Five Things to Remember When Applying to Be Booked Talent
- Assure your contact information is up to date: Did you check your resume before you printed it and ran out of the house? Have you moved? Is that an old email? If the agency decides to take you on but can’t contact you, you’ve already lost work!
- Have recent photos/resume: If that photo is from five years ago and you DON’T look like that now, don’t use it just because it’s a good photo of you! No one should walk in the door and surprise everyone with how different they look from their photo. New haircut or color? You need new photos. Clients want to feel like they are getting to know you before you’ve even met. Up-to-date photos help create that connection.
- Make sure your online presence is representative of agency caliber: While social media is an outlet of expression, keep in mind EVERYTHING you put online can and will be viewed by employers, and this goes for performers too. Profanity, nudity, drug and alcohol use, and general persona are all taken into account. Whatever you chose to do recreationally, think about if it’s a professional representation of you when posted online.
- Do your research: Have you looked up the agency you’re applying with? You should have! See what they are looking for. Are you a good fit? Perhaps you have a talent which you don’t see represented on their roster, this could make you an attribute, or it could mean they don’t have work for your specific skill set. Be prepared to pitch why you would be a good fit for this agency.
- Follow Application and Interview Instructions to a T: One of the first disqualifiers is often that you cannot follow direction. Even if you may not think this is the case, not using the right size photos per requested format, or not attaching a Resume as a PDF when asked to do so can be instant disqualifiers. It’s OK to have questions; there is often contact information if you are on the fence. It’s better to ask than charge ahead thinking “My skills speak for themselves.” Directions well followed start off your entire relationship with the agency on the upward swing!
Whether you are a fire dancer, have some amazing acrobatic skills, or any other talent you know can wow the masses, with these extra tips up your sleeve, you can be sure you’ll have the utmost professionally edge and have all the advantages the industry can give!
