The Art of Getting Rehired in Live Events
Plenty of technicians can do the job. Fewer get asked back for the next one, and fewer still get requested by name. The difference rarely comes down to technical skill.
Michele Smith has spent over 21 years on the hiring side of live events, reviewing thousands of resumes and staffing thousands of freelancers as Labor Resources Manager and Talent Acquisition lead at Alliant Events.
In her Giggs Mentor Masterclass, she laid out what actually separates the technicians who get called back from the ones who quietly stop getting booked — and it has almost nothing to do with gear knowledge.
“The technical skills may get you in the door, but what keeps you in the room is everything that happens around those skills.”
Your Reputation Is Your Real Resume
You can edit a PDF. You cannot edit your reputation. It’s built one interaction at a time, and unlike a resume, there’s no undo button.
Michele’s framing is direct: technical excellence is the baseline, not the differentiator. “There are a lot of people that can technically do what you do. It’s actually a compliment to the industry — there are a lot of talented people out there. So what becomes a differentiator? It’s whether people want to work with you specifically.”
Her test for anyone in the industry: think of five people you’ve worked with. If they were in a room talking about you right now, what would they say? Would they remember how calm you stayed when something went sideways, or would they remember something that didn’t go well and wasn’t handled gracefully?
People rarely remember what you do. They rarely forget how you made them feel.
“Industry Standard” Doesn’t Exist
One thing Michele is direct about: there is no single, universal standard across live events. Touring is different from corporate. Corporate is different from theater. Theater is different from broadcast, special events, and sports — and that variation touches pay rates, dress code, travel expenses, and a long list of other details.
Before accepting a gig, understand what that specific client considers standard. Don’t assume the norms from your last job carry over automatically.
At the same time, have your own standards. Know your rates. Know your boundaries. But treat those as a starting point for a conversation, not a rigid policy.
If a client can’t meet a term you need, you get to decide whether that’s a dealbreaker — and if it is, you can say no professionally. Something as simple as “I really appreciate the offer, but I can’t make it work this time. Please keep me in mind for the next one.” preserves a relationship instead of burning it. You don’t have to accept every job to be considered professional. You do need to know how to decline without damaging the connection.
Own Your Mistakes — Don’t Explain Them Away
Nobody in this industry is perfect, and Michele was clear that she includes herself in that. What separates people isn’t whether they make mistakes. It’s how they handle them afterward.
The advice is simple and unglamorous: own it, apologize, and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Don’t pass blame, don’t rationalize, and don’t disappear into shame. A direct, honest acknowledgment — even for something serious, like being late or missing a shift — is what allows a working relationship to survive a mistake. Silence and deflection are what end it.
This applies even when the mistake involves how you handled yourself under pressure, not just a scheduling error. If you said something you regret in a tense moment on site, the same principle holds: own it, apologize, and let your next interactions demonstrate the correction.
Be Honest About What You Actually Know
There’s a difference between confidence and overreach, and Michele’s advice here comes from firsthand experience.
“Being realistic with what you know and what you don’t know can prevent yourself from setting yourself up for failure.”
If part of a gig’s scope is beyond your current skill level, don’t talk yourself into accepting it and hope you’ll figure it out on-site. There’s nothing wrong with saying a particular task isn’t quite in your wheelhouse yet.
Michele shared her own version of this lesson: a college professor spent an entire lecture teaching students how to coil cable, which felt irrelevant at the time. On her first actual show site, nobody asked about her editing skills — they asked her to coil cable, and she wasn’t prepared.
The specific skill matters less than the underlying lesson: humility about what you don’t yet know protects you, your client, and your reputation all at once.
If someone with more experience is willing to teach you something, take the opportunity. You may know more than some people in the room. You don’t know more than most.
Communication Is the Single Most Valuable Professional Skill
If there’s one theme that runs through everything else in this masterclass, it’s this: when in doubt, communicate.
A few specific situations where this matters most:
Running long on site. If the day is going to exceed the expected schedule, flag it early — to a project manager, a lead, whoever’s running point. Sometimes overtime can be pre-approved. Sometimes there’s an alternate solution. Sometimes the lead genuinely hasn’t noticed how late the day has gotten. Either way, it’s far easier to solve the problem while there’s still time than to have the conversation after the invoice reveals unexpected overages.
Rate changes. If your rate is going up, tell clients before they book you — not when the invoice lands as a surprise. Their budget may have been approved months or even years in advance on a multi-year deal. You’re entitled to raise your rates. Just give people the chance to plan for it.
Backing out of a commitment. Life happens, and emergencies are understood. But if you have to withdraw from something you’ve already accepted, come with a solution, not just a problem. Offer names of other people who might be able to cover it. And if a scheduling conflict arises before you’ve committed to anything, have an honest conversation with the client rather than quietly taking the better offer and leaving them to find out.
On-Site Behavior That Actually Gets Noticed
Michele’s advice on show-day conduct comes down to a few consistent habits.
Stay calm under pressure. Live events are unpredictable by nature — something will go wrong, sometimes multiple things at once. “People remember the technician who stayed calm and helped solve the problem a lot longer than they remember the person who stood there explaining whose fault it was.” You don’t have to pretend everything’s fine. Asking “how can I help?” and then actually helping goes a long way.
Treat everyone with respect — including labor coordinators. Michele specifically called out labor coordinators and staffing personnel as people worth treating well, since they’re often the ones deciding whether to book you again, and they’re usually juggling a dozen issues before breakfast. A simple thank-you costs nothing.
Avoid drama and gossip. If someone tries to pull you into it on site, it’s entirely acceptable to smile and excuse yourself.
Assume you can be heard. “Clients can hear you when you think they can’t. If you’re confident you’re alone, assume you’re not.” A client may be out of sight but still within earshot.
Stay engaged. Not buried in your phone, not talking when you should be working. If you finish a task, look for what else needs doing — especially useful advice for people newer in the industry who may have more downtime between assigned tasks than they expect.
Treat everyone as if they could be client-facing — because you might be. You may never speak directly to the end client, but they may approach you at any moment and ask a question without knowing your specific role. All they see is someone in blacks or on headset.
The Small Professional Details That Actually Matter
Several details Michele flagged aren’t obviously connected to your reputation, but they shape first impressions in ways that compound over time.
Email etiquette. Spell people’s names correctly. Read your own previous emails before asking a question that’s already been answered. And take a hard look at your email address — an unprofessional or dated handle can genuinely cost you consideration for a role, especially anything client-facing.
Signatures. Think of your email signature as a small professional billboard. At minimum, it should let someone quickly answer: who are you, how do they contact you, where are you located, and what do you actually do. Location matters more than people think — a hiring manager filling a role near a specific city may call the person whose signature makes that immediately clear.
Resume basics. One page is ideal, two is fine when genuinely needed. Send as a PDF, not a Word doc, with a clear filename — not “resume_final_v2_reallyfinal.pdf.” Proofread it, or have someone else proofread it. Errors read as a lack of attention to detail even when that’s not actually the case. Leave off personal information like date of birth, Social Security number, or home address.
LinkedIn and social media. Think of social platforms as a digital extension of your reputation. A real photo, a clear headline, and your location all help. If you’re venting about a difficult client publicly, remember that the clients you actually want to work with are reading that too — and they’re wondering what you’d say about them. Focus posts on what you learned from a challenge rather than who’s to blame.
Availability. Send it by email, with specific dates — not “let me know if anything comes up.” A calendar link works well for ongoing availability. And once something is booked or even just penciled in, put it on your calendar immediately and keep that calendar accurate. If a confirmed gig conflicts with a hold, communicate with both sides rather than letting the first client find out by surprise.
Invoicing. Track hours daily, not two weeks later when you’re reconstructing a shift from memory. Include your name, the event, the venue, a PO number if given, itemized hours, and receipts for any approved expenses — without waiting to be asked. “Timely invoicing shows respect. Respect adds trust. Trust equals more work.” And if a client isn’t asking for an invoice at all, send one anyway, built from a clean template with your payment details included.
Keep Learning and Teach What You Know
Technology in this industry doesn’t slow down, and Michele has watched talented people lose opportunities simply because they stopped keeping pace. You don’t need to master every new piece of gear, but ongoing learning — manufacturer trainings, certifications, industry conferences — signals reliability and intention to keep growing.
The reverse matters too: if you’re experienced, share what you know. Someone helped you when you were new. And if you’re newer, approach the people ahead of you with curiosity rather than entitlement — ask good questions, show up prepared, respect people’s time.
Michele’s suggestion: buying someone a coffee in exchange for picking their brain is a low-cost, high-value networking move that works in both directions.
Key Takeaways
Technical skill is the baseline that gets you the first call; your reputation is what gets you every call after that.
There is no universal “industry standard” — confirm pay, dress code, and expectations with each specific client before accepting a gig.
When you make a mistake, own it and apologize directly rather than explaining it away — this is the single fastest way to preserve a working relationship.
Be honest about the edges of your skill set; accepting work beyond your current ability risks the job, the client relationship, and your reputation all at once.
Communicate early on anything that affects the client — running long, rate changes, or needing to back out of a commitment — and come with solutions where you can.
Stay calm and helpful under pressure; it’s remembered far longer than who caused a problem.
Treat labor coordinators and staffing personnel with the same respect as end clients — they often decide whether you get booked again.
Clean up the small professional details: correct email spelling, a professional signature and email address, a proofread one-page resume, and a real photo on LinkedIn.
Send your availability by email with specific dates, and keep your calendar current — a pencil is still a commitment to communicate.
Track hours daily and invoice promptly with complete information; timely invoicing signals respect and directly affects whether you get rebooked.
About the Guest
Michele Smith is the Labor Resources Manager and Talent Acquisition lead at Alliant Events, a technical live event production company. With more than 21 years in the live events industry, she has built and maintained a nationwide network of hundreds of freelance event professionals. She has taught labor coordination to fellow crewing professionals and spoken to college students preparing to enter the live events industry.
