Friday, August 10, 2012

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1249: what is the minimum number of people I should know?

Why are you asking about minimums? It sounds like you want to meet as few people as possible. I always suggest a minimum of 100 people to my new clients who only know a few people. That works out to meeting less than 10 people per month over the course of one year. I encourage them to be strategic about who they meet, in other words, focus on meeting people who can hire you or know people who can hire you.

That said, I'd like to address the "wanting to meet as few as possible." There are so man GREAT people in our industry to meet. I know what you're thinking, I've heard it all. People in each classification have their schtick: Editors: we like to be alone in dark rooms. Camera: There's a reason we're behind the camera. Writers: we write so we don't have to talk to people. Actors: I'm fine when I'm in charater, but I don't want to meet people if I have to be myself. And on and on...

I've heard every classifications' reasons for not enjoying meeting people including the old faithful "I'm shy." The bottom line is, it's necessary for your career, so instead of filling your head with reasons you don't want to meet people, ask yourself, "Who can I meet today, whose life I can change for the better?" Ask better questions and you'll get better results.


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...