Right now just might be the last chance you have to make big career moves, for the foreseeable future.
Ok, that may be an overstatement but the year is just about over and pretty much everyone in the industry has checked out.
That means industry activity has slowed to a trickle, so opportunities are limited at this time. While there are still a few productions that are actively shooting and casting, most are dormant.
However, there is always a small part of the industry that never stops moving, and because it’s the top tier of the industry, there are a few big opportunities to be had.
That is, if you position yourself properly to take advantage of the things that may present themselves.
Over the last few week’s we have been talking about how to do just that. If you haven’t started on that yet, the window is quickly closing but there’s always next year.
It’s a great time to position yourself to make big things happen in the new year.
See, there’s a window of opportunity that is quickly closing right now but there is another one that will open soon after that.
After the holidays are over and done with, most of the industry has a tough time getting back into gear.
So, if you can hit the ground running, there could be many opportunities for you, and some of them can be complete game changers for your career.
Professional actors don’t let times like this pass them by. They are skilled at being present when opportunity knocks.
If you want to build your career as a professional actor, that’s something you should master too. Here's where to start...
One of the most important things to do, especially as we move into the new year, is to have the building blocks of your career in place.
I know it sounds like a basic thing to do and that’s precisely why so few actors do it properly. It’s easy to think that you have those things all figured out, when they really require some additional attention.
Here’s what I mean...
The building blocks of your career are the foundation upon which your career is built. One of those is your headshot.
Be sure that your headshots are up to date and reflect the types of characters you are wanting to read for. At this point, most actors would say “got it! What’s next?”
After working with so many actors over the years, I’ve realized that most of them haven’t thought about the specifics of it in quite a while.
They are stuck in a cycle of trying to book anything at all, that they don’t work on aligning things like their headshots, with the types of characters they want to play.
That’s why so many actors have incredibly generic headshots that are easy for CDs to ignore.
On the other hand, actors that know precisely the types of characters they want to play can align their headshots with that character type, making it more likely for CDs to want to see more.
As this year winds down, take some time to think it over and determine whether your headshots are in alignment.
Another career building block is your network.
It’s also a great time to actively work on expanding your industry network, not just with other actors, but also with industry decision makers that can help move your career forward.
Set aside some time each day and work on building your network. Whether that means, you set out to connect with people in person or online is a personal decision that you will come to, based on where you are in your career right now.
Maybe, you already have a rather large industry network but you just haven’t kept in touch very well. Act as if you are building that network from scratch and come up with a strategy to get reacquainted with Casting Directors, producers, directors, and any decision makers that you have worked with in the past.
Whether you are building your network from scratch or getting reacquainted, it’s always easier to open doors when you have a stellar industry reputation. Here’s how I can help with that...
People are always likely to do some quick research and see what you’re up to when you reach out to expand, or get reacquainted with your network.
As we wrap up the year in the coming weeks, we’ll talk more about how to hit the ground running and take full advantage of the unique opportunities that can present themselves, while most of the industry is still waiting for things to pick back up again.
For now, get started on what we talked about thus far because when you have the fundamental building blocks of your career in place and you increase your visibility where Casting Directors and industry decision makers are looking for talent, things can start moving in your career very quickly. Here’s how I can help with that part too.
I know things in the industry are constantly changing, and it can sometimes be difficult to decide the direction you should go when it comes to things like headshots or deciding the type of characters you want to focus on.
Remember, I’m always only a comment or an email away. Feel free to get in touch anytime! I’m happy to talk things over, even if you just need to bounce ideas. I’ll do whatever I can to help because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott