resume advice

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References do have a risk, they risk lawsuit every time they say something negative about you.
Employers can do there own research and complete an interview that will assure they hire a qualified candidate.

If they give incorrect information they can be sued for slander, you are correct, and references can always decline, however not putting on references due to fear of a lawsuit just is not right. I have yet to hear of a single court case that comes close to this. I think that we are at a huge loss as a society if we can't even give references due to fear of a lawsuit. Also, when you have 80 to 100 people applying for one job letters of reference are about one of the only things you can go on. If you did not have them, hiring someone would take three to four times longer.

 

[Van]

how about room on the page? I had to cut a lot of stuff off that to keep it on one page. Many employers do not like multi-page resumes.

Let me state, from the point of view of a person that sees a ton of resume's, references are a must. I would hire a person with one line of expirience and ten references prior to the opposite. Can references lie ? Yes. Do they ? rarely. After spending enough time calling references and chatting on the phone with them, it becomes quite apparent how a person views another.
If someone comes to me and ask for a job I want to be able to verify anything I want on thier resume'.
Remeber too that thier is more than one format for a resume'. unfortunately most of us learn what we learn about resume's in college, or highschool and it comes from somebody with a theatre background, usually someone with an acting background. If you want to act then by all means fit your resume'to one page so it fits on the back of your headshot. Smiling face on front, one page resume' on back. If you want to get a job as my Master Carpenter, < I am in the market for one BTW> I want a Curriculum Vitae < CV> I want to know; where you worked, when, for whom and why you left. Salary range is not a bad thing either.
Everybody has thier own preferences but I do have to say everyone I know, in a similar posistion as mine, wants references,without them your res winds up in the round file.

 

[gafftaper]

First off references are critical especially in this industry. This business is all about who you know, word of mouth about your work ethic, and getting a little lucky. A few words from the right person on your resume can get you a job or lose you a job. Whatever you do, don't drop references. That immediately tells me you don't know anyone who is established in the industry or you couldn't get someone to vouch for you. Both are bad.

Second, if you are just starting out don't try to hide it by listing every play your ever worked on in middle school. Either you have professional experience or you have all educational theater experience. Just admit that fact to yourself and move on... you certainly aren't fooling anyone by listing 10 high school productions. In such a position I would focus on the skills you learned and the jobs you did. For example I would say, "George Washington High school, four years on stage crew. One year as running crew. Two years designing lights, One year as Student Technical Director. Stage manager for three shows." That gives me a good idea what you did in high school, now move on. Focus on a section titled Proficiencies or Skills where you detail what you know how to do. "I can program an ETC Express console, Ran sound for a 20 wireless mic musical production, Designed set pieces for Grease, trained to run fly system, etc..." This approach shows what you learned, not just what you showed up for. It's a very important difference. I think people will be much more willing to take a chance on you if they see... "oh she knows how to program the same console we have here."

One last thing. This came up in previous threads and I think it's important to point out here. If you are/were the T.D. at your high school. I strongly advise you to call yourself a Student T.D. and not a T.D. Being a T.D. is a position that people work their whole lives to attain. As such, some of us older folks find it presumptuous or even a little disrespectful to what we worked so hard to become. You may have been the best tech student at your high school and you may have saved the theater many times. But you are a big fish in a small pond... it's not the same as being a T.D. at a multi-million dollar regional theater. To others it makes you sound like you might be a know it all... which is the kiss of death in theater. You don't want to make someone think those kinds of thoughts about you just by reading your resume. So to be safe, me modest, know your place in the world, and list yourself as a Student Technical Director.