Discuss with them essential skills to get and keep getting gigs:
1. Be punctual. You owe it to yourself to get the reputation of always being a smidge early to the gig.
Always. People will notice, especially the ones that decide who is going and who is not. You might be surprised what you can learn in the ten minutes before the
call. I have heard dozens of times: "Hey you were here early, remember that gravy job we discussed, why don't you just take care of it." It garners trust that punctuality...
2. Be honest. When I worked in Hollywood, those people had no idea what to do with a person that was always honest. Note: not brutally honest, but good honest. The kind of honest that is not afraid to clearly explain the parts of a production that you do not find as good as could be (only when asked!) and to
always have other solutions to the problems you
point out. Remember: You are
never allowed to be critical if you do not have a positive idea about your criticism. Also develop skills to soften the blow when you are about to dissect somebody's love-child of a show. Like, "Are you sure you want me to elaborate on ideas to improve this?"
3. Work hard on the Million Dollar Hug. The Million Dollar Hug is a term I swiped from a great
book about movie making. What it is is that one little thing that makes you zany, you go ahead and do, because you know the
producer/LD/DP/actor/
grip wants it and while it may give you twitchy eye at first it will garner you a flexable
hand later. Sometimes the
producer/LD/DP/actor/
grip will come to you later and say: "sooo, can you think of anything that might make this
bit better?" and then you have the chance to say: "Well, can you give me ten minutes to try something, and if you dislike it we'll go back to what we have now?" They will almost always say yes, then you de-twitch your eye and fix the poor thing, make the tah-dah pose, and most of the time the
producer/LD/DP/actor/
grip will go "wow, that is great, thanks!". Then you 10000% let them take credit for it without audibly squealing. This industry is hard on people for a reason... But you can bet your paycheck they will come to you sooner and sooner for "advisement". It doesn't take long for other people to figure out where the good ideas are truly coming from.
4. Do not fear the "No". Declining to take a gig early in ones career can be a setback. With seasoning though, careful declining gets easier and more frequent. No, I will not do that porn movie, thanks. The "No" says that you have reasonable standards and that you are not a doormat/slave/
whipping (boy/girl/they)/idiot. No, I don't think I am going to climb out of the
basket onto the
grid without my harness, thanks. No, I am sorry but I don't have a (insert name of tool here) that you can "borrow" for the run, I only have my own. No, I am sorry I am not allowed to
plug in that light, I am the cinematographer and I do not know its condition, I can
call the electrician over though. No, I don't think it is wise to fill the
stage with damp sand, but I might be able to locate its loading
plot to see what we can do instead.
All of the physical skills listed in the above posts are fantastic.
Also: Know everyone else's job and then shut up about it. (This is akin to actors knowing the whole script) This gives you the chance to spread creative love and do things like ask the rigger: "Hey, (rigger name) do you think it would be too difficult to...", and then let them show their skills/knowledge/creativity. I have had more food and drink sent my way because I let the unsung hero start the song just once...
Never, ever, give a suggestion unless asked or if what you are seeing is actually a developing hazard.
I do, and have done #1 and #2 for the entirety of my career and it got me/kept me in gigs.
Your mileage may vary.
Perhaps the most important words of all:
The true professional is the person that does what needs to be done regardless of how they feel about it.