Thou Shalt Not Lie on Your Resume - Longtime readers of YourIndustryInsider.com are already familiar with this one, having read and taken to heart this post, entitled “Why You Shouldn’t Lie On Your Entertainment Resume.” The bottom line (and also the TOP line, for that matter) is that everyone in entertainment knows everyone and discovering a lie will almost certainly cause a recruiter or HR exec or potential boss to toss your resume in the trash and never consider you for another position again. Are we clear here? Okay, onto…

Thou Shalt Not Blow a Temp Gig or Internship - These are golden opportunities. Even working for FREE in entertainment (for neither financial compensation nor school credit) is a golden opportunity. Be focused, be pleasant, be hardworking… even if you think no one is paying attention. I guarantee you, someone will notice.

Thou Shalt Not Badmouth the Boss - This means the boss at your temp job, internship or free gig, as well as your previous or current boss if you are in a job interview. Never. Ever. Cause here’s the thing: When you badmouth the boss, it always makes you look bad. People will think you have a bad attitude. And if the boss in question is a notorious nightmare who everyone knows about, saying measured, professional things about your experience working for them will make you look like a rock star. People will think “If she can handle him, she can handle anything.” Who wouldn’t want to give that impression?

Thou Shalt Not Act Entitled - It’s not that you don’t deserve a glamorous job or a parking space next to the building or a high salary or an executive title… oh wait, yes it is. Or maybe it is. What have you done to earn these things? If you are just starting out, you will probably have to do the work no one else wants to do. You will most likely have to park far away from the office (or set) and make little money. You will probably have the word “assistant” in your title, too. (Smile! You’re in entertainment! )

Thou Shalt Not Pass Up An Opportunity to Express Gratitude - Whether someone is hiring you, giving you a raise, or just calling you back with an important piece of information, thank you is always the appropriate response. Develop a reputation for gratitude and graciousness and you will be on your way to having a sterling reputation. And having a sterling reputation is a great way to quickly move up the ladder and toward your big entertainment dreams.

When YII came across this story, from Reno, NV-based producer, illustrator, 3D animator, motion graphics and VFX designer, and  editor, Andrew Johnson, we thought it illustrated perfectly the mindset common to so many successful entertainment pros. Alas, not all of them have this kind of understanding and humanity, but if you can cultivate it young, it will serve you well in your career and your life. 

When I was an intern at a small ad agency very early in my career, myself and another intern did an interview of the founding family of a major (and famous) restaurant chain for a free resort newspaper. It was a throwaway interview for them, but they granted it nonetheless. We were seated with the whole family in the living room of their mansion. One family member unfortunately had MS and was very difficult to understand. But us two interns thought nothing of it and included him in our questioning, listened intently, patiently waited for his answers, joked with him and basically treated him like he was no different from anyone else. It didn’t even occur to us to treat him any different – in other words, we didn’t go out of our way to make a special case. It was just natural because he was part of the family and this business.

Less than a week later, the little ad agency got a call to handle all this chain’s advertising – changing the fortunes of this agency. The agency owner was told it was because of the character of his interns. I kept a little stick-on Maryland blue crab that was given to me by the founder on my car’s rear view mirror as a reminder that great things can happen by being a good person, no matter where you sit on the ladder. To this day, I try to answer every inquiry I get – no matter how basic or off-base to my business – with respect, patience and a sense of helpfulness. You never really know who you’re talking to and how they may change your fortunes. Plus it’s just being a good person.

(Note: This post first appeared on www.moveyouforward.com in March.)

I’m all in favor of people taking responsibility for things that happen in their life, but two recent discussions I had, one with a stranger and one with a friend, reminded me that sometimes it’s good to recognize when it’s not your fault.

The first conversation was during a job interview I was conducting. The candidate was in her late-20s and was interviewing to make a move from supporting three executives elsewhere to supporting the head of a film company. She was well-dressed, seemed sharp and somewhat confident, but in the background there was also something tentative about her.

To get an idea of the narrative of a person’s career, I always start my interviews (after a little introductory chit-chat) at their educational background and move forward to the present. This candidate had gone to a good school and had worked for the manager of a very, very successful rock band. (Think U2. The next band you think of after that is the band she worked for.)

I was impressed and it sounded like a good job to boot. ”Yeah, I had five good years,” she said with a smile. It was a joke made because after that, she’d had a series of career setbacks due to budget cuts and company closures. It was clear to me that she had been on a path to being an executive in music before the economic downturn steered her off path and left her feeling she was simply meant to be an administrative support person rather than targeting that “dream job.”

Nothing against administrative support people in entertainment- a great one is worth their weight in gold. And had this candidate been right for the job, I would’ve snapped her up. But long story short, I told her she wasn’t right for the job she was meeting me for and that she needed to get back on her path and find a job in the music business that would position her for the junior executive position that she needed in order to make the leap off the assistant desk.

The other conversation was with an actress friend who was taking an acting workshop and had an encounter with a sleazy old guy who claimed to be a producer but had neither credits nor internet search results to back up that claim.

Somehow, though, he had weaseled his way into being a recurrent guest at this workshop with the casting director’s blessing. The actress had one conversation with the sleaze, casually (!) referred to her husband and caused him to back off in a flash, no doubt looking for some other innocent young lovely to prey on.

The actress wanted to know what it was about her that drew this type of guy to her. “Are you kidding?” I said. “This town is full of them. If you are an actress, there is no way to avoid running into them. The trick is to get them to go away as quickly as possible.”

Both of these women were relieved by what I had to say. “It’s not YOU, it’s the economy,” I told the job candidate. “It’s not you, it’s the industry,” I told the actress.

And I am happy to report that after returning to her path, the job candidate quickly landed the perfect job in the music industry. And the actress, her mind free of self-blaming garbage, is confidently going about the business of being an actress, knowing that, while sleazy men will no doubt cross her path, she can make them go away in short order.

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It’s a tough time for the music business. Sales are down, largely a result of digital music sharing, the devaluation of music in its digital form, and the return to “singles” as the dominant format (as opposed to albums). But a few artists manage to thrive even in this challenging climate, including Cordozar Calvin Broadus and Robert James Richie.

Yes, the artists who renamed themselves Snoop Dogg and Kid Rock respectively have managed to stay in the public eye an impressive number of years. Some might attribute it to their larger-than-life personalities or their catchy music, but as far as what we can take away from their paths and apply to our own entertainment careers, it breaks down this way:

1. COLLABORATE

“I already have my audience,” Snoop Dogg has been known to say when approaching a fellow musician to work together on a project. “I want your audience.” Snoop Dogg’s long line of collaborators include Pharrell, R Kelly, Willie Nelson, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, Angie Stone, Outkast, John Legend, and The Pussycat Dolls. He also made a guest appearance on Kid Rock’s album, “Cocky.”

Kid Rock also has a long history of working with other artists, whether on his own records, their recordings, or recordings to benefit charities he supports. His most famous mainstream duet was with Sheryl Crowe, “Picture,” and it put him on the country charts for the first time. His other musical collaborators include Eminem, R Kelly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kenny Wayne Sheppard, and Keith Urban (with Sheryl Crowe on “Lean On Me” for the Hope For Haiti Now fundraising efforts).

For your entertainment career, collaboration is not so much building up your audience (unless you are a performing artist or other public figure), but building up your network of contacts and people who know how skilled and hard-working you are. Try connecting with someone in a different circle to propose a project together. You might be surprised at the opportunities that can come from it.

2. DIVERSIFY

In addition to being a recording artist, Snoop Dogg acts in movies and appears on TV (including in his own reality TV program), and produces records, videos, and (dare I say it?) porn (not that we’re advocating producing porn, people). He has a clothing line, and is currently the Creative Chairman of EMI’s newly-reintroduced Priority Records (which means he’ll be helping with product creation and branding for the label which has an extensive catalogue of early west coast gangsta rap).

As I write this, Kid Rock is aboard a ship full of fans traveling from Florida to the Cayman Islands. He has lined up other musical acts to perform and participate in other activities during his “Chillin’ the Most” cruise experience. (Bingo with Uncle Kracker, anyone?) (Seriously. Bingo. Brilliant.) Kid Rock also does film and TV appearances, and has his own clothing line (“Made in Detroit”) and beer label (Bad Ass beer).

What is your version of the “Chillin’ the Most” cruise? Maybe you are an aspiring talent manager, but you could also produce a short film or web series to widen your focus and expand your skill set.  Or hell, put together an entertainment cruise. How hard could it be?

3. GIVE BACK

Both Kid Rock and Snoop Dogg maintain strong ties to the communities where they were raised and have given back generously. Kid Rock participates in golf tournaments and other fundraisers to benefit local Detroit-area causes and funds a music scholarship at Wayne State University. Snoop started has own Snoop Youth Football League in the Long Beach area where he grew up and there are now chapters in many economically-challenged areas of Los Angeles. He also sponsors and participates in fundraising events for other charities around Southern California.

That’s right. These guys have prioritized building up their own communities in ways that are relevant and personal to them. Who helped you? You don’t have to be a millionaire before you start paying it forward.

If you really want to go for the gold star for “what we can learn” from these guys, why don’t you find someone outside your circle and put together an entertainment project not related to what you already do in order to benefit your community? All THREE lessons applied at once.

Snoop Dogg photo by punk17er. Kid Rock photo by Hartford Family.