Sending cold resumes

[Gaby]

I am near the completion of my apprenticeship and am beginning to search for work in the city I am moving to, which happens to be a place where I have very few connections. I was wondering if any of you have any advice on sending cold resumes to theatres?

[Maribeth]

Once you get to know your market, send your resumes during the "season" when theatres in your area do their hiring. In my area, that's usually around the same time that they announce their season (Jan-Mar).

When I do a mass mailing of resumes, I usually make a list of all the places that I would really want to work. Then, I try and do 3 or 4 a day until I get through the list. That way it doesn't become a totally unmanageable project.

I recommend keeping some kind of record of your communication with these companies. I have a spreadsheet- I keep track of when I sent a resume, who I sent it to, if I got a response, if I had an interview, if I got hired. It's easy to remember who I've contacted before, and which mailings have been the most successful.

[SMscuba]

When I finished my internship I put together a resume, cover letter, and a couple references. I googled addresses for all the theatres I could find in the area and sent them a packet. I looked on each individual website for either a PM or if they didn't have one, a TD. With smaller (or community) theatres, it varies who does the actual hiring. If I found a name, I addressed it to them. If not, I just sent it to the theatre. After a few interviews and a few jobs, I stopped sending out cold resumes because most of my jobs now are recommendations from people I've worked with.

[thelovelyLIZ]

I am near the completion of my apprenticeship and am beginning to search for work in the city I am moving to, which happens to be a place where I have very few connections. I was wondering if any of you have any advice on sending cold resumes to theatres?

I would echo what others said and specify that you should send hard copies. Your resume is pretty easy to lose in someone's inbox. I once sent a resume to a company's TD via snail mail. He called me and told me that he didn't hire the stage managers, but was so impressed I sent a hard copy he was passing it on to the person who did!

On a somewhat related not, find the theatre alliance/group in your city and see if they have events. I went to one and gave a resume to anyone who would talk to me, and almost every job I've gotten since has some connection to that conference.

[Gaby]

Thank you all for your advice! Appreciate it greatly!