Whether you just need some time between jobs, or the search for your next job is taking longer than you'd like, put your time to good use. Take classes, polish up your portfolio, go to industry events, network - go to the zoo and sketch! Enrich yourself and become better prepared to meet your next professional challenge.

Don't let your cover letter and resume become another piece of "junk mail." The cover letter is a sales tool - use it
to sell your knowledge, skill and experience. Make it clear that you understand
the needs and goals of the company and that you can hit the ground running
when you are hired...

The new year is a time for making plans for what you want to accomplish. I
used to make resolutions, which were quickly given up on before the month of
January was even over. Now, I prefer setting goals. Goals are dreams with
deadlines.

If you are an artist, it is essential that you have an outstanding portfolio and demo reel. The purpose of the resume, portfolio and demo reel is to get you an interview with someone who can hire you. They are marketing materials--prepare them with care.

"You'll never make it in this business, so you might as well get a
regular job at a bank or something." If you are still reading, that's
good because you are going to hear that a lot, whether you're new in the
business or a veteran. From anyone, anywhere, anytime. If you have
persistence and drive you will make it in this business...

In this age of email, many of us have forgotten the fine art of how to use
the phone. I'm on the phone all day long and people with poor phone
etiquette make my job difficult. Here are some career-enhancing tips for
good phone manners

It's bound to happen to you sooner or later. What should you do when you
lose your job? Here are some tips to landing a new job...

As a recruiter, career coach, and business consultant I have seen literally
thousands of resumes. I get three or four a day on a slow day. Here is what
bugs me the most...

I recently got a message in a fortune cookie--"A wise man knows everything.
A shrewd one, everybody." That message is the essence of networking.

You've heard it before. To get a good job in the entertainment industry, you
have to know someone. But that's okay, because you do know someone. And that someone knows someone.
If you have enough someones in your network, you can get a good job. This
month I am going to tell you what networking is and how it works. Next month
you'll read about how to do it.