question 191: I feel like I might be being pushed out of the industry. What are some ways to push back and say I am still here?

You can't be pushed out of the industry. That would imply that the industry has control over you as opposed to you having control over your career. Never give away your power like that. There are more people in this industry than you could meet in your lifetime. Everyday new people flock to Los Angeles to work in our industry. Look how many people's careers should have been over for seemingly unforgivable things, and yet they come back even stronger. For Pete's sake, even The Hoff is still on TV, tormenting us with song!

So let's chunk this down. Who specifically do you think might be pushing you out of the industry? Identify that person or people first, so you can diffuse the overwhelm of feeling like an entire industry is pushing you out.

Once you've identified the source(s) of your concern, you can:

A. Evaluate the circumstances and decide if it's "real" or if you're making mountains out of molehills.

B. Choose to move on and create new powerful relationships

C. "Push back" as you put it. (I don't particularly care for this option. Why waste time "pushing back"? I say PUSH FORWARD!)

Once you've decided which way you want to go, let me know if you have further questions regarding your new strategy.

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

question 190: How do I create my own web series if I don't have money?

Collaboration! I happen to know that the person who asked this question is an actress.

Because she's an actress with an idea, to create a web series, the bare minimum she needs is:

1. a writer(s)

2. a director

3. a producer

4. a camera person

5. an editor

On many web series, 2 people can be all 5 of those. She also needs equipment for camera, sound, and editing.

With no money, she'll be looking to collaborate with people who want to build their credits and skills/experience, believe in the idea, and want to create relationships with others working on the project. They will volunteer their time, equipment, and resources.

The little details of creating a project like this, that I'm not going into, will be discovered when you begin collaborating. You will probably need some money (for batteries, lunch, etc.).

BE SURE to have non-disclosure agreements when discussing your project as well as contracts for all involved. EVEN IF YOU'RE WORKING WITH YOUR BEST FRIENDS!!! You can even download these for free on the internet and make them fit your needs. Protect your project! If you want to make everyone equal partners in it, fine. Just put it in writing!

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

question 189: How do I get work in the entertainment business?

Before I answer this question, I'm going to ask you to read the archives of this blog. Start at number one, because early on, I was addressing many questions that dealt directly with getting work. Once you've read through the archives, you should have a lot of ideas. At that point, you will still have questions, but you'll be more clear and therefore, will want to ask me more specific questions that are the "next-step" questions for you.

I look forward to hearing from you again.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, the Greenlight Coach, visit www.theGreenlightCoachBlog.com

question 188: How many jobs do you need to have on a resume to be taken seriously?

People looking at resumes are looking for recognizable titles and people. If you haven't been hired by recognizable people and you haven't worked on projects that people know, it's really NOT about your resume. While it's always about building and maintaining relationships, when you don't have a strong resume it's ALL about the relationships.

When you build strong relationships, people will hire you because they like you and see your talent and/or potential. Having a resume will make you look professional, but the relationships will get you the job.

Accept smaller/unknown projects to build your credits/reel/contacts. People you meet on these projects may be the people with whom you grow into larger projects.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, visit www.theGreenlightCoachBlog.com

question 187: How do I get into the Union?

This particular person is referring to the MPEG (Editors Guild), but I will answer it generally because there are different criteria for different Unions. Here are just SOME of the entertainment Unions: SAG, AFTRA, WGA, DGA, IATSE (which covers most below the line unions such as Locals 600, 700, 80, and many many more).

So first of all, you have to research the website of the union you're interested in. If it's "hair and makeup" or "production design" and you don't know how to find them, check with IATSE.

Once you know what union you want to join, check their website to see if they have the instructions for joining. If not, call the union and ask to be connected to the person who can give you new member information.

Deciding whether it's the right time for you to join the union is a whole other topic, one I covered early on, so check the archives.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, the Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

question 186: How do you deal with a boss you can't stand? part 2

Okay, so I have more details from yesterday's question asker. He works in a "department" where his boss (the head of the department) is a screamer, who emotionally and even physically injures people. That said, his boss is hugely "in demand," so the person who asked me this question fears leaving because the perks of working in this department are: lots of money, good contacts for the future when he moves up in classification, steady work, and the rest of the crew are like family.

So here are some tips for tolerating your boss:

1. Immediately start building relationships outside of your "crew family" so that you may find yourself in an equally prestigious work opportunity with a better boss. Part of this is to be meeting people that make you happy and inspire you.

2. Start planning for your future by building a reel. This will make your current job feel like a day-job while you pursue something you're more passionate about. Create a 1-2 year plan to be out of there! It will give you something to live for (I'm being dramatic, but as I said yesterday, I've been there).

3. Because you said he is a screamer, but never mentioned you feel your job is in jeopardy, recognize that he's just a schmuck and his screaming is due to lack of management skills and most likely a small.......... sense of self. I know, that doesn't help in the moment, HOWEVER, on top of recognizing this, I want you to create an emotional anchor* that you can fire off when he's done.

What's most important is your health! Working for someone like this can literally be hazardous to your health because of suppressed emotions and stress. So you MUST find a healthy outlet.

*an anchor is a tool to change your emotional state. For more information on how to create an anchor, contact me or order my book And...Action! at Amazon.com

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, the Greenlight Coach, visit www.theGreenlightCoachBlog.com

question 185: How do you deal with a boss you can't stand?

Soooo many answers to this question. Unfortunately, this general question leads me to a series of more questions:

1. Do you need the job for: the income, the prestige, the education, the connections, etc?

2. What are the underlying feelings for your boss: unhealthy stress, anger, jealousy, resentment, fear, insecurity, etc?

3. Have you pursued other opportunities?

You see, I can advise you on how to change your perspective and make your workplace tolerable (Lord knows I have YEARS of experience doing that), but I need more information to understand why you're choosing to stay in a job with a boss you can't stand.

I look forward to hearing from you or anyone else in this situation in my comments section. More to come on this topic...

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.theGreenlightCoachBlog.com

question 184: I reached out to a mentor using your system and haven't heard back. Do I just give up?

If you're using my system, I'm assuming you've followed up and aren't just waiting to hear from the person. I usually suggest following up 3 times, the 3rd, letting them know that it's your 3rd time contacting them, and that perhaps they're working or out of town, and if they are interested in mentoring you, you'd be thrilled to hear from them whenever they're available, and if not, you won't be following up again. And thank them again for their consideration.

That said, since you're following my system, I'm also assuming you sent out multiple letters and didn't put all of your eggs in one basket, right? Right?....

Hmmmm. If not, get back on that horse and reach out to multiple people. All it takes is one YES to make your day and possibly your career : )

It's a numbers game, and if you only reach out to one person and that person doesn't respond, you can get very discouraged. And when that happens it can set you back and start the negative conversations in your head. Push through! There are people out there who want to give back, to contribute, and to share their knowledge. The right ones will connect with your requests.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.theGreenlightCoachBlog.com

question 183: I'm a college student and I don't know what to expect if I come out to LA to be a screenwriter. Can you tell me?

I'm so glad, that as a college student, you recognize that there are expectations to address. Too many people move to LA with unrealistic expectations and then give up quickly when they're not met.

My advice is to expect what you can control:

1. Expect to find a job that will give you financial stability (this may or may not be in the entertainment industry- see a previous post when I covered industry jobs for writers)

2. Expect to commit to a writing ritual- in other words how much writing do you plan to do and how often?

3. Expect to invest in your career- this may mean joining networking organizations, becoming a guild member, taking educational courses for both your craft and your business, and the material costs of having a writing business

4. Expect to update your material often, adding to your writing portfolio- this may mean new scripts or re-writes on older ones

5. Expect to be a business which, like a business in any industry, requires relationships, product, marketing, patience, perseverance, and a team (just to name a few)

Even though I answered this for a writer, this blog applies to all classifications in the entertainment industry.

for more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, the Greenlight Coach, visit www.thegreenlightcoachblog.com

question 182: Is the industry really slow right now?

This is a question I've been getting for YEARS! My response has always been the same. For the people who are working, it's not slow. Whether there's a lot going on or not, isn't really the issue, because if you're not working it doesn't matter. So basically, if my answer is "yes" then you can create an excuse like, "oh, well then that explains why I'm not working." Or if I say "no," you can beat yourself up with, "why am I the only one not working?" Either way, it's a lose/lose scenario.

Therefore, instead of worrying about whether the town is busy or slow, focus on what you can be doing for your business, daily. Get into the routine of working so you always feel busy. Have meetings, do set visits, and go to networking events.

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

question 181: I don't want to be friends with people I work with. I just want to be hired to do my job and have my friends separate. How do I do that?

I'm the wrong coach to ask this question because I'm not going to tell you how to do that. I'm going to tell you to change your attitude. I'm not saying you have to be best pals with the people you work with. You don't have to have family barbecues with them and spend your vacations together, but what's wrong with "work friends." For years I worked in offices, and while I didn't socialize with many of my fellow employees outside of the office, I was friends with them at work.

Everything in the entertainment industry takes a LONG time; development, pre-production, production, post. If people have to spend a lot of time together, they prefer to spend that time with people they like. Aren't you likable? If not, like I said, change your attitude. This sounds like a question with a built-in defense mechanism. Open yourself up to the possibility of working with people you like and who like you.

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