👻 Have you ever been afraid to reveal your true self?
I can no longer stay silent on the realities of working in Hollywood and the inadequacies of a college degree. Don't worry, I end this article with hope and a real plan for your to get hired.
A couple of years ago, I received a text from a former USC student whom I absolutely adore. It read, "Can I call you quickly?"
We've known each other for about 8 years, and like many of my past students and clients, we are close. So close, in fact, a couple of years ago, he sent me a Mother's Day card for being his "Hollywood Mom." There is no greater compliment to a teacher than having a past student think of you as a mother figure.
Well, as any mother knows, a text for a "quick call" is usually code for "I have something big to talk to you about, but I want to keep it casual, not freak you out and I need your undivided attention for at least 30 mins." Fortunately, I had time and called him for a not-so-quick call.
Over the next hour he shared with me a very personal part of his life. I was honored he wanted to share this with me, but what moved me so deeply is why he felt it was important to tell me.
He said, "You don't just support my career, you support my existence." I literally started sobbing. I was so deeply touched because it was absolutely true.
Not only true for him, but for all of my friends, family, students, and clients.
Your careers are very important, but who you are and how you show up in the world matters first. In fact, I don't think a successful career can really take shape until you know yourself and project who you really are into the world.
I'm happy to report that this past student's life has been thriving ever since he found the courage to be himself and move out of LA. Although that might seem counter intuitive, his creative career has never been hotter!
While it’s easy for me to appreciate this quality in others, I struggle to find the same acceptance with myself. I feel as though I need to do another type of “coming out.” Here it goes: I am a contrarian, a political moderate and have values that are sometimes in conflict with popular narratives. If there is a Hollywood stance on something, I’m usually on the other side of the issue. While I rarely hesitate to share my opinions in private conversation, I’m afraid to be too vocal as it might scare off the universities that ask me to speak. But I can no longer stay silent on issues that impact entry-level Hollywood and your chances of getting hired.
Here are a few rants:
WGA & SAG-AFTRA STRIKES.
While I support all writers, actors, and creatives, especially the mid-level and entry-level ones, I don’t understand, for example, why actors are so angry at studio heads for making millions of dollars, and yet they don’t question a star of a movie making 20M+? How much does it actually cost to make a movie? Did anyone ever think that maybe the stars are taking too much out of a budget, and there is not enough for the rest of the cast? I don’t understand how the same union can represent the interests of staff writers & extras (lower earners) with mega earners like Tom Cruise, Shonda Rimes, The Rock, and Aaron Sorkin. It’s a little silly to me that people who have a net worth of over 100M are required to belong to a union when their unique needs and high salaries salaries are negotiated by sophisticated attorneys with each new project. Younger artists don’t have the backing of agents and managers and it got me thinking about who is really serving them for new job opportunities? I’m afraid that the economic and psychological damage to creatives in the emerging and middle classes of Hollywood, not the big A-listers, is too great for recovery. The strikes killed job opportunities and crushed a lot spirits along the way. Unions should serve the emerging creative membership and their greatest need is help with the first few jobs. Unions should include procuring employment for entry-level jobs in writer’s rooms & on screen roles long before an artist is in a position to benefit from an agent.
LOS ANGELES IS BECOMING TOO EXPENSIVE!
I don’t know why Los Angeles is so expensive! How anyone can start a career in the entertainment business making $18/hour without help from family, many roommates, or a side hustle on Only Fans? I’m not sure how much longer LA will be a desirable place live and work and if you aren’t already living here, I’d encourage you to think twice about it. I’m hoping that hot spots for creativity like Tennessee, Georgia, Utah, North Carolina, and other places will take off in popularity, not just for shooting TV shows, but also for anyone on the business side of Hollywood to thrive.
SHOULD TALENT AGENCIES STILL BE THE GRAD SCHOOL OF ENTERTAINMENT?
I don’t know why talent agencies and management companies who were so vocal about social justice issues and put up black squares on social media have been completely absent on the real injustice of economic disparity. We have been focused on black, brown, yellow, red, and rainbow when the real color that matters to all races and genders is green. I’d like these companies to drop the artificial barrier to entry and allow smart people without college degrees to be hired in entry-level positions. Billionaire and Hollywood mogul David Geffen famously lied about graduating from UCLA so he could join the William Morris mailroom where he built relationships and learned from the best agents. There are lots of successful people who dropped out of college or who never went. They relied on their own ambitions, and ambition is key for entertainment industry success. Today, talent agencies are considered the grad school of entertainment, but considering that an assistant works 3 - 5 years in an apprentice position before a promotion, can we consider agencies like WME, CAA & UTA a replacement for college? I can tell you first hand that having WME on my resume opens more doors than my BYU communications degree ever will. If I could go from high school to WME, I’d take that route in a heartbeat.
WHAT’S THE VALUE OF A COLLEGE DEGREE IF TAKES YOU A LIFETIME TO PAY OFF?
While strides have been made to pay assistants more, the root of the economic problem is college debt. Nobody should have to go into debt for a Bachelor’s degree for a career where horizon to pay off that debt could be decades. An entry-level position at a great company is 18-20/hr and it’s likely a grad will be in that position for 3-5 years before a promotion. Furthermore, have you ever heard an actor or writer say, “I’d like to thank my alma maters and the career center for helping me win this Oscar.”? Hollywood is an apprentice business where you learn on the job how to set a meeting, make a pitch deck, become an expert at clerical skills and most importantly, build relationships. You can start to learn these skills at an internship. I believe colleges should guarantee employment after graduation or at minimum, guarantee an internship while you are still a student. They should offer a course and show you how to get job ready (resumes, cover letters, interviewing skills, and networking skills) as part of your tuition. But if they don’t offer this, please don’t worry, you’ve got me!
HOW CAN YOU GET JOB READY FOR $35?
For the past 10 years, I’ve been teaching students how to get hired in their first jobs and internships in entertainment. I started teaching this as an adjunct professor at USC and have guest lectured for AFI, NYU, UCLA, LMU, Yale, Penn State, Hofstra, Syracuse and other film schools, classes and students around the world. Recently, my program was mentioned by LMU in The Wrap’s Top 50 Film School list here, as I put on my course Get Hired in Hollywood for their graduating students this May. LMU really cares about preparing the student for the working world!
While I’d love to speak at your school and get you job ready for Spring graduation (contact here if interested), some of you need help right now. If you’d like to get a recording of my 8-hour course, I am making it available for all of those who upgrade to a paid annual subscription of $35 until Oct 31, 2023 (that’s about 5 lattes in LA!). It’s regularly priced at $1995, but I want to make getting a job a little less scary and a lot more accessible.
Once you upgrade you subscription, email us at Hello @mygradsgetjobs.com to request the 8-hour course and workbook. We will email it to you within 24 hours only upon request.
I want you to be your truest self and go after what you really want!