Here's an excerpt from PRACTICAL MADNESS that might also assist...

STONE COOLMAN faces just such a dilemma as he creates his first resume. He’s a high school graduate, a U.S. Army infantryman, survivor of an unfortunate stretch on Ryker’s Island for assault and battery (in self-defense, I swear!), has an OK job delivering pizzas, some acting lessons, and some roles in school plays. As such, the eight-by-ten inch white space his resume is supposed to cover looks like a barren, featureless desert of death.
So he writes:
S T O N E C O O L M A N
Actor/Model/Stuntman
Contact Phone: 213-555-2179 Email: StonesCool@whateverCom
HEIGHT: 6’2”
WEIGHT: 200 lbs. Nudity OK
HAIR: Black Stunts OK
EYES: Blue
THEATRE
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM Oberon HHS Players
INDIANS Buffalo Bill HHS Players

MODELING
Male Model Feature XYZ Photography New York, NY

TRAINING
Commercial/Stage/Film Techniques Joe Rodriguez New York, NY
Drama Graduate Horseheads High School, NY

SKILLS
Marathon Running
Marksman w/M-16, M-203, M-60
Rappelling
Unarmed Combat
Defensive Driving

Here’s a good example of honesty and embellishment. “HHS Players” is actually Stone’s term for the Horseheads High School Drama department, but they’re still players nonetheless, and he did play those roles. XYZ Photography did his Time-for-Prints deal, so he did in fact model for them. Stone does know marathon running, marksmanship, and unarmed combat from the Army. So this is a good start.
Your initial resume should contain any special training or skills you have that the average layman doesn’t have, including foreign languages and sports.
An email address is permissible on a resume, as is some sort of contact phone number…your agent’s, your cell, a pager or answering service is preferable to your home phone number, as your resume can wind up anywhere.
Never, ever, EVER put your home address on your resume. Once upon a time an actress had her home address on her resume. A fan wrote to her and asked her for a signed headshot. She sweetly obliged. The fan, who was in reality a homicidal stalker, traced her to her home address, rang her doorbell, and shot her to death when she answered the door.
While we’re about it, there are a few other things you don’t want on your resume:
Your entire life history. Unfounded statements of how magnificently talented you are. Heartrending pleas that you really need a break. “Fun at parties!” Admissions that you used to be on heroin, but have successfully rehabilitated. Felonies. “Check out my webcam!” Fonts that seem bold and exotic to you, but are torture on the eyes of the director who’s got 50 more resumes to read after yours. “Lose weight now, ask me how!” Zodiac signs. Famous ex-boyfriends, girlfriends or family members.
(Once while casting, I read a resume from an actress who proudly proclaimed “Mom of One!” on her resume, and of course Moms should be proud of their kids, but all I could envision was her getting an emergency call during a scene and having to rush off to give little Jeremy his insulin.)
You should also leave out any “role-killers” on your resume; these are basically statements of what you won’t do, like “No nudity”, also phobias, allergies, medical conditions, et cetera. While these are valid and important, they are best left for discussion in person between you and the filmmaker(s), not stamped in black and white on your resume. For example, I’ve had a bad experience with horses and generally don’t care to be around them…but my resume doesn’t say ‘no horseback riding’. That one line would kill off any chance of appearing in a western or most period pieces. For a few dollars more, I might be convinced to try horseback riding again

(NOTE that Stone's resume was in a different format before, but the Posting format here at Actortips centered everything to the left...hopefully you get the gist, though.)
Best, K.K.

More from K.K.--
WWW.ROCKHERWORLD.NET
WWW.KK.ACTORSITE.COM
WWW.AUTHORSDEN.COM/KENKUPSTIS
WWW.ANGELFIRE.COM/TV2/VOODOOHIGHWAY

This is a very important question, and something that I can only give you guidelines for. A resume, just like each individual actor is unique, so you have to have the resume that represents you.

If you are young, it is likely you don't have a lot of work to include in your resume and work as an extra may be all or most of the "experience" you have. There's extra work in commercials, then there is film extra work, (all that means is you either A> have no lines, or B> are not the main focus of the feature or commercial). The guideline I used for extra work when I was just starting off was: If you are on-screen for extended periods where you can be recognized easily, or you are a "featured extra" there is no harm with putting it on a resume (just don't overblow it as a "supporting" role, because that wouldn't be fully honest). If however, you are seen for a blink, then not seen again, I would doubt it would be justifiable to put it on the resume. Of course There is a little more leeway when you are first starting out, because most people know what it is like, but once you have other credits you should drop these extra roles from the resume as soon as you can (there is one exception to this that I have seen, and that would be if you have a separate agent for commercials, for theater, etcetera. In that case, that would be dependent on input from your agent, and likely you would leave all work on your resume for commercials).

To answer your question about special skills, I will ask you a few questions.

• What if the job called for someone that can whistle easily and naturally?
• What if the job called for someone that could rollerblade well(do you realize how many people can't)?
• What if the job called for someone who could swim well?

There is always a possibility of having an easier time getting a job based on your special skills, so this area should contain everything you think could fall into that category. (I recently got a job because I do yoga, but I wouldn't even have been considered if I hadn't put that in my special skills and been called in for the audition.) So in answer to your question, special skills are there because there are sometimes specifics that they need to fulfill for a certain gig, and this makes it easier on the casting director/director/producer, or whoever else needs the information, to determine your fit for the job. NOTE: This does not mean that you specify everything (like driving a car, shaving, etcetera, because how many people really DON'T know how to do those?), you should put things in this area that you most believe would put you into a smaller pool to pick from so you will be the one to get the audition.

If you have taken dance classes, and do it well, this should be one of the FIRST things in this section. Actors who can dance well are considered double-threats, because they are able to fill dancing roles easier than an actor that can act, but has to learn to dance to fill the part (triple-threats can act, dance, and sing well, and are the the most sought after actors because they are rare). It also makes a whole lot of sense to put the types and level of your dancing instruction with this information into this area, because if you had basic lessons from your Aunt Margie on the two-step once, it will likely show in the audition, and you don't want a bad reputation of padding your resume in the "business" (that is a good way to end your career prematurely).

However, just like everything else in acting, others will have their own opinions, but I think most of the people that are in the "business" will agree with most of what I relate here.

Sorry this is so long.

If I can help you further in any way, please don't hesitate to reply back. Until then act well and live lively...