Posts filed under 'entertainment industry'
I’m all in favor of people taking responsibility for things that happen in their life, but two recent discussions I had, one with a stranger and one with a friend, reminded me that sometimes it’s good to recognize when it’s not your fault.
The first conversation was during a job interview I was conducting. The candidate was in her late-20s and was interviewing to make a move from supporting three executives elsewhere to supporting the head of a film company. She was well-dressed, seemed sharp and somewhat confident, but in the background, there was also something tentative about her.
Now, being big on stories of all kinds, to get an idea of the narrative of a person’s career, I always start my interviews (after a little introductory chit-chat) at their educational background and move forward to the present. This candidate had gone to a good school, and post-graduation, had worked for the manager of a very, very successful rock band. (Think U2. The next band you think of after that is the band she worked for.)
I was impressed and it sounded like a good job to boot. ”Yeah, I had five good years,” she said with a smile. It was a joke made because after that, she’d had a series of career setbacks due to budget cuts and company closures. It was clear to me that she had been on a path to being an executive in music marketing before the economy steered her off path and left her feeling she was simply meant to be an administrative support person in any capacity in entertainment rather than targeting that “dream job.”
Nothing against administrative support people in entertainment- a great one is worth their weight in gold. And had this candidate been right for the job, I would’ve snapped her up.
But, long story short, I told her she wasn’t right for the job she was meeting me for and that she needed to get back on her path, find a job in the music business that would position her for the junior executive position that she needed in order to make the leap off the assistant’s desk.
The other conversation was with an actress friend who is taking an acting workshop and recently had an encounter with a sleazy old guy who claims to be a producer, but has neither credits nor internet search results to back up that claim.
Somehow, though, he has weaseled his way into being a recurrent guest at this workshop with the casting director’s blessing. The actress had one conversation with the sleaze, casually (!) referred to her husband and caused him to back off in a flash, no doubt looking for some other innocent young lovely to prey on.
The actress wanted to know what it was about her that drew this type of guy to her. “Are you kidding?” I said. “This town is full of them. If you are an actress, there is no way to avoid running into them. The trick is to get them to go away as quickly as possible.”
Both of these women were relieved by what I had to say. “It’s not YOU, it’s the economy,” I told the job candidate. “It’s not you, it’s the industry,” I told the actress.
And I am happy to report that after returning to her path just a few weeks ago, the job candidate has landed the perfect job in the music industry. And the actress, her mind free of self-blaming garbage, is confidently going about the business of being an actress, knowing that, while sleazy men will no doubt cross her path, she can make the go away in short order.
What have you been blaming yourself for? Can you let it go and move forward on your path?
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March 28th, 2010
It's Good to Be King
How many times do you think Denis Leary was told his dreams were too big? How many agents didn’t want to rep him, how many clubs didn’t want to book him? How many friends told him to maybe try something else? How many empty rooms he did stand-up in, how many hecklers he endured? How many pitch meetings were cancelled because the executives thought his career was over, when he knew it had just begun?
Think about that the next time you are watching his critically-acclaimed, long-running FX show, Rescue Me, or reading his best-selling book, Why We Suck. (Good job, Denis!)
April 16th, 2009
I know, I know. Enough with the Top Chef. But I can’t help it. It’s a microcosm of the business world. People trying to make it, to land on top, to get the big title and the corner office (or restaurant).
The season finale was on last night (SPOILER ALERT).
Carla had been gaining ground the last few episodes, really shining and showing what she could do. But on last night’s episode, she let herself be led out of her sweet spot by another chef. Carla’s insecurity made her doubt her own ideas. She went with dishes that weren’t “her” and… you can guess…
Stefan had been the star all season. It was his to lose, really. And the last few episodes, his confidence got the best of him, especially last night when his performance mattered most. He went with a fancy technique in order to show off, but one which didn’t preserve or enhance the flavor of the food he was cooking, and he settled on a tried and true dessert which the judges felt was tired and not-so-true and… well, you can guess here too.
Which lead Hosea. Hosea knew his strengths, he had confidence but not arrogance, he stayed away from a danger zone (for him, dessert), and he went the distance.
If you haven’t watched the show because you don’t cook or don’t like cooking shows, give it a shot anyway. It’s not about the food. Trust me.
February 26th, 2009
I love Madonna. I love all the Madonnas.
The tough little Michigan girl transplanted to New York who wore black eyeliner, countless rubber bangle bracelets, leather, lace, and sometimes a big, puffy white wedding dress.
The sultry, ballad-singing, wanna-be-taken-seriously singer/actress who was briefly married to Sean Penn.
The heathen rabble-rouser whose “Like a Prayer” was condemned by the Vatican.
The whip-cracking dominatrix who seemed determined to expose every inch of herself by whatever means necessary.
Evita… Music mogul…
It all becomes a blur.
Electronica creator… Lourdes’ mom and children’s book author… Madge… Guy Richie’s wife and Rocco’s mom… And now 50-plus rock-hard cougar dating a much-younger professional athlete.
She is all of these people in all of the various outfits and hairstyles and sometimes even accents. And even though we don’t go out and do complete style makeovers (most of us, anyway) we all have parts of ourselves, personnas, which often appear to be different people.
The difference between Madonna and the rest of the world (most of us, anyway) is that she has found ways to express her many sides to the world while we just keep them inside, for the most part.
But, if you think about it, you will see that while expressing these many sides, she has remained exactly the same person and pursued the same goals along the way.
She kept at the acting throughout, despite the mixed reviews. She kept creating music and live events that redefined what was possible. She kept shocking, and creating controversy (and publicity).
She has been true to herself, her values and her path, throughout her life and her creativity has flourished and her success has been astronomical. I think we can all learn a big lesson from that.
What side of yourself have you not shared with the world?
Can you let it out and make it work for you?
January 19th, 2009
Okay, people. This will probably be my last blog post of 2008. I know it’s a bit early, but nonetheless, it’s true. I’m taking this opportunity to introduce my recurring theme of 2009. I know some of you might get tired of hearing it, but others need to hear it as often as I can say it. Here goes:
There are jobs out there.
I say it a lot lately in person to clients, friends, unhappy grocery store checkers. I’m going to say it again with emphasis.
There are jobs out there.
Good jobs. Jobs you want. Better jobs, even, then the one you have or the one you are losing or have already lost.
And I am not saying this to make those who have been looking without success so far feel bad. Depending upon what you do, this can be a challenging market- but for others, there will be a brief period of un- or under-employment and then you will find something else. Something good. Something that maybe even pays more or gives you more responsibility or more fun or even all three.
Let’s get crazy while we’re talking here- it’s just us, right?- if you are unhappy with you current job, you can find another one. Even if you have a decent, secure job, you can actually hunt for a new job RIGHT NOW (well, wait until after the holidays– everyone is scrambling to get where they need to be with the appropriate gifts in hand) and be SUCCESSFUL in relocating to a position that is more fulfilling.
NO, you are not STUCK. YES, you have OPTIONS.
Take an honest look at your resume and call me if you need help with it. Think about what you want to do next and call me if you need help with that.
Let me help you make a plan to make a move in 2009 and then successfully execute that plan.
In the meantime, I am wishing you & your family happy, healthy holidays!
December 20th, 2008
Congratulations! You’ve already gotten your first crew production job.
In addition to calling everyone you knew in the biz to get job leads, if you lived in Los Angeles or New York, you bought a copy of either the Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday or Daily Variety on Friday when they publish their production listings, and you found the movies in pre-production and in preparation in your area. If you lived somewhere other than LA or NY, you contacted the local film board to find out about productions in town.
You cold-called every single one, always being polite and friendly and not being thrown off by the sometimes-abrupt phone manners of the production personnel on the other end of the line. You emailed or faxed your neat, well-written resume to everyone who said they might be able to use you and then you called to follow up until you heard a no or, finally, a yes.
How do you get your second production job?
On your first job, you follow instructions to the letter and do every single thing that is asked of you, you solve problems yourself if you can and notify your supervisor if you can’t, you jump in and help anyone who needs it, and you don’t complain ever to anyone. You make friends with the other crew members, especially the assistants in the departments you might want to transition into (the bosses are probably too busy to be your friend), and you stay in touch with everyone who might be able to hire you in the future and everyone who tells you they might know someone who can use you.
And, in case you’re wondering, that’s also how you get your second production job.
August 26th, 2008
Or, if you prefer, “Yahoo” yourself.
Do you have an online presence? Is it the presence you wish to have?
If you have no online presence, you don’t exist. Well, to be fair, you do exist, of course, but you don’t exist to anyone who hears your name and wants to know more about you. They’re not going to call your mom, are they?
Start with LinkedIn and go from there. Create a profile. It won’t take that long, but it should be as thorough as possible and reflect the you who you want to present to the outside world. If that’s all you do, fine. You now exist.
But what if you do an online search for yourself and it’s not reflective of the you who you want to present to the world? Even your private pages, such as those on Facebook and Myspace, can sometimes be viewed by people you have not made friends with.
I was once doing a search for an executive assistant and I saw on someone’s myspace page where they described themselves as moody and seemed rather committed to staying that way. That person’s resume was in the garbage in about ten seconds.
So clean up your act or get an act if you don’t have one, and if there are things online that you cannot get taken down (party photos of you posted by other people, poorly thought-out or obscene comments made to blogs, etc.), your only option is to start adding content that shows you in the best light. Professional profiles, well thought-out comments to other people’s blogs, even articles about topics you are passionate about posted to websites can push the bad stuff down the page on a search of your name.
And if you don’t have the time, the skills, or the inclination to get an online presence that gives you a professional leg up, you always have the option to hire someone to do it for you, to write your profiles, your blog comments, your articles. As someone who has ghostwritten online content, I know you wouldn’t be the first and it would be worth it.
August 22nd, 2008
I run into this a lot with my clients who are just out of college or grad school and are looking for their first all-important “career” job. These grads get frustrated because they want to work at such & such a type of company or even a specific company and their personnel agency or headhunter (aka executive search professional) keeps sending them on interviews for completely different types of jobs.
Okay, here’s the deal…
Personnel agencies and headhunters don’t work for you.
Their clients are the companies they work for who pay them a commission to find someone appropriate to fill a specific job. They are not going to call Yahoo and pitch you as a candidate in case there is a suitable opening for you. They may want Yahoo’s business, but they won’t be using you to get it.
So what do you do if you have very specific needs- say, a company that you have been dying to work at?
If their website doesn’t contain a job board, you can call the company and schmooze the receptionist into telling you who at the company is responsible for filling the company’s openings. Contact them directly with a cover letter that is specific (about why you want to work at that company and what you have to offer for likely openings) and a resume that shines like a well-polished gem.
Be gracious and passionate and eye-catching and convey the unique qualities that you possess that make you someone they shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to at least interview. (Hire someone to write that cover letter and resume if you are not able to get it done right- it is worth the effort and expense if you really want to get your foot properly wedged in the door to your dream company).
Follow up via phone with the internal person and if they tell you there are no openings, ask for an informational interview to find out about the field, companies like that one and how to get the right opportunity at the right place. You never know. You could end up with a job out of that interview and, at the very least, you will have good solid insider information to help you on your search.
Be gracious with the personnel agency, too, and don’t rule out the possibility that one of their clients may have the exact right position for you. But take my word for it- the agencies don’t stay in business by landing you your dream job. That’s YOUR responsibility. When the two coincide and they find you your dream job, that’s excellent. When they don’t, candidates often get frustrated. Instead, they should just move along.
July 14th, 2008
When I tell people who are already in the entertainment industry that one of the things I do is help recent grads and others get jobs in the entertainment industry, they often ask me, with tongue only sort-of planted in cheek, if I can help them get OUT of the entertainment industry.
If you aren’t in entertainment, then you might think they must be kidding. But, alas, they are not. Here are some reasons people might want to get out of entertainment:
THE PAY when you first start out, especially when you are in support positions, can be terrible.
THE PEOPLE in the industry aren’t all nice, reasonable or even sane.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT isn’t always something to be proud of.
THE HOURS are sometimes long and unpredictable, sometimes even brutal and around-the-clock.
THE PHYSICAL TOLL is often too much. The physical nature of the job, as in the case of many crew positions (camera department, art department, costumes, electrical, etc.), makes it difficult for people to continue the work past the point in their lives when they are young and hungry.
The good news- or maybe just the telling news- is that those entertainment industry veterans who ask me about getting out of the industry rarely do. What keeps them there? What is the upside?
THE PAY when you get established can be very good.
THE PEOPLE in the industry are often some of the most generous and creative you will ever meet.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT is sometimes something you can be very proud of.
THE FREEDOM you have when you are freelance to take time off when you want to can make up for the long hours when you do work. You are ultimately your own boss.
THE PHYSICAL TOLL can often be worked around. When you reach a certain level, you can hire people who are young and hungry to do the heavy lifting.
And when all else fails, there’s always THE SWAG. I am right now wearing a FIGHT CLUB tee shirt that I received when I worked as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Producer of FIGHT CLUB.
I also own a MR. & MRS. SMITH baseball cap from my tenure with his company. And maybe even a FREE WILLY plushy toy. Can you imagine??
So to those who are thinking about getting into the industry: I hope this gives you an idea of what you are getting- and not getting- when you get into the biz. Because I’m not giving you my FIGHT CLUB tee shirt. No way.
July 7th, 2008
