How to Job Hunt, Win LinkedIn & Beat the AI Filter: Survival Mode Gets Real
The Hollywood Resumes founders’ real talk on telling your career story
I write about TV from L.A. My Summer Sellers’ Guide revealed what shows ABC, Hulu & FX, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon, HBO & HBO Max, Peacock and Netflix want to buy, and I reported on Gen X Hollywood’s career crisis. Reach me at elaine@theankler.com
Hello from Los Angeles, where if you have not yet melted from this god-awful heatwave, then congratulations on your continued survival.
“Survival” really is the word du jour in the industry these days, isn’t it?
You’d be forgiven for feeling stressed from the run of the last few years in this industry, particularly after the Friday afternoon news dump that a newly merged Paramount-Skydance is looking to shake off between 2,000- 3,000 employees, starting in early November — a significant portion of its 18,000-plus global workforce. (David Ellison’s Skydance has more than 500 employees globally, according to its site.)
That means another mass of people working in entertainment looking for a new job by the holidays, joining thousands of others already on the market.
“The few people I’m working with who have jobs are far outnumbered by those I know who do not,” says leadership coach and 3CG Ventures affiliate partner Karen Horne, a former Warner Bros. Discovery exec who notes the “continued and very valid concerns over the continued contraction in the entertainment industry.”
Cindy Kaplan and Angela Silak Vargas of Hollywood Resumes have spent the past decade offering guidance on resume and cover letter writing as well as career coaching to entertainment clients (entry-level up to senior-level) who work across TV, film, production and marketing. Both women come from the entertainment world themselves — Silak Vargas was most recently a creative exec at Apple TV+ from 2020-2024, while Kaplan is a comedy writer and director of the JITC Hollywood Bureau whose work has appeared on Disney Jr. Their clients have ultimately landed at Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and other major entertainment companies.
Amid the recent slump and rounds of layoffs, they’ve had an influx of clients who, after a long period of feeling stable in their jobs, are feeling insecure and looking for career coaching.
“We’ve seen a lot more people at that mid and senior level who’ve just maybe gotten comfortable in a role or a company for a long time, and then work is drying up, or they’ve been experiencing layoffs,” says Kaplan.
But there are opportunities amidst the ruins.
If you’re looking for work at a studio or production company, there are smart, strategic ways to bolster your efforts so you don’t feel like you’re paddling into the LinkedIn abyss.
I’ll share below earlier reporting I’ve done about where I’ve seen job opportunities shift in Hollywood; what companies are signaling where future hiring lies; and the unique position Gen X finds itself in.
But today, I’ve also got targeted guidance from Kaplan and Silak Vargas to get your career moving (or protect the one you have).
You’ll learn:
Coaches’ top advice for framing your experience as you hunt
Scripts and words to use that put your work in the best light
Why chasing the latest trend in entertainment can backfire
How to make your resume “a story that really talks”
Tricks for getting past the AI tools that filter resumes for hot jobs
When to use AI in your job search — and when not to
Smarter ways to tap your network when you’re between gigs
How to get someone’s attention — in a good way — with a cold outreach
The key difference between your resume and your LinkedIn profile, four ways to make the platform work for your job search, and how to avoid “LinkedIn trauma”
How to position yourself for opportunities outside of Hollywood