When you’re new to the industry, you want to be, at all times, attracting opportunities. You need to attract work, relationships, and mentors that altogether will propel you from the free shoots into the paid professional world. It is on those first shoots where you’ll build the confidence and industry street-smarts that will net you those opportunities.
Professionals want to help people who help themselves. Given how hectic their jobs are, they want to know they’re helping out someone who deserves and will appreciate being mentored. The question becomes how you transform into someone professionals want to take under their wing and eventually pass work to when they themselves move up into the next tier of work. Confidence will be key.
Get yourself into a confident state by recalling as vividly as you can a specific time where you achieved something or performed your best. Remind yourself that you can learn new things, navigate challenges, and succeed even when you might be in over your head. You will surprise yourself with how quickly you can develop new skills when you are open to learning. Go on set with a smile, the belief that you are capable of doing anything, and professionals will take notice. They’ll only have confidence in you if you have confidence in yourself. Paula has adopted this mindset and it’s landing her professional relationships, mentors, and representation as an aspiring actress.
Is it easy to exude confidence when you are feeling out of your element? Definitely not. It can be a challenge to become a bigger, better person, but it’s something we can all do. I did it, Paula did it, and you can do it. Don’t let self doubt get in the way of you going after the kind of life you want.
A career in the film industry is worth overcoming your own limitations, and what you’ll come to realize after being on set is that people in the film industry are wonderful. You’ll run into some unpleasant people every once in a while, or a great person who is just having an off day, but the vast majority of people love what they do, they love the film industry, and they will want to see you succeed. When you’re brand new to film, you need to show them that you are worth their time and effort in mentoring you. Carry yourself with confidence, keep a positive energy about yourself, and they will see that and want to help you move up.
