Recession Tips From a Sometimes Unemployed Actor – Diane’s new Piece

Sadly, new actors (meaning anyone younger than Betty White) will spend much more than one hour hoping and overanalyzing the audition and themselves. This process will not help you land this job and can crush your chances for the next. At the very least we will do this until an agent or director or friend in the project gives you “feedback.”

Feedback is a gentle word for someone else’s opinion of why you didn’t get the job.

This self-flagellation will certainly be revisited when we eventually see for ourselves, who got the job I spent at least 3 hours on. And after many decades in the business, you’ll probably know this person. Which is it’s own special penance.

In summary, here are the Clift notes after putting myself through this insidious job-fetching process for longer than Lindsay Lohan has been alive:

Do your homework. Whether that’s understanding the script or the company you might work for. And if the job’s important to you, invest some money in your prep or intel as you are worth the investment.

Look appropriate for the job, in a way that makes you feel good, but don’t try to reinvent yourself. Reinvention is easier when you have an income to support it.

The interview itself should be the shortest and therefore easiest part of the process. Think of it like a first date that will be over and gone before you know it – so don’t save your best stuff for next time or there won’t be one.

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