How to Create Your Resume for Acting Auditions

An acting resume is a basic marketing tool that's essential if you want to be a professional in the entertainment industry. Resumes include information about your physical appearance, acting experience, related training and any areas of expertise or special talent.

Instructions

1. Create a heading in a new document. The heading should include your name in large bold print (16 to 24 point). Use 12- or 14-point font on the rest of your document. Add your height, size or weight, eye color and hair color in a column under your name.

2. Make another column under your name with contact information including a telephone number and email address. If you have an agent, put your agent's contact information instead of your own. Also note any unions (e.g., SAG, AFTRA) that you belong to.

3. Create categories for all the acting work you've done, placing them along the left-hand margin of the page. The most common categories are Film, Television, Theater, Commercials, Music Videos and Industrials. Make the headings bold.

4. List all of your experience from most to least recent down the page. Include the name of the project, the role you played and the director's name or the production company's name in three columns across the page.

5. Add special skills or experience and training as separate categories underneath the experience listings. Add all relevant information in the sections.

6. Spell check, proofread and make sure the page doesn't have excessive white space. Enlarge the font slightly to hide any lack of experience.

7. Print the page and cut it using a paper cutter to 8 x 10 inches if necessary. Attach the resume directly to the back of the headshot.

Tips & Warnings

• Be as honest and thorough as possible. Agents and casting directors know the business well and can easily discover if you have all the credits you claim.

• Fit all your experience on one 8 x 10-inch page. If necessary, cut out lesser roles or unknown productions as you gain more experience.

• Update your resume every time you have a new role, get more training or learn new skills.

• Avoid using quotation marks and underlining on the titles of the productions you worked in.

• Don't add headings to the columns. This makes the resume cleaner. Casting knows the difference between a director and a production company.