Friday, September 30, 2011

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 943: What are the attributes of being fearless?

The whole question read: You mentioned that most people take 2-5 years to build a foundation, unless you're fearless. What specifically do you mean by fearless? What is an attribute of that?

When I talk about the timeline of building a foundation, I'm referring to over 1000 people whom I coached one-on-one over a 7 year period. Based on their results, I saw how many careers began taking off after 2 years of focused business building work, and those who struggled more but never gave up began seeing the payoff at the 5 year point.

Then there were the exceptions; "the fearless ones." These were the people who had simply needed me to give them the tools, a plan, and strategies for achieving their goals. The fearless people simply went for it. I didn't hear any excuses about "why they couldn't or shouldn't do something," they had no fear about asking contacts for help or making requests of them, they had no fear around networking or getting mentors, and they were all about taking action. The more I could give them to do, the better... and they had the results of those actions quickly.

Now, that said, who knows if they were completely "fearless," the point is, if they felt the fear, they acted in spite of it. To give an example of how quickly the "fearless" got results, I had multiple experiences of people setting up appointments with me with the goal of getting work, and just by doing the pre-work (and fully committing to the task at 100%) they got work before our meeting and had to cancel.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 942: If I'm just breaking into the biz should I quit my job?

My personal opinion is not unless you have enough contacts to hire you in the "biz." There is nothing wrong with maintaining your financial stability while building relationships. The key is to find the time to build new relationships and maintain them while in a job. You are basically using the same time management skills you'll be using once you're working regularly in the entertainment industry, and need to maintain your relationships while you're working.

If you have more questions about breaking in and who to target, let me know.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 941: If I've been an actor for 10 years and now want to direct TV

...But I haven't had a hit show so nobody knows me. Can I do it?"

the beauty of this industry is anything is possible. There are no rules. That said, breaking into tv as a director is a HUGE undertaking. You will need:

1. An outstanding director reel
2. A-List TV director mentors
3. TV Studio Executive advisors
4. A clear understanding of the job and the politics
5. (The outside-of-the-box method) a hit show that you direct independently

Obviously, there is a lot more than this simple answer, but if you're not committed to fully going for those 5, there's no point in going into it further. If you are committed, contact me and we can get you started on a plan of action!

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 940: You said something about a business card barrage. What were you talking about?

Ah yes, the "business card barrage." I was referring to the time at the end of an event or a Q &A, when the "guest(s) of honor" stays after to meet & greet. There is a large portion of the audience who hand the guest(s) their business card, sometimes without even a "hello."

It also happens at networking events, when certain people walk around the room and hand their card to every person, without an introduction. Now if someone was doing that with hundred dollar bills, it would be welcome. Business cards are another story. They are NOT a substitute for you. The purpose of a business card is so that a person can follow up with you AFTER you create a relationship. Handing someone a business card who doesn't know you serves no purpose. People have to know you, like you, and trust you before they'll hire you, so to hand them a card and walk away is like making a cold call, not to mention unprofessional.

Instead, focus on meeting a smaller number of people and spending time talking to them before exchanging cards.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 939: What's more effective, phone calls or emails?

Here's how the actual question read: "In our currently technological and networked world, where do phone calls come in? How important are they now that it seems many people prefer to read and respond vs. talk on the phone?"

My advice is to ask people how they would like to be followed up with. As you stated in your question, people prefer to respond to emails. If you are finding that to be true, then that's how you want to stay in touch.

That said, I've always coached that the order of most effective to least effective (for most people) is: Best- face to face, then- phone, and least- email. The reason being is because of the way humans communicate. We develop stronger rapport in person (how many ended friendships started with a misread emoticon in an email?).

Communication is 7% the words, 38% your tonality (how you say the words), 55% physiology. In an email, all you have are the words, so the majority of communication is lost and can be misunderstood.

Respect your contacts' wishes, and when ever possible, go face to face or phone.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 938: How do I get over feeling deflated when I reach out to people who don't respond?

There are many things you can reach out to others for in our industry; help, a job, services, mentorship, "Friend"ship, advice, referrals, an audition, an interview, and on and on...

And there are multiple responses you can receive; yes, no, I can't but I know someone who can, "accept," a counter offer, and ignore...

Obviously, no is always hard to hear, and the counter offers aren't always what you had in mind, but being ignored seems to be one of the hardest to handle. A lack of response is worse than a "no" because at least a "no" is clear.

But a lack of response, that just makes the little voices in your head scream, doesn't it? I bet you can come up with anywhere between 3 and 25 reasons WHY they aren't responding, all of which you are the villain or the fool. You rethink your strategy, you rethink your actions, and you rethink what you just thought. This is called 'spinning' and it's a terrible state to be in.

It's particularly bad because, like a spinning top, it can keep spinning and spinning and you never know when it will slow down and finally stop.

A by product of spinning is self doubt. You question the words you used in your request, you question the person you made the request of, and you question if you'll ever put yourself out there again. Is it worth it to feel this discouraged?

Let's leave our industry for a moment and look at a situation that is happening to many families right now. This particular family consists of a father/husband, mother/wife, and 3 children under the age of 10. They have a mortgage on a house. They have a lot of credit card debt. The husband/breadwinner lost his job over two years ago and has not been able to gain employment since. The wife has been taking care of the children and unable to work. They tried to sell their house. Can you imagine every job application that has been ignored in the past two years? How many times they've sat in a bank and been told no? How many times they've tried to lower their interest rates and been told no? How many people have looked at their house and said no? How many times lack of money has forced them to look at their children and say no? They stand to lose everything. For a family with no health insurance and a sick child who needs expensive medicine it can literally be life or death.

I've worked in our industry a long time. I've been told no by agents, casting directors, production companies, network and studio executives, mentors, friends. IT'S NEVER EASY and IT'S NEVER FUN.

But it does get easier when you put it in perspective. A no, from a potential mentor isn't life or death. A no on a job isn't life or death... although if you're in entertainment and expect your only income to come from your talent, you could find yourself in the same position as the family above.

So do you need thicker skin? It's not a matter of how thick your skin is. It's a matter of understanding the nature of our industry. For every yes there can be 100 'no's. Are you willing to be okay with that? There are easier industries to make a living in. Would you be able to give up your dream? If you don't want to give up your dream you have to be okay with the rejection ratio.

Do you have to keep pounding on doors? I don't know about pounding, but yes, you have to keep knocking, because you never know which one will open. The beauty is, when the right one does open, it feels so good, it far outweighs the deflation of the 'no's.

Patience and perseverance are two of the most important mindsets you can master in entertainment. You must believe in yourself and your dream more than the the spinning thoughts that your mind creates when you're ignored or rejected.

For that family, the husband and wife wake up every day with a clear motivation: SURVIVAL.

What is your motivation that will get you up every day, ready to face the good the bad and the deflating? Because if your motivation isn't stronger than your fear of rejection, your will to succeed will be chipped away until it is no more.

So, to end this on a positive note, focus ALL of your attention on what motivates you to succeed? How will you feel when you do? What will you be able to do when you have reached the level of success you desire? Who can you help? Whose lives will you affect? How will your life change?

Stay focused on these questions until you have a POWERFUL motivation statement, that you can read every time you feel deflated and you will bounce back faster and faster until the 'no's become the driving fuel for you to strive even harder. Not only will it build your confidence, it will build your character. Because those who succeed have this in common, they:

NEVER EVER GIVE UP!

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 937: If I worked in one area for a long time and want to reinvent myself, how do I convince people I can do it

Be able to do it. If you can do the skill or craft you're transitioning to, you don't have to convince anyone. You can do it. My advice is to have an authentic story about why you decided to make this transition at this time. People love a great story and they love people who take risks to pursue their passion.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1280: I grew up in India and as a result English is my second language (cont'd)

"I grew up in India and as a result English is my second language. I  am looking to improve my comprehension when I read my text book...