How to Get a Video Production Job with Staff Me Up
So you’re looking for work in the entertainment industry of film, television and video production? Staff Me Up is a one-stop job board for media production professionals. Production companies use the site to fill their staff and crew positions, and you can actively browse the job listings for freelance gigs and hirings for all levels of skill and experience in the production industry.
Regardless of the stage of your career and whether you’re new to Staff Me Up or not, we’ll explain how you can make the hiring platform work for you and how to stand out to industry professionals. Even without a Staff Me Up account, you can use our tips to spruce up your film production cover letter and CV!
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Staff Me Up is a one-stop hiring platform for the production industry. Both sides of the hiring process can use the online Staff Me Up app at Staffmeup.com: filmmakers, production companies, recruiters and staffing agents for film, TV shows, and video productions looking for talent use the site to simplify their hiring. Freelancers, job seekers and industry professionals who want to advance their careers can browse production jobs in film, TV, digital, media and entertainment.
Staff Me Up lists over 10,000 production jobs from Los Angeles to New York and around the globe, connecting freelancers with production companies. You can search job listings by position, department, state and province, or by city. Your personal profile allows you to list media industry credits and add a resume and cover letter. You can apply to gigs and positions directly on the platform and keep track of open applications. The basic functionality of Staff Me Up is free, while premium features add extra analytics to compare your profile to other applicants or give you insight into industry rates and access to a larger community.
“Coded for inclusion” describes the commitment of Staff Me Up to be a fair, equitable, diverse, and inclusive hiring platform. To empower talent and media production companies that share the same values and goals, Staff Me Up has partnered with Diversity Advocacy Organizations, so that job opportunities which foster diversity and inclusion receive wide attention.
How does Staff Me Up work?
It’s free to join Staff Me Up. You can register using your email address, or sign up using your Google or Facebook account. Even without logging in, you have immediate access to the job listings. You can browse these, or use the comprehensive search and filter functions to tailor the search to your specific skills and needs:
- Position or Keyword: You can fill in this text field to drive search results
- City: This will limit job listings to show only those near a certain location
- Production Department: Select a department from the drop-down menu for specific positions associated with it
- Genre: You can pick a part of the production industry here:
- TV
- Digital
- Film (feature / short)
- Podcast / Audio
- Live / Special Events
- Advertising
- Music Video
- Corporate
- Budget: You can choose to only show full-rate job postings or low-budget productions, which are often entry-level positions.
- Sorting: You can choose the sort order to be date posted, starting date, or relevance
Available positions on Staff Me Up include job postings for cinematographers, screenwriters, production assistants and production coordinators, assistant directors, set designers, actors, editing and video production professionals, and many more across all departments.
You can open the details of any job to learn more about it and then move on to the application process if you’ve found a fit. Staff Me Up facilitates this process by keeping all your relevant details in your profile, where you can also add relevant work experience as industry credits, and upload a resume and cover letter.
If you don’t want to apply right away, you can save jobs you’ve found. Staff Me Up also keeps track of jobs you’ve viewed, as well as your open job applications. Even when you’re not actively browsing job listings, you’ll benefit from your Staff Me Up profile, because you can put the platform to work for you: set up job alerts for your searches (called work alerts), and Staff Me Up will notify you of new job opportunities matching your criteria.
Staff Me Up enables production companies to import resumes from the platform into their database and recruiters look for talent there. It’s important that you set up and update your profile to improve your chances of finding work this way. We’ll give you tips below on how to stand out from the crowd.
Staff Me Up Free and Premium
Using the Staff Me Up app on the web requires an account, but signing up is free. You can continue with the basic version for as long as you want, though it has its limitations. It allows you to create your profile and highlight your credits, and browse job postings. You can even create unlimited job alerts to receive updates for new results to your filtered searches. However, Staff Me Up Free is limited to 5 job applications per account.
If you want more, you’ll have to subscribe to Staff Me Up Premium. Not only do you get unlimited job applications, but you can also feature your resume. You can create as many job applications as you want and keep track of open applications. However, an additional Staff Me Up Premium feature is job analytics: you’re able to see how you rank among other applicants. In addition, you can store as many resumes and cover letters as you want, and have access to the job listings of Staff Me Up partners.
Staff Me Up Premium is currently $20 per month, or $150 per year with annual billing, which comes to $12.50 per month. You can always try out the free version first, then upgrade later.
Tips for job seekers
Staff Me Up Premium gives you the job analytics feature, which tells you how you rank among the other applicants; this informs you of opportunities for improving your profile, resume, and cover letter. But don’t worry, even with the free version, the following tips and best practices for finding work in the film industry will help your application stand out!
First impressions count
Even if you’re not applying as an actor, add a professional headshot or photograph to your profile. Let your skills and experience speak for themselves, so your picture doesn’t have to be on set or on the job. But it should show your personality and aim to make a great first impression.
For your profile, resume, and cover letter, choose a style that focuses on what you want. Are the basic facts enough to convince recruiters and production companies to hire you, or do you opt for a bit of storytelling? Be precise and to the point, but refrain from shorthand. No one wants to read a cover letter without full sentences. Balance professionalism and production industry lingo on the one side, and highlight your personality and a conversational tone on the other.
Make sure people can view your documents: avoid compatibility issues and upload or send your resume and CV as PDF.
Listing credits on your Staff Me Up profile
The more credits you can list on your profile, the better, even for entry-level jobs. Staff Me Up has a special profile section for credits, but here are general tips on how to list credits:
- Be clear and concise, and list the most notable and most relevant projects up top.
- Mention the names of producers, directors, or professionals in the commercial sector. They can give you a boost when they have even some level of acclaim.
- Add upper-level experience where applicable, such as producer, director, production manager, or high-level assistant.
- The format for credits on a resume is:
- Production title
- Type of production in parentheses
- Date and job title
Show your relevant experience
This one is true for any job application: a tailored approach goes a long way and can make a difference in standing out from the rest. If you’re applying for work on a feature film, experience around that is of course most pertinent and should be front and center in your application. It’s less important when you’re applying for documentary work, however. A combination of a resume and cover letter that is perfect for one gig can tank your application for another.
You don’t need to rewrite these from scratch every single time, but use discretion and attempt to at least shift information around and tailor your approach so recruiters can see at a glance why you’re a top applicant. This is where Staff Me Up Premium comes to your aid: in the free version, you can only have one cover letter and resume, but paying subscribers have the option of unlimited uploads.
Match the job posting
Producers want to know how you fit the position they need to fill, not that you want to be a filmmaker yourself one day. Of course, it’s a given that assistant positions are often stepping stones, and you don’t need to eat too much humble pie; but let recruiters know you’re experienced and willing to do the work every step of the way on your career ladder.
A great way to do that is to pay attention to the details and language of job postings and reflect it back. If there is a specific requirement, let them know you meet it! For work experiences, skills, and qualifications, use the exact terms of the job posting in your resume and cover letter.
Use Staff Me Up work alerts
Let Staff Me Up do the work of finding suitable job openings for you and make use of the job alerts, which are called work alerts on the hiring platform. Set up notifications and deal with your job search once per day as you go over the curated list. Take note you don’t have to limit work alerts to a specific position: you can instruct Staff Me Up to look for gigs in an entire department as well.
Track and boost features
Job analytics is a Staff Me Up Premium feature which informs you of your rank among the other applicants. You have a detailed insight into the status of your application because premium users can see if their application has been reviewed, or if they’re scheduled for an interview. Depending on your ranking, you can make use of the boost feature to move your application to the top of the list to increase your chances.
Maintain your profile
You can link your social media accounts to your Staff Me Up profile. According to the hiring platform, this gives you a ranking boost. It’s also a chance for hiring staff to get to know you better from what you share on social media. However, you should make sure you have nothing “compromising” on there. Regularly check your profile, so your credits and availability are up to date. Make sure you also specify your location and range.
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How industry professionals use Staff Me Up
A major benefit of having a Staff Me Up profile is that Hollywood producers, production companies, and recruiting agents can find you as a candidate and a gig or job might come to you. So what do industry professionals look for on the hiring platform? Producers stress that personality goes a long way and that they discard profiles, resumes, and cover letters for lack thereof. You don’t have to be overly quirky, but the cold hard facts of skills and experiences are only one side of the coin, so give your application a unique touch.
Easy-going is a second, highly sought-after quality: no producer wants to disrupt a production or crew on set with someone difficult to work with. Highlight that you’re a candidate with easy-going, creative, positive, and approachable character traits to improve the chances of your application. Collaboration and compatibility are key for any film production and entertainment industry job. Staff Me Up can help you connect to production industry professionals and benefit from networking effects to establish relationships and gain leads for future work.
