Seeking Work (she/her)

I have a BFA from a prominent institution and had a strong early career with internships and gigs at marquee Off-Broadway and regional theatres. Then the pandemic in 2020 and turning 26 in 2021 forced me to find work elsewhere for stability and health insurance. My question is, how do I get back? My resume feels less impressive than it was five years ago now that I'm further removed from the accomplishments of my early 20s and a lot of the people in my network have given me the remarkably unhelpful advice of "just keep applying to jobs." What do I do?

Dear Seeking Work,

Welcome back to the theatre! You’re already back. You just stepped away for a few years. And stability and health insurance are vital. Remember a career is never linear. Gaps or hiatuses are common and most glaring in your own eyes because you’ve scripted them to be deficits. Were there skills or experiences doing that work for stability that are assets to your profile? While yes you should apply for jobs, you can also approach your professional reentry in other ways. Networking can be a gamechanger. It sounds like you’ve kept in touch with your network. Let’s level it up. First, put your team to work! You’ve been seeking advice from your network, how about getting your network to be your hype-person? Because it doesn’t sound like you’re in an agent-oriented field. Oftentimes gigs are staffed through word-of-mouth and connections. Maybe before, people would not have suggested you because they knew that your non-theatre work took precedence, but now you’re back, you can be on the tips of their tongue again! Second, widen the net of your network. You can do this by asking for introductions or setting up informational interviews (this might be less important if you’re trying to get back into acting) with people in jobs or with career goals that you’re looking to position yourself for. Are their skills or classes that you might want to level up on? Those are resume builders, too. And if it’s shows, remember how it’s always about the balance of people, pay, project (and it's almost never all three at the same time) so you might have to forgo one or even two to gain a sense of momentum. It might feel like you reached a peak right before 2020 and that you’re scaling a mountain again, but remember, the terrain is always changing. 

Hustle on,
Fefu

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