– Why Your Resume Should Resemble the Front Page of a Newspaper

Actors should use the front page of a newspaper as a guide to both the layout and the presentation of their resumes.

Most actors use the same concept for creating their resumes that business people employ. That is, a simple summation of their experience, stats, education and skills, packed onto one page. Though that may work in their world, it’s a recipe for having a boring, unreadable resume in ours. There are two ideas that must be understood in order to create an actor’s resume. One, that it is a selection of your experience, stats, education and skills which not only tells the reader what you’ve done, but what your type is and where you’re going with your career. And two, that all this information should be presented in an eye-catching format and layout…like the front page of a newspaper.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It

Grab a newspaper and lay it out in front of you, we’re going to have a little tutorial. The top two or three inches, where the name of the paper is, along with their motto, weather report, contact info, etc., is called the masthead. Now, realize that when you bought this paper at the newsstand it was folded in half. And while all of the stories on the front page were deemed the important stories of the day, the editors still had to prioritize them. So, the most important ones, the ones that will help sell the paper, were placed at the top of the page; this area being called above the fold, with the remaining ones placed below the fold. Finally, notice that the font and the typeface size are such that the paper can be read while holding it 12 to 18 inches away from you.

The Sean Pratt Times

So let’s apply this to your resume. The space at the top, where you have your name, stats, contact info, etc., is your masthead. If that’s the case, then your name needs to be the biggest thing on that page; your name, stats, etc., being smaller than your name but bigger than your credits. Realize that this is the front page of the “newspaper” about you, not someone else. Next, if this is your theatre resume, then the first block of credits at the top of the resume, or above the fold, should show off your stage work. After that, below the fold, you can add any film, TV,
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commercial work, etc., along with your education and training. Also, here’s a concept from journalism that is useful in prioritizing your credits; a good news article will grab a reader’s attention in the first five sentences. Using this idea, you should arrange your first five credits so that they tell a compelling story; not only of what you’ve done but what your type is and where you’re going with your career.

Fonts and Why Size Matters

Here’s a short lesson on the different kinds of fonts.

• Serif – A font that uses a smaller line to finish off a main stroke of a letter, such as New Times Roman.
• Sans Serif - This typeface is one that does not have the small features called "serifs" at the end of strokes.
• Script - The letters or characters used in writing by hand, such as cursive writing.

On a resume, serif fonts are hard to read and script fonts are even harder! The only font you should use is a sans serif. Examples of this style are Tahoma, Century Gothic and Arial. Having an easy to read font is crucial to helping the reader scan your resume. Also, the smallest font size you should be using is 12 point. Actor’s make the mistake of trying to put too much information on their resumes, which results in having a paper awash in letters.

Finally, your resume must pass the “three foot test of readability.” After you’ve reworked your resume, print out a copy and hold it at arm’s length (three feet). If you can’t read it easily, then you have too much on there and need to do some pruning.

The copyright of the article Your Acting Resume 102 in Acting & Directing is owned by Sean Pratt. Permission to republish Your Acting Resume 102 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Based in Washington D.C., Sean Pratt has been a professional actor for more than 20 years. He also teaches classes on and writes articles about the business of the Biz. http://www.seanprattpresents.com/