces. It was clear that they truly liked him as a person. It definitely broke down the paradigm that says everyone in Hollywood fake and only wants to use you.

Another thing that has particularly struck me about Robert over the years is how many people he keeps in touch with on a personal level. I know for myself I can get really lazy about going out and mingling. But frequently when I talk to Robert, he’ll have three birthday parties he needs to hit in one night, and he makes sure he does it, too. He makes it a priority to keep in touch, accept invitations, show up, and stay connected to people. When asked how he got to be like this, a good ol’ Oklahoma boy, he just says, “Well, I don’t know since I don’t even think about it. But I grew up with two great parents who were outgoing and funny and a house full of brothers. Maybe that had something to do with it. I just enjoy people.”

Okay, so I could go on and on about how great Robert is at connecting with people, but more importantly, I thought you might like to hear a few tips from him! So after fondly relishing my memories of him, I called him and asked him for some tips to pass on.

After making it clear that he doesn’t think of himself as an expert on this (even though he’s giving a speech about this same thing in a couple weeks), he said a few short words which I have summarized as follows.

Key One: Get genuinely interested in other people.
Just be yourself. Be real. Get genuinely interested in other people. The most interesting people are the ones who are genuinely interested in others. Learn to really enjoy the process of talking to people and getting to know them.

This is a lesson that goes back to who knows when, but for sure Dale Carnegie wrote about it in his seminal book “How To Win Friends and Influence People.”

Key Two: Don’t approach people with a hidden agenda.

Don’t approach people with a hidden agenda. If you want to speak about work, don’t beat around the bush. Be specific about what you want to do. When people sense that you are trying to hide it, it’s really obvious, and they’ll see it a mile away, and it’ll get you nowhere.

Key Three: Allow for a follow-up.

Learn something about the person you’re talking to and be interested in what they have to say. Have a sense of humor. Leave them with a real sense of your personality.

So that’s what Robert had to say. He also made the point that as soon as you start doing these things as “tips,” then you’re actually not doing it all.

“No matter how you say it, you have to be genuine and real with other people.”

So there you go. Hollywood may have a reputation for being a city of users, but there really are some real, genuine people out there. And when you are that way, you stand out from the crowd!

In Smart Girls on Agent Meeting Role Play, you can learn to craft a pitch of yourself and practice your small talk so that you can get out of your head and have your real self shine through!

Here are a few tips that will make it easier to find an actor agency.

1. Always continue to take acting classes and employ an acting coach.

This has two benefits. One it will keep you from getting rusty and two you can get referrals from your teachers or coaches. When you go to find an agent for acting, they agent will want to be confident that you know how to act. If you’ve taken acting classes, that will help them have confidence in you.

2. Always keep your headshots up to date. Make sure they are professional, they look like you, and they suggest what your casting is.

Headshots are your first impression on acting agencies, so they have to be professional. You may have to spend a few hundred dollars to find a professional photographer, but the investment will be worth it.

3. Your credits are the next most important tool for landing an acting agent, so make sure your resume shows what you’ve done in the best light and that your cover letter to the agent highlights your credits in the best way possible.

Since you will typically send the talent agent your cover letter and resume before meeting with them, these materials will be their first impression of you. Make sure it is professional and truly shows the type of person you are. There are industry professionals such as Smart Girls Productions who can help write a great cover letter to pitch you. If you are not confident, you can hire them or someone like them to help write a great resume and cover letter for you.

Just remember that in show-biz, you get to make one impression on an agent for acting. Don’t let the first be your last. Make sure to keep learning, present professional headshots, make your resume memorable, and sell yourself with a professional cover letter.

You’ll find that many agents and managers, and really producers, too, don’t like to be confronted.  So early on in your career, take it easy, but still try to get the answers to these questions, or something along these lines.

1.  What age range do you see me being right for?

Before you approach actors agents for your film and television career, you should already have a good sense of what you think your age range is by about a 5 year span, or 10 years if you’re over 38.  In fact, you should know this before you take your headshots so you can get pictures that are well-suited to this.  You and your mom and dad may not be the best judges of what your age range is, so if possible find an industry professional to discuss it with or work with a career coach on it to see how to best position you. 

As a film and TV actor, remember your age range will be more limited than it is in the theatre.  And in fact, the agent may ask you, so be sure that you have a good sense of it before you go in.  This will make you look more professional to the agents and management that you may be interviewing or auditioning for.

 2.   What kind of roles will you submit me for?

As with the above question, make sure you know what your casting is and that your headshots reflect the kinds of roles you would be right for.  Then in the meeting where you are vying for the attention of that particular agent at the agency, you can ask them what they think.  If you guys aren’t in synch, then you need to speak to the talent agent about that and see if you can come to an agreement, or you may be sent on auditions and casting calls that you feel completely out of place on.

It’s great to get as many auditions for acting as you can, but if you feel you’re not even the right type, it will be depressing and you’ll end up being upset that you wasted your time.  Ward this off by discussing the kinds of auditions with the actors agent when you first meet with them.

3.  How do you like me to keep in touch with you?

You will find that many of the agents for your acting career, at least early on, don’t want to hear from you very often.  Unfortunately, much of the time, actors bug their agents and don’t have much to say when they do call and that is what annoys the talent agents and makes them not want to hear from the actors they represent.  It’s not personal, but too many actors waste their time trying to chit-chat and that is no good.

When you get a meeting with an agent at one of the agencies, be sure to ask how they want you to keep in touch with them.  Whatever you do, don’t call before 2:00 pm because they are submitting you for the auditions and casting calls that you want to get.  If you call during the heat of that, they will think you are clueless. 

In your meeting, ask how to keep in touch.  Then, if they say, don’t call me, I’ll call you, if you are new to acting, then don’t worry about it and don’t call them very often.  But as you get more experienced, then you can get creative and come up with good reasons to call your talent agent.  If you have a lot of experience and your talent agents says that, then dump them before they even try to sign you.  Early on, just be glad you’re getting something.  If you’re a working actor, then don’t waste your time with a crappy talent agent who won’t get you any good auditions anyway.  Consider finding acting management or another good theatrical agent – but don’t settle – or just stay with your agent or manager you’re with for the time being.

 4.  How do you feel about me promoting myself with your agency name on my submissions?

You would think that any agent at any agency would be happy that their acting talent is trying to do something for their careers, but funny enough, it’s not always that way.  Agents for acting and acting management can be odd – sometimes they are controlling and don’t want you to put their name on things they don’t authorize.  And sometimes, if you’re new, they may be trying to control their “brand,” and wanting to make sure they are seen in the right way that they want to be seen.

Just as an actor has a “brand,” so does an agency as do personal managers.  Bottomline, be sure you ask them how they feel about it.

5.  As agents helping actors in their acting careers, what do you typically do to help get auditions for a client that you believe in?

This one might be a bit confronting for an agent, so be careful when you ask it.  The main thing that you are trying to find out is if they only submit your picture to the casting directors for auditions or if they pick up the phone and call to pitch you.  Most of the time, the smaller agency will submit their acting talent, but not make the calls.  As a starting out actor, that is okay.  But if you have Co-Star and higher credits and you want to be film talent, you will need a talent agent who will pick up the phone and pitch you to Hollywood like you deserve to be pitched.

To be sure that the agents you consider for your acting career are going to be right for you, then make sure that that agent and their agency can give you the answer to these questions – or at least four out of the five and any others that are important to you.

If you feel you are not prepared and would like to have a session to get ready for an agent’s meeting, check out the Agent Meeting Role Play that I can work with you on. 

Meanwhile, get ready to go for it!

If you’re in Hollywood, you can try to get a referral from someone who good agents respect and like, such as a director or casting director.  Sometimes agents will consider a recommendation from a good acting coach.  But for most actors, you probably won’t have a referral that will matter to the agents.  So then what do you do? 

How to get an agent when you have no connections is really not that hard.  You first must get a very good, professional headshot that looks like you.  Then you have to get 8 x 10″ duplicates, of course.  Then you have to put together an acting resume, which has a very specfic three-column format for newbies and somewhat working actors and a two-column format for working actors and on up. 

Your acting resume should include notes about any credits you have, training, and special skills, such as athletics, dialects, accents, and languages.

After you get your actors headshot and resume, then you need to write an introductory cover letter that introduces you in the best way to the agents.  You need to focus on what would be most of interest to the agents about YOU.  For the most part, they don’t care about what you “think,” so to speak, but what are the “facts” of your qualifications.  This is where it helps to have some “sales” skills for your letter to the agents also. 

When you present that facts about your acting background, you can put a “spin” on things to make them sound the best they can.  If all you’ve done is a bunch of student films, then instead of saying, “I haven’t done any professional acting yet,” instead you could say, “I’ve played Lead Roles in five independent short films.”  The truth is they are independent and they are short.  If you’ve more comfortable with calling them student films, that’s fine too:  “I’ve played Lead Roles in Five Student Films,” sounds better than “I haven’t really done anything….”

After you write a cover letter about your acting career to the agents, then you have to pick out who would be best to send to.  There used to be an excellent monthly publication called “The Agencies,” published by Michael Lloyd and Lawrence Parke of Acting World Books, but unfortunately, both gentlemen have passed away and the monthly book is now out of publication.  However, you can still get a list from SAG as a starting point.  Smart Girls Productions also keeps track of all The Agencies and even rates them A, B, C, D by their level of clout. 

So you write your letter, then you pick out the best agencies to send to.  Then you send out the Cover Letter Mailing with your headshot and resume.  From that point, the Hollywood Talent Agents who are interested will call you directly.

What if you live out of town?  If you’re in the local Southern California area, then just do it the same way, but consider using the mailing address of a friend in the Los Angeles or Hollywood area so the Agents don’t immediately worry that you won’t be quickly available for auditions.

If you are not in the area at all where it is not feasible to go to on auditions or casting calls the same day, then you can do it two ways.  One is that you can tell them up front that you are not local but that you will be moving there or that you are scheduling visits for the second week of  xxx, say the second week in “February.”  Then you take it from that point and try to get your agent meetings from there.  You wouldn’t even have to have your flight booked yet if you want to put some feelers out.  But you would still say that you are taking meetings then to encourage the agents to call you for a meeting.

The other option is to not tell the talent agents in your cover letter that you are out of town, but make it appear that you are already in town.  You might have some finagling to do if they want to meet you in a couple of days and you’re down in Texas, but you could make it work.  You can either go on and book a flight.  Or you could tell them that you are out of town this week but will be back next week.

There are various strategies that you can take in your cover letter when you are trying to find an agent, but the most important thing is to go for it.  You will learn many things along the way.  And the sooner you get started, the better.

If you would like assistance with helping you get an agent, consider getting a professional cover letter mailing to agents.

And that is how to get an Agent For Acting!

We’re in the last 2 months of the year and it’s really easy to start getting in the mindset of winding down and forgetting about your plans for your career as an actor or screenwriter, and even your other goals, such as health and fitness as we go into the Holiday season.  But the fact is, we have almost two months left in the year that you could still achieve whatever you set out to do at the beginning of this year.

 One of the characteristics of champions is that when they are getting near the end of a race, they don’t wind down, they actually shift into high gear and pour it on. 

 What do you want to achieve toward your screenwriting or acting goals by the end of the year? 

What goal could you set that you would be really proud to achieve before the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2009?

 For example….

• Maybe you want to finish a polish on your screenplay.  Maybe you want to get your script reviewed and rewritten so you can kick off a marketing campaign at the beginning of the year. 
• Maybe you want to announce your new agent to all the casting directors in town. 
• Or maybe you want to get an agent before the end of the year.
• You might decide you want to come up with 5 new script ideas and figure out which one you want to write, so you’ll be ready to write a new script at the beginning of next year. 

Whatever it is, be pro-active now. Don’t slack off these last two months.  Keep playing strong through the end of this year.

Yes, enjoy your life. Enjoy the whole holiday season and your family and friends, parties.  I’m going to do the same.  But I also want you to really experience WINNING in your career. 

So right now, I invite you to set a goal that you’re gonna reach by the end the year that would make you thrilled about your screenwriting or acting career, and make you excited to kick off the New Year right!

What will YOUR GOAL be?

When I saw this, it got me thinking about my actor and screenwriter clients who want to be paid for their services – presumably all of them! 

So I have a question for you:  How much would someone pay for your acting or screenwriting talents?  Or anything else you do for that matter? 

For the most part, the most difficult part of an acting or screenwriting career is getting paid for doing it.  It’s easy enough to act in a play, a student film, or a no-budget film, but to be HIRED to do it is a different story. 

Same with writing.  You can get a video camera and shoot a few no-budget scenes, edit them with free software, and then post them on YouTube for the world to see.  Doing the thing itself is not so hard.  It’s getting paid to do it that is the hard part. 

So the question is, what is it that makes someone PAY for what you do?  And a lot of money at that?

Here’s the answer:  The reason they pay you (your audience, that is) is that they perceive a particular and unique value in what you do.  Someone pays for a Madonna record because they perceive what she delivers as being unique AND they like it. 

Someone pays to have you act in their film because they perceive that you will deliver something unique that’s worthy of paying for.  They also think that, in turn, others will also perceive it as being unique and worth paying for.

Said another way:  You have to be unique in some way, or more accurately, perceived to be delivering something unique that is valuable enough that the buyer will pay for it.

Let me break it down.  First, for actors:  Most actors fall in the category of what’s called a “commodity.”  A commodity is something that can be easily replaced with another similar item.

For screenwriters, it’s the same thing.  Most scripts that I’ve critiqued are actually okay, not bad.  But most of them could be classified as commodities, meaning easily replaced with a similar one. 

The problem with being a commodity when it comes to marketing is that you have little leverage in getting someone to pay money for what you are selling over another commodity, unless you are a name brand (meaning a star name actor or proven screenwriter).  Think of computers:  they are now commodity products.  The main difference is the name brand.  Most people prefer to buy a name brand over a no-name brand, even when they could get more for their money with a no-namer.  

There is more perceived value in the name brand commodity than the actual product itself, therefore most people stick with the name brands.  And on top of that, even the name brand companies are very competitive with each other, trying to separate themselves from the others in a sea of commodities.

As an actor or screenwriter, you are a commodity until you have a name.  It’s the chicken-egg story.  How to you get to have a name if they won’t hire you so you can build your name? Well, you have to do one thing.

 I’ll put it very simply: 

If you want to be paid to do your acting or screenwriting, you have to go to work on increasing your perceived value in the Hollywood market place.

It’s not about your real value or your worth as a person.  It’s not about how much money your movie would make if we could see into the future and really know.  It’s about how much the Hollywood marketplace perceives that you or your script is worth.  So you have to work on increasing the perceived value of what you provide.

How do you do that?  It’s not just one thing, there are lots of things that you can do.  Everything from being great at your craft, to being unique, to getting fans of your work, to being great to work with, and much more.  It includes all the steps in the process of branding yourself and making a career — and it’s not as elusive as you might think.  (Stay tuned for more insights on how to do this or check out Smart Girls Productions services for marketing actors and screenwriters as a starting point.)

To bring the point home, let’s go back to the $600,000 Mastiff… was that dog really worth that much money?  Who knows?  How do you even tell?  It’s a made up number.  The bottomline is that the buyer thought that he was worth it and she paid it. 

What is the perceived value of your talent in the market place?  How will you increase it?

If you are pursuing an acting career, you will very likely, eventually, find yourself wondering what you should do next to try to break through because it seems so hard.

One of the possible actions you can take, a possibility which arose only a couple decades ago and was conceived of by a company called One-On-One Productions, is to pay to audition for casting directors.

Anyway, what they did, which many other companies have since done, is to create paid workshops that actors can attend, a “class” type thing, where a casting director teaches you how to audition.  So you get to meet with them in this “class,” and you learn their little quirks about what they like and don’t like.  That way, if you should ever get called in to officially audition for them, you know what to do. 

The fact is that these “workshops” are basically paid auditions, and some people object to this whole idea.  It goes against the grain of everyone who’s ever held an office in SAG and every died-in-the-wool artiste actor.   But I, on the other hand, coming from a perspective of success and a marketing background, believe that if that will help you begin a relationship with a casting director which could later get you cast in your dream role, you might as well fork over the $45 or $50 bucks they’re asking for.

I’ve worked with literally thousands of actors who would love to be able to audition for certain TV shows.  And if they could get in the game, then they would feel an inner sense of peace knowing that they at least have a shot!  Many are upset because they don’t even get that chance.

One of my clients who started doing these paid “workshops” way back when put it very well when he said, “Hey, whether I like it or not, if that’s how the game is played, then that’s how I’ll play it.  If it helps me get seen by the casting directors, bring it on.”  He met dozens of casting directors at these workshops, followed up by keeping in touch with them through postcards, and went on to be a consistently working actor.

The bottom line is that in most competitive businesses, it is common to wine-and-dine and to try to buy someone’s business, so to speak.  When someone else has the upper hand and you want to do business with them, you need to put out a little bit more.  You need to somehow get the attention of that person so that they look your way. 

If that means that you shell out a little bit for a one-night stand – a paid casting director workshop – then so be it.  That is not too bad considering that you are then known to that person and can be considered for being cast on that show.

 When you compare the $50 bucks or so that that you spend for that against the fact that acting classes in L.A. run an average of $200 minimum to $300 bucks a month, I would definitely recommend that periodically skipping class to meet four casting directors or even their assistants might be a good idea

So are Casting Director Workshops good or no good?  I say go for it.  In marketing, you MUST get yourself known, even if it is to be known by the second banana at the office.  That’s better than never having any chance at all.  But then, I’m all about the marketing and having you work as an actor, not just practice your craft. 

If you want to work, you definitely need to be trained, but just make sure that you also start getting yourself out to the market.  Don’t get super comfortable in your acting class where it feels so good and safe.  Get yourself out there.

Once you meet these casting directors, make sure that you keep in touch with them on a regular basis by getting your photo postcard in front of them so they remember you when they have a role you’re right for.

Meanwhile, happy trails in your marketing.

If you’re like most of the thousands of actors and screenwriters I’ve worked with, you probably agree that networking is a key to success in Hollywood, but it probably lives more as a concept in your head than as a real thing that you do. In fact, my guess is that you probably wish it were not necessary, and there’s a good chance that it feels “fake” to you. Bottomline, it may seem like networking is really just trying to sell yourself and get what you want. But if you think of it that way, you are making a big mistake. Relating to networking like that will work against you because you’re going in the wrong way. How do you do it right, you ask?

Here are the Five Golden Keys to be successful at networking.

First Key: Change your relationship to networking itself. Instead of focusing on getting what you want, focus on getting to know people.

If you go to a function, you have to get to know people before you can do business with them anyway. So simply meet people and talk with them as your initial contact. Ask them questions, find out about who they are, what they do, and what they are working on at the moment. As you listen and converse with them, things you have in common will come up naturally.

Second Key: Set a goal for what you want to accomplish before you go to the networking event.

Make a plan to fulfill a goal, such as exchange three business cards with people you could do business with. Or perhaps, introduce and pitch yourself to five people whom you will also learn about what they do. Or it could be to do something like find a potential writing partner or to find a project you can be a production assistant on or an agent whose office you could assist in for a week or a month. There are many kinds of outcomes that you can set that could forward your career – it doesn’t necessarily just have to be getting someone to read your script or getting someone to let you audition for their film. One of the powerful ways that you develop connections is to work with people in other capacities first while not hiding your real aspirations.

Key Three: Make sure you have follow up system in place once you meet someone.

Once you get home, make a strong, clear choice about how and when you will keep in touch with that person and how you will approach them. Then update your contact list and put on your calendar when you will reach them again. Also set aside time for when you will prepare what you will say to them, whether it is to pitch something to them or to offer to buy them lunch or dinner. Then when the time comes, make your call to them. Key Four: Prepare and practice your pitch in advance of the meeting. You need to craft your pitch so that you come across as interesting to whomever you’re pitching to. Don’t just tell about yourself, but sell yourself by telling them something about yourself that they could be interested in.

For example, what I do, from my perspective, is I help market actors and screenwriters. But from your perspective, if you’re an actor, I help you get more auditions that you want or I help you get an agent who can get you auditions. For screenwriters, from my perspective, I help you create a Query Letter Mailing. But from your perspective, I help you get producers and agents to read your script.

When you prepare your pitch, prepare it for what is in it for the audience that you want to do business with and that you are pitching to.

Key Five: Have a strong system for ongoingly keeping in touch with everyone you meet whom you could potentially do business with, so they remember you and they think of you at the right time.

If you’re an actor, go crazy with mailing out photo postcards and messages, update people on your latest activities – whether it’s a new headshot (or just new to them) – or a play you’re doing, a new class you started, or a Guest Star Role that you just got cast in. Get creative about what you announce. If you are taking action in your career, there is always something to announce, I promise you. For Screenwriters, be prolific in coming up with ideas. You can keep in touch letting people know about a new treatment or screenplay you have. You can also contact them to let them know you love their recent project, or congratulate them on something. One surefire way to get them to remember you (favorably) is if you have a fantastic script and they read it, they will remember you for quite some time. It is really great if you also engage in optioning other writers’ scripts because that puts you in a producer role and can give you countless things to talk about to anyone. But that is a whole other ballgame, so suffice it to say that if you are thinking about doing that, it’s a great idea.

If you only want to write or if you only want to act, then you have to get creative about how you can stay in touch or make people remember you. But you must do it. You must put effort and intention in this area of your career.

So there you go. Five Keys for Successful Hollywood Networking. If you taking on mastering these keys, demonstrate patience, and not get too worried about seeing immediate results (although you might see fast results), then over time you will be blown away by the results you produce. If you would like coaching on developing your Quick Pitch for networking events or any aspect of networking, follow up, approach contacts and making requests, check out my Melody Jackson Coaching page  and call me to arrange a time.

Believe it or not, after reviewing and redoing thousands of acting resumes, I can tell you that there’s a 90% chance that your resume is not selling you as well as it could.  Even experienced actors who have worked in TV for years are playing down their credits and not making them look as good as they could.  I know dozens of ways to improve the way your credits and training are listed on your resume, and if you’re working, you need it to sell you in the best way possible.

Given that this is a blog post, I’m just going to cover one topic here, and that has to do with the billing, or the way the role is listed on your resume.  And I’ll cover tips for whether you have just a few credits or you’re someone who is very experienced.

The term “billing”  refers to how the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) credits you when you play a given role in a SAG film or TV project.  For TV, the main billing types are Series Regular, Guest Star, and Co-Star.  You also can get what’s called an Under-5.  There are also other billings like “Special Guest Star” and so on.

When it comes to your resume, you should use whatever your actual credit was per SAG, if you even know. Sometimes actors don’t really know what their billing was, they just know they had two lines on CSI or something to that effect. So for one, if it’s a SAG job, you need to find out what your billing was.  After you’ve worked for a while, you’ll start to understand why billing is so important.

On the other hand, you may not always know what your billing was, and if it were not a SAG job, then you may not even have any official billing, so you have to come up with something.  Whatever you do, you should make it sound as good as you can as long as you are still comfortable with it.  You don’t want to lie about something and then go into a meeting all pent-up and worried that someone might call you on your lie.  So just make it sound only as good as you are comfortable with.  Think of it like politics and “spinning” the truth.  You bring the focus to the good part not the bad part.

For example, say you have a line or two, and you want to make it sound as good as possible.  SAG likes you to use “Under-5,” meaning under 5 lines.  But instead, you could use something like “Guest Role.”  It just sounds better.

One of the tips that actors who have been working in television roles for quite a while miss out on is when they play a Recurring Role (not “Reoccuring,” by the way) on a TV series.  For example, let’s say you work 2 days one week, none the next, one the next, and so on, the idea being that you are Recurring but you don’t know exactly when.  You can jazz that credit up by putting (1 year) or (2 Years) beside the name of the credit.  This shows that you were on it for a while, not just for 2 appearances.  When you put Recurring with no note of years, you miss out on showing your experience if you worked on it for 6 months or a year.

If you are someone who is newer and doing extra work, you may wonder how to note that. It’s fine to put a few extra jobs on your resume while building your “real” credits.  In that case, if you were one of the extras clearly seen in the movie or TV show, then you might put “Featured” for your role if you don’t want to list it as extra work.

As to whether you should put extra work on it, if you haven’t done much other work, then go on and pick out a few of your extra jobs that you were singled out for and list it as Featured.  But don’t try to make it look like you were a Guest Star or something big.  Just put “Featured” and nothing bigger.  If an agent you’re meeting with gets mad that you put extra work on your resume and listed it as Featured, just tell them that you heard “somewhere” that that was how you were supposed to list it but that you are happy to take it off if they want you to.

This way, it gets you in the door, but you play just a tiny bit naïve about it to get away with it. When you get to a point where you have four or five speaking credits in the Television category, remove all of your extra work entirely.   Until then, be ready to tell a good story about each of your credits when they ask.

So that’s a quick tip for jazzing up your TV credits.  Film credits is a whole other story.

Keep in mind that if you have done a few plays, independent films, short films, student films, hosting, and so on that there are probably quite a few tweaks that will help your resume show you in the best light possible. 

If you think you might need a Resume Make-Over, go to Smart Girls Productions and they’ll redo it for you for a reasonable price.  They also do “Day Job” resumes and Day Job Cover Letters should you be in the market for a new “day” job.  Also, check back here for an upcoming ebook that will reveal to you dozens of hot tips like this one to make your resume show you off the best way possible, as well as have lots of sample resumes.