Getting Started in the Industry

Follow-Through

Follow up calls, thank you notes, and email replies are consequential actions in your initial steps to getting representation and work. In addition, the organization and commitment such actions require will prepare you for when your child is working. Proper communication between you and those hiring your child will always be beneficial.

• Plan to make follow-up calls about a week after you submit resumes/headshots. ONLY follow-up on those submissions that were direct referrals. If you don’t get a response from those you submitted to without a reference, resubmit at a later time and include any new classes or jobs your child has completed in the cover letter.
• Send thank you notes as soon as possible after meeting with potential agents, managers, or casting directors. You don’t need to send gifts; a note is sufficient.
• Maintain and check your calendar regularly. Keep a record of who you spoke with and what was said. A calendar with a notes section is helpful for this so that you may draw upon these notes when follow-up calls are made.
• While on the phone with potential agencies, find out which person(s) are in the children’s division and try to make an appointment for an interview. Ask if they have “open or group calls” and if you are able to attend.
• Be friendly, not pushy. If you haven’t received a response, or if you were turned down, NEVER take it personally. It might just be that this agent doesn’t have an opening at the time, and you can always resubmit again in a few months. Meanwhile, there are plenty of other agents you can submit to.
• DON’T GIVE UP. If you do not hear from any interested agencies in the first round of submissions, you may need to consider re-doing your photos and/or resume.

“If they throw you out the front door, you go in the back door, and if they throw you out the back door, you go in the window, and if they throw you out the window, you go in the basement . . . and you don’t EVER take it personally.”

– Jeffrey Katzenberg, Dreamworks SKG