Actor Resumes: Do you want to be the next Elvis?

by Career Planning 101
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Tips for Creating a Strong Acting Resume

As an actor, unless you have the charisma & talent of someone like Elvis Presley, you will have to 'apply' for an acting job, except that in your profession, it will be called an audition.

Even Elvis had to do some movie auditions despite being a proven music recording star. He saw himself being a James Dean or Marlin Brando type of actor, and had hoped for serious character roles, so he was never satisfied with being a `romantic musical comedy` movie star.

But what direction you take your acting career depends so much on how well you package and `present` yourself to the powerful people and decision makers in the film industry.

Your acting resume is one that casting agents take a look at first in order to determine whether you're right for the job or not.

It's an essential tool in your career as an actor because it shows your training, acting experiences and important projects you've worked on. Here's how to make an impressive acting resume that will get you noticed:

What your acting resume should contain:
- Your name, address and contact numbers.
- Your acting training, if you have any
- Your acting experience, including the title of the film, play or TV show you worked on
- Include other acting experiences like voice overs, commercials, etc.

Resume must-haves:
Keep a short but concise acting resume. A one-page resume is perfect and don`t forget to include a headshot. Better yet, use your headshot and staple or print your acting resume on the back so it's easy to review.

If your acting experience is short, make sure to highlight the major ones. If you have a lot, include only the more important assignments. Don`t worry too much if you only have a few projects under your belt. All actors have to start somewhere.

While a standard acting resume size is 8 x 11, you can trim it down in order to make it the same size as your headshot if your photo is a little bit smaller. Use staples to attach your acting resume to your headshot, using one staple for every corner of the paper.

Use at least a 10 pt. font to make your acting resume easy to read. If you have a lot of acting experience, try to include only the most significant jobs. You can also make different resumes, each one with a different focus in order to fit a specific part for an audition.

Resume must-nots:
Never lie on your acting resume, it could be found out. The acting industry, while huge, is well connected and documented so whatever work you'll write about will be easy to reference. You should also never lie about special skills or other abilities.

Don`t write a long resume. Casting directors are always in a hurry and don`t have enough time to read everything you've written. Make sure you include only the more important information.

Don't handwrite additional credits on your resume. Everything should be typed.

Don`t name names on your acting resume. If you worked with a famous actor or director, you don`t need to mention it. The casting directors will already know about that.

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Don`t gamble your life by relying on destiny to mold your future. Know thy self and know thy wants and needs. List them all down and work on them. Know the right path to take when it comes to your career planning as you take a plunge in life by learning from The Career Planning Toolbox.

Author BIO:
There is so much potential inside you waiting to be explored for you to be successful in your chosen field. With the help of The Career Planning Toolbox, you are bound to have a head start to your Acting career planning to reach for those life goals of yours!

We also have a free report download there that you can get to help you take the first steps in organizing your career path checklist.