You're feeling stuck in your job search for video production. What can you do to stay motivated?

My "portfolio" never got me projects over my networking and sales skills. Sure you want to do good work and be able to show people that you can create something great but I wasn't going to sit and promote my work and wait for people to come. Learn how to network and sell. Be a hunter and go create work!

Your portfolio is an important aspect to getting hired for video production. This is your chance to curate exactly what your want your prospective client/hiring manager to see. When reviewing and deciding what to include, think about it from their perspective. This might mean having different versions of your portfolio for different prospective clients. You want them to look at your portfolio and be able to easily imagine how their project will fit into the portfolio, therefore making you a promising prospect.

Work the network and meet new people! Join a group, go to events and stay active. It makes you stay on point while generating trust with new contacts. Plus you never know where a cold call, a connection or meet up may lead you. Volunteering to plan and work at those events can help increase your network greatly. Jump in!

Mentors, Coaches, Training, Etc. are all great things but you need to be careful and picky with who you listen to. In a world where everyone is a coach and has a course but no one has actually done it themselves there is a lot of bad info out there. I heard once the guys that were actually successful don't have courses because they make way more money actually being experts at their craft. The failures a lot of times are the ones that coach. There are good people and good info that will help you save time and money but be careful!

Find people to create with. Find people that inspire you and that are better than you in certain aspects. This way you can continue to learn, and on those difficult days, you have someone to lean on and get out there and continue producing video.

Storytellers should always be learning, from tutorials to screenwriting books and influencer inspiration. It’s more than that, though. The unseen nights watching YouTube, weekends practicing framing on your iPhone —these are the moments you get better. Don’t limit yourself to “I’m only a video producer." And never refuse to learn something new. With every script your write, and scene you act in, you learn and grow. Understanding the basics of these skills makes you a better partner/artist. Loving the journey of discoverying new skills is crucial. Production should be fun, and you have to love it. And don't worry about being good right away, give yourself some grace and take the time to build your skills.

Feedback is great! You should be ever learning and improving. We always want to get feedback on how we can improve the process, the video, the distribution, the strategy, etc. Amazon was built on customer feedback! You might be surprised by your blindspots. We have been able to change a lot for the better. Stay humble and keep growing!

Feedback is one of the most important aspects of improving. When seeking feedback, it's important to remember: 1. Who the feedback is coming from and; 2. Your worth is not tied to that feedback. By remembering who the feedback is coming from, you think about: What is this person's experience or expertise? By remembering that your worth is not tied to that feedback, you remember that if they have positive feedback, you keep your ego in check and know that your work is only as good as your last project. So keep going and push yourself more. But if the feedback is harsh, remembering that you can learn from it and you are never in your final form. Harsh feedback can damage the ego if you let it, or it can help you grow into a better producer.

I love what we collectively do for a living, and I consider myself very lucky to be able to do what we do. So, when things get slow/tough. I like to work on a passion project either on my own or with a group of other passionate colleagues. It aides as a distraction for one, two, it helps hone your skills or even add new skills, and three it’s just fun. Not every job/project will fill up the bank account, but it should really help the psyche.

It’s a grind, and the level of rejection can be staggering. But remember, it’s not about you—it’s about the work, and the more you grind, the better your work will become. Also, with so much content out there, sometimes it’s not even about the quality of your work. They might not have taken the time to watch your content; rejecting everything outright is just easier for them. Despite these challenges, you’ve just got to keep your head down and push through. The journey can be tough, but love it, because the job is worth it.

This can be very hard to do when your getting kicked in the face and not getting any projects. The only thing that gets you out of a rut is the next deal so go find it. Watch people you like that motivate and inspire you and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Also don't be afraid to WORK! Put in the time and effort until you get that next project.

I always remember that as long you're networking regularly, being genuine to those in your circle, and growing that circle as often as possible, things are happening in rooms that you are not in. You've planted seeds all over the place, but they don't grow overnight, so be patient and be persistent.

Même lorsque je suis en période de prospection, sans client, je reste dans l’action. Mon métier, c'est l’animation ? Eh bien alors, je crée des animations, il ne faut jamais s'arrêter ! Je peux par exemple m’inspirer du travail des artistes du motion design que je trouve sur internet et je développe des vidéos dans de nouveaux styles. L’idéal est de trouver un thème, un projet que je peux éventuellement reprendre à chaque période sans client. En fait, le fait d’être constamment en action confère une légitimité et évite de se sentir exclu du monde du travail, ce qui peut arriver si l'on se contente d'attendre l'arrivée des clients.