The Five Things Agents and Casting Directors look for on an Actor’s resume or CV

Every agent or casting director when looking at a CV or resume of an actor will first look at your ‘top credit’. This is usually the most recent thing you have done and from that information they are able to get some idea of your talent level.

Keep your CV and resume up to date, and if one piece of recent work is something which shows you in a stronger light than another keep that credit at the very top of your resume.

Your CV is telling your story and the more you can take control of that story the better.

An agent or casting director looking at your CV or at your page on Spotlight will make presumptions about you from the way you organise your credits.

If you have your theatre experience section first then the subconscious message you are sending out is that theatre is your main focus and your strongest area of performance, the casting director might not call you in for TV work. If you have your TV and Film work first then theatre is probably not seen as your forte.

If you have all theatre and no TV/film work then it is unlikely that you will be called in for any television work because they will think you are inexperienced at working on a set with a crew, and vice versa.

Think about what story your CV is telling about you as a performer. Think about what story you want to tell. Organise your CV to tell the right story.

Your skills are highlighting specific things which could come in useful when casting any project so make sure that you are 100% truthful with the skills you put on your CV.

For example: if you can’t juggle like a pro don’t put it on there, you don’t want to get asked at a casting and show yourself up. Believe me, I once got asked to perform some magic tricks at a casting because I had magic on my CV, I am useless without my ‘special’ card deck and so was an ugly mess!

Your skills are also adding some flavour about you as a person to your CV. Just like on a regular resume an employer will look at your ‘Hobbies and Interests’ section to understand you a little better, an agent will do that by looking at your skills section. Say something interesting on there, something which will catch the eye and give a little bit more of an insight into you.

If you can’t think of anything interesting to add to your CV then why not start an exciting new hobby right now and make it a goal to have that hobby on your skills section within six months.

A little warning – too many ‘special skills’ will make alarm bells ring. You don’t want to come across as a ‘jack of all trades and master of none’!

For more tips on headshots check out this article

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – your CV has to be pleasing to the eye.

Make sure that your spacing is correct, check your spelling (especially director’s names), check that everything is aligned correctly, use a readable font.

Remember that your CV is a representation of your professionalism, a sloppy and messy CV is sending out all kind of messages about you.

For more tips on fonts, layout and formatting check out this article

This always is unbelievable to me, but it happens – never rely on a nice photograph which is taken by family or friends, you need to have a professional headshot.

Having an amateur headshot is sending out the message that you are an amateur, it is telling an agent that you probably don’t have professional experience and that you don’t take yourself seriously as a professional just yet.

If you are just starting out then invest in a good headshot, it shows you are ready for the professional life. It is forgivable to not have a lot of credits on your CV, everyone starts somewhere, what is not forgivable is to use an unprofessional headshot it really is an almost guaranteed way to make sure your CV never gets read.

For more tips on headshots check out this article