The future of recruitment, talent development and remote work

While the animation industry proved to be resilient throughout the pandemic, the necessary shift towards remote work changed the ways in which animation studios work and recruit talent. To understand how this industry adapted to changing conditions, we invited three professionals in recruitment and talent development to discuss their advice for artists entering the animation industry, the long term viability of remote work, and what artists applying for remote work should consider in the years to come.

The following are excerpts from our panel discussion in February. Joining us for the conversation were guest panelists Alison Mann (Talent Manager and Co-President at Fourth Wall Animation Production), Brooke Keesling (Head of Animation Talent Development at Bento Box Entertainment), and Ellen Su (Head of Artistic Recruiting at Titmouse). 

Do you have advice for artists when it comes to preparing portfolios, reels and applications?

Brooke: Always research the studios you apply to. If you have a portfolio of preschool artwork, but you're applying to a studio like Bento Box, you should be aware that we mostly are known for primetime adult shows like Bob's Burgers, Paradise PD, and Duncanville. If you only have CG and preschool samples, you might want to consider adding pieces to your portfolio that would show that you could do 2D work in a style that we hire for. 

Make sure that your portfolio is really well-organized. If you do character design, background design and color design, make sure you have those in three separate areas so I can find the thing I'm hiring for. Just saying, “I'll do anything,” isn't helpful. We hire for so many things. So be specific about what you want to do and help us help you.

Alison: I look for people who are really good at self editing and consistency. When getting out of school, everybody wants to put everything in the kitchen sink; including every piece of work they might have done in school. It shouldn’t be every piece of work; just your best work. It doesn't need to document how you've become the artist you are. Make sure that you are looking at your work from a critical standpoint to figure out which pieces best represent you. 

Your portfolio also needs to be able to stand on its own. I've gone to CTNx or ComicCon and I've met with people who had to explain every single piece in their portfolio to me. When you're submitting an application, I won't have any of that context. 

Ellen: I would say everyone should be using LinkedIn. When we're searching and reaching out for artists, there's a way recruiters use keywords. Let's say you did a freelance gig and designed backgrounds for a YouTube animated project: You could label yourself as a ‘freelance designer,’ but you're probably not going to show up when we're searching for a ‘background designer.’ 

If I search for ‘freelance designer,’ I'm gonna get freelance motion designers, graphic designers, all kinds of designers. So you want to make sure everything on all your social platforms use searchable keywords related to what you want to do. Whether that's Instagram or Twitter or LinkedIn. 

What might artists new to industry not know about recruiting and talent development?

Brooke: My number one thing is just make sure you're very easy to contact. Please help me hire you! I just need your email address. Often, someone will say: “There's an editor who we're interested in. Can you reach out to them?” “Sure.” 

I look them up: They have a LinkedIn, but their LinkedIn doesn't accept messages; they have a Twitter, but their Twitter doesn't accept messages; they don't have a portfolio that I can find anywhere. It happens almost once a week.

Alison: There might be only one or two humans managing the entire process of getting people in the door. So be kind, be patient, and lead with empathy and understanding. I promise you that will take you really far. I think sometimes people make assumptions, or they think: “I guess this person isn't getting back to me because I'm not good enough.” It could be that we are buried under thousands of emails. And remember that we're not robots; we're humans.

Ellen: Recruiters are not the only people who can champion you to a team. My advice to my mentees is to connect and network with people other than recruiters. The next in line that have a lot of hiring power are producers, art directors, episodic directors, supervisors. 

Those people can sometimes also be difficult to reach; Another line out are your production managers, your production coordinators, or artists that have a couple of years of experience in the industry. They could give you a recommendation that puts your resume at the top of the list. 

Do you have tips for students and early-career artists interested in networking in the animation industry?

Ellen: If you went to an animation school, that's great! Your fellow students and your teachers, they are your network. If you don't have the opportunity to go to a four-year college, the BRIC Foundation is a place where you could network. So are Women In Animation and Rise Up Animation. There are so many organizations out there now where you can find people. Ask them to talk with you for 15 minutes. 

And definitely do your research on those people. I feel like some artists reach out willy nilly without much thought about who they're reaching out to. If you want to be a background designer and you connect with an editorial person, I don't know how much help they're going to be for you. Try to cast a wide net but do a little bit of respectful snooping. 

Brooke: When you reach out, be specific about what you want. A pet peeve of mine is when people just reach out, they'll say: “Oh, I've heard you. You've recruited for a lot of places. Can you give me any advice?” I could give you a year's worth of advice, but I don't know what your question is. 

Ellen: Sometimes busy people get tunnel vision. If you give them an actionable thing to respond to, they will say: “Oh yeah, I know the answer.” And give you that answer in two seconds. But then when the ask is too broad, it's like my brain is spinning. And now I have 10 emails I’m behind on.

The pandemic changed the way animation studios work. Do you feel that remote work will remain a viable career path for artists in the animation industry?

Ellen: I certainly think so. Based on my experience, as well as my colleagues and friends who hire artists, I think it's been a big boon for introverts and anyone that has difficulty under normal circumstances going into the office. I think that can continue if they're really talented and we want to work with them. Things to consider for artists who want to work remotely is that bonding and networking is harder to do remotely. 

An example would be if you are a storyboard artist and you want to become a director one day. It’s super easy when you're in the office to run into your director, and say, “hey, can I sit in on that meeting?” In the remote world, where calendars are hidden to you, you don't really know when those meetings are happening. You might not have the opportunity to bump into somebody in the lunchroom and make a connection that could result in your promotion. 

It's just something to think about. If you're out of the office, you might have to put extra effort into making those connections in other ways.

Brooke: If the studio wants you badly enough, and you need to be remote, we'll make it work. I've known people long before COVID who just don't want to live in LA. And that's fine. They have a good reputation for their work ethic, turning in their assignments on time, and they don't feel a social need to be in the studio. They have been able to make it work.

But I also know people who moved away, who didn't keep up their relationships. As soon as the jobs that were attached to relationships they had died down, they had a hard time getting in with the new batch of showrunners. You have to network and know all the new players, which to me is really fun, but it can be hard to do out-of-state or outside of the country.

Alison: I think sometimes we limit ourselves. People aim for the big studios a lot. And there's plenty of smaller shops and commercial studios that are doing amazing work, like Golden Wolf, Scholar, BUCK and Untold Studios. Look at all of these other places that might be doing music videos or commercials. They're always looking for people. 

So expand your reach, really understand all the opportunities, and don’t limit yourself to the bigger studios. Not only to keep working, but to build up your portfolio, that could be a really great career strategy as well. I think the more you can expand, the more opportunities will come your way.

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• Fourth Wall Management is an entertainment management company that represents actors, writers, directors, and filmmakers across all media.
• Bento Box Entertainment is an Emmy award-winning studio that develops and produces quality-animated content for all distribution platforms worldwide. You can visit their careers page.
• Titmouse is an independent award-winning animation production company founded by Chris and Shannon Prynoski. See their current job listings here.
• Interested in a career in animation? Be sure to connect with Ellen Su, Alison Mann, and Brooke Keesling on LinkedIn.