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When I first moved to Los Angeles, I was surprised to find out how important it was to agents and casting directors that such-and-such actor had just worked on this other TV show. It seems to be a very good way to get an audition for an episode of X, to have just shot an episode of Y. Wouldn’t the producers of Y be more interested in fresh faces? Well, it’s not how the entertainment industry works. Or rather, it’s now how society works.

In Job Seekers Find Bias Against The Unemployed, a recent NPR article, find mention of the “numbers game,” which certainly applies to acting, and general discussion of how the working find it easier to find work than the unemployed. Ponder how this is another thing that is not unique to The Biz.

Article Five in my occasional series on things that many people in Hollywood talk about as if they weren’t true of other businesses or other cities. (For more, see Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV.)

Article Four in my occasional series on things that many people in Hollywood talk about as if they weren’t true of other businesses or other cities. (For more, see Part I, Part II and Part III.)

Things about The Biz and LA that are not unique, #4
If you are over the age of X, you need to worry about looking younger

Sorry about the “X” factor, but it’s hard to put an exact number on it. Some say if you’re over 25, you face this concern in Hollywood. Same say 30. Some say late 30s. Whatever the number is doesn’t change the fact that there is a number where things shift statistically, and beyond that number the nature of finding work changes. Some find that number to work in their favor, but many do not. I could talk about age in the acting profession at some length, but that’s not the topic of this article. This article is about the fact that job seekers in lots of other industries face a concern over age as well.

My post today was inspired directly by a blog post titled Take 10 Years Off Your Image. It’s aimed at jobs that have nothing to do with acting or anything remotely connected to it — but how apt the title is. I think most people in Hollywood would like to take 10 years of their image. I know youngsters who wish they could do that! And of course, I have also met some people who do not feel that way because they know they’re in their sweet spot, and/or they are generally contented individuals.

Speaking of the latter option, one online job discussion board was discussing this article, and the following wisdom struck me:

These [ideas to take 10 years off your image] could be useful if you are desperate for a job and need every advantage, but another philosophy is simply trying to be yourself, with honesty and integrity — you might not land as many jobs, but you may be happier and more well suited with the job you do land.

Read the article. Now! Do that while I … uh … go to the gym. Okay, honestly? And that whole integrity thing? Okay, the truth is that I might just do a few pushups here at home instead. Or watch “Family Guy.”

Thing Three in my on-going list of things that many people talk about as if they weren’t true of other businesses or other cities. (See Part I and Part II.)

Things about The Biz and LA that are not unique, #3
Actors need to be using social media

This one seems so obvious, that I wonder if it merits its own blog entry. But it’s important. A savvy actor, especially one that is not a household name nor nowhere near that, will engage in social media. Via Facebook or Twitter or such, actors can (smartly or stupidly) get on the radar of casting people, producers, etc. In fact, people assume that if you’re not doing this, you’re not being a good actor because a good actor does all he or she can to further his or her career.

Good advice, generally. Not at all unique to The Biz.

Check out this article from Financial Planning that was forwarded to me from IEEE Spectrum. (If you don’t know what that is, for our purposes it suffices to say that one of the E’s stands for Engineering.) Engineers and financial types and corporate people in general are hearing the same message: “If you’re not using social media–and using it well–you are likely forfeiting opportunities to make the connections that will push up the corporate ladder or get your foot in the door.” The only difference I can see as I read that article, from branding to egosurfing, is that LinkedIn isn’t all that great for actors. Otherwise, this stuff is the same ol’ same ol’. Here endeth the lesson.

Thing Two in my on-going list of things that many people talk about as if they weren’t true of other businesses or other cities. (For a more-complete introduction, see Part I.)

Things about The Biz and LA that are not unique, #2
Actors need to know what they’re selling

So many smart teachers, casting directors, agents and working actors will say that actors need to know what they’re selling. You have to consider your “brand” as you choose headshots, as you pursue certain TV shows over others, and so on. (If this concept is new to you, here’s an example of brilliant actor branding being used by a brilliant actor named Kevin: The kind of doctor I play on TV: tall, dark and handsy. Brilliant, just brilliant.) So, actors getting branding and typing advice are getting Good Advice — but it’s not at all unique to acting.

Consider this blog entry for freelancers, Are you up for a mental challenge? It’s published on Job Hacking, a site dedicated to pretty much everything but acting, and Dave says the hardest thing for (Corporate America) job candidates to figure out is “Stepping outside the boundaries of self, and into the world of how others see you.”

Another good article on the topic for general employees and not actors can be found on Mashable in this insightful article called Personal Branding 101.

So the process of figuring out who you are and how potential employers see you, is not peculiar to The Biz. Important, but not unique.

Since moving to Los Angeles, I’ve learned many things about The Biz. Some of these learnings keep coming up in conversation, and I’ve noticed a trend. The trend is that people in The Biz don’t realize that the same thing happens outside of the world of acting. So today I post Thing One in my on-going list of things people talk about as if they weren’t true of other businesses or other cities.

Things about The Biz and LA that are not unique, #1
College programs in acting don’t prepare you for working as an actor

There are numerous examples of things that are vital to be an actor in LA that don’t come up in grad school. So people say that MFA programs should ditch classes on Greek tragedies and substitute classes on [insert pet topic here: on-camera audition technique, acting for commercials, what you want in a headshot, etc.] because you have to know these things, but nobody learns them in school and furthermore, Aeschylus is worth jack shite when meeting with agents.

Rarely do I hear mention of the disconnect between the academy and the field in other professions. I got a graduate degree in electrical engineering from Cornell, and soon thereafter found myself interviewing for a job at a place in Utah that made PCMCIA cards for laptop communications. This was a typical job opportunity in many ways for somebody with a masters in EE. How much did I know about the details of the job? Squat. How much did they want me to know? Much more than that. How did they make me feel about it? Like sh¡t. (No worries, eventually I got a job in manufacturing at HP and become miserable there instead at the other company. My greenness didn’t bother HP so much. They understood.)

My point is that it happens all the time in many industries. Casting director Bonnie Gillespie agreed with me the other night. Apparently she got a journalism degree from professors that taught typewriters and had never worked in the profession. See what I mean? Not unique to The Biz.

Stay tuned for Part II, branding.