Film Resume Example

Whether you’re new to film or a seasoned professional, you need a resume that showcases your creativity, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.

Follow these tips to create an effective film resume:

1. Highlight your film resume skills

Film professionals need more than creative skills to be successful. Employers for jobs in film seek proficiency in various technical skills, from video composition to sound design.

In the skills section of your resume, include any experience with technical equipment or industry software. Also, include some relevant soft skills — soft skills like collaboration, communication, and adaptability are desirable for film professionals and help employers see how you’ll fit into the team.

Here are some common film skills to include in your resume:

• Script analysis
• Film and sound editing
• Cast and crew management
• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Final Cut Pro
• Preproduction software (StudioBinder)
• Editing (photo, video, sound)
• ProTools
• Storytelling
• DaVinci Resolve
• Budgeting
• Collaboration
• Casting
• Set design
• Location scouting
• Communication skills
• Captioning

2. Customize your film resume to the job post

Avoid being generic in your resume and customize it to the production job to make a positive impression on employers. Every production job has different requirements.

Don’t try to be a “one size fits all” candidate. Only showcase the skills relevant to the job you want.

Take note of the job listing, and focus on the job description and requirements. Overloading your resume with unnecessary information makes it difficult to read.

For example, a student film you edited may be relevant for a job in video editing, but if you’re looking to be a location scout, then it may not be worth including.

Adjusting your resume to the job post shows the employer you’re qualified. By contrast, if you include irrelevant information, then hiring managers may think you don’t know what the job entails.

3. Write your film credits section

The film credits section is unique to production resumes. Sometimes called the “Selected Projects” section, it tells the hiring manager the following key information:

• What type of projects you’ve worked on
• How recent your work is
• Types of production roles you’ve held

Arrange this section by role if you’ve been involved in more than a few projects. Otherwise, list them chronologically according to project completion date.

If you have space, consider adding the genre of the film. Doing so tells the employer the types of projects you’re best suited to work on.

4. Achieve the ideal film resume length

Your film resume should follow standard length guidelines. Most important, keep your resume to a single page.

Film production crews and staff work to tight project deadlines, so hiring managers don’t have time to read a long or unorganized resume.

Unless you have more than 10 years of experience in the field, use a one-page resume. Use your resume’s space effectively and cut irrelevant experience and skills to achieve this length.

5. Include strong film action verbs

Start most bullet points in your work experience section with an action verb. Strong resume action verbs make your film resume compelling. Using action verbs shows you’re a proactive employee.

Film action verbs also illustrate your past responsibilities and the skills you’ve learned by using specific language.

Here’s a list of relevant film action verbs to include in your resume:

• Direct
• Plan
• Operate
• Set up
• Coproduce
• Scout
• Cast
• Shoot
• Manage
• Evaluate
• Assist
• Develop
• Coordinate
• Disassemble
• Edit
• Organize