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Introduction | |
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First Steps (Before You Even Think of Shooting) | |
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About You | |
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Who Are These People, and What Do They Do? | |
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It's Easier to Say No | |
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The Players | |
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How It Was | |
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How It Is Now | |
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What Does This All Mean for You? | |
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It's a Small World After All | |
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If It's About Who You Know and You Don't Know Anybody, What Do You Do? | |
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Why Contacts Are Such a Big Deal | |
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How to Begin Networking (Meeting People) | |
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Where Should You Live? | |
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Film Schools | |
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Internships | |
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Film Organizations | |
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Helping Out on Other People's Films | |
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More Volunteering | |
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Temping | |
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Finding a Mentor | |
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Learn the Names | |
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The Etiquette of the Meeting | |
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Relationships and Reputations | |
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Your Reputation and Credibility | |
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Attitude | |
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Cautionary Tale: You're at the Bottom of the Food Chain Until You Aren't | |
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Cautionary Tale #2: Just Because It's in Your Head, It Doesn't Have to Come Out Your Mouth | |
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Internship and Entry-Level Do's and Don'ts | |
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This Is a Great Idea, But Is It a Movie? | |
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The Story is Everything | |
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Whose Story Is It? | |
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What Do Your Characters Want? | |
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Three-Act Structure | |
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The Wind Up and The Pitch | |
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Do You Own It? | |
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You Can't Own an Idea… | |
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How Do You Protect Your Idea? | |
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Why Ownership Is Important | |
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I Just Read Something Great… | |
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Writing with a Partner | |
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How to Find a Writer | |
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How to Persuade the Writer to Work with You | |
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The Politics of Development | |
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Development Hell | |
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Working with Your Writer | |
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I'll Get Back to You (Getting the Script Read) | |
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Before You Send Out the Script | |
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What Happens During Development | |
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The Top Ten Reasons Scripts Are Rejected | |
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Took Too Long to Get Going | |
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Didn't Care About the Characters | |
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Writer Didn't Know the World | |
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The Tangents or Subplots Were More Interesting Than the Main Action | |
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Nothing New, Seen It Before | |
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Writer Didn't Know What the Script Was Really About | |
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Loss of Energy in the Second Act | |
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The Stakes Are Not High Enough | |
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Didn't Know How to End It | |
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Why Would Anyone Want to See This Movie? | |
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Agents and Managers-What's the Difference? | |
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Do You Need an Agent? | |
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Do You Want to Be an Agent? | |
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Managers | |
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Packaging | |
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Who Do You Need on Your Team? | |
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The Money, Part | |
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Where Does the Money Come From? | |
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Finding "Angels" | |
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How to Ask for Money | |
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Product Placement Money | |
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Completion Bonds | |
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Finding Money and Working with an Attorney-Who Can You Trust? | |
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Production: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch | |
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It's a Collaborative Medium-Exactly What Does That Mean? | |
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How Stories Change | |
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Creative Control and Final Cut | |
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Protecting Yourself and Your Movie | |
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Setting Up a Production Company | |
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Payroll Companies | |
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Why Go Through All This? | |
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Production Insurance | |
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What People Do, and Who They Do It With | |
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Above and Below the Line | |
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The Team | |
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The Director | |
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The Producer | |
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The Line Producer and UPM | |
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The First Assistant Director | |
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The Look of the Movie | |
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Locations | |
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Camera | |
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Grip and Electric | |
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The Pretty Committee-Costume, Hair, and Makeup | |
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Hair and Makeup | |
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The All Important Crew Members Not Already Accounted For | |
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Sound | |
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Script | |
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Props | |
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Food | |
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Transportation | |
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Animals | |
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Stunts | |
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Special Effects | |
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Editing | |
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A Producer's Life | |
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The Director, the First AD, and the UPM | |
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The Director | |
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The UPM | |
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The Assistant Director | |
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Decisions, Decisions | |
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How Much, How Long? The Schedule and The Budget | |
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How Long Does It Take to Make a Movie? | |
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How Much Will It Cost to Make a Movie? | |
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Union or Non? | |
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How a Film Union Works | |
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Smaller Films | |
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What Are Union Benefits, and Why Are They Important? | |
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The Good News… and the Bad News | |
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Working Conditions | |
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Residuals | |
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The Sort of Good News… and the Not So Good News | |
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How You Get In | |
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Yet More Good News and Bad News… | |
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Why Someone Might Not Join a Union | |
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To Be or Not to Be | |
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Maybe We Should Co to Canada, or Someplace Else Where to Shoot the Movie | |
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Runaway Production-Why They Want You There | |
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Why You Might Want to Runaway | |
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Why Investors Might Want Projects to Runaway | |
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The Pros and the Cons | |
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Shooting Outside the United States | |
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One More Thing You Should Know | |
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But I Don't Want to Live in a Production Center | |
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Who Is in Your Movie | |
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The Casting Director | |
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Finding a Casting Director | |
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Casting for Funding and Distribution | |
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The Screen Actors Guild | |
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How Does an Actor Get into SAG? | |
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Deals | |
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The SAG Bond | |
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Background Actors | |
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How Are Background Actors Cast? | |
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Kids | |
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An Actor's Life | |
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Prep | |
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The Process | |
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The First Hires | |
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How Departments Prep | |
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Production | |
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The Call Sheet | |
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The Production Report | |
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Why Communication and Documentation Matters | |
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It's the Little Things… | |
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A Day in the Life of a Production | |
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It's Just Beginning to Be a Movie: Postproduction | |
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After the Smoke Clears | |
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The Politics of Wrap | |
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Who Sees the Cut? | |
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Meanwhile… | |
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Music | |
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Your Score | |
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It's an Old Song, How Much Can It Cost? | |
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What If We Just Get Festival Rights? | |
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I Know a Guy Who Knows the Band | |
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What Are You Doing Saturday Night? | |
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The Money, Part | |
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How Does a Movie Make Money? | |
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The Grosses | |
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Distribution | |
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Theatrical Exhibition | |
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Television | |
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Home Video and Online Distribution | |
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Will Anybody Ever See My Movie? | |
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Selling Your Movie | |
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Your Marketing Campaign | |
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Test Screenings | |
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Being Your Own Publicist | |
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Producer's Reps and Sales Agents | |
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Filling the Seats: The Future of the Movie Theatre Business | |
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Festivals | |
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Which Festivals Really Matter? | |
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Why do Festivals Matter, and How Do They Work? | |
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How Does Your Film Get into a Festival? | |
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How to Work a Festival | |
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The Glory | |
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Reviews | |
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Prizes | |
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The Big Ones | |
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Other Little (and Not So Little) Things That You Should Know | |
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Loyalty in Business | |
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How to Work with Vendors | |
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Remember What Mom Taught You | |
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Ethics and Personal Loyalty | |
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References | |
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Sooner or Later You Will Have to Fire Somebody | |
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Sooner or Later You Will Get Fired | |
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Some Final Cautionary Tales | |
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Now What? | |
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It's OK to Leave… | |
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And It's OK to Leave… Then Come Back | |
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Out Takes | |
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Final Words of Advice from People Who Have Been There, Done That | |
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Appendix: Your Resume | |
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Resume for an Internship | |
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Resume for an Entry-Level Position | |
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Resume for a Production Position | |
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Index | |