Starting out in Hollywood can be filled with mixed emotions, especially if you’re new to Los Angeles. You nail a few auditions but never hear back. You tell everyone you’re an actor, but your bank account says otherwise. If this sounds familiar, you may be dealing with one of the five fastest (and avoidable) career killers for struggling actors.

1. Losing your optimism.

The first year as an actor is always the toughest. Fresh out of college, you know the real world is going to be hard, but you never imagined it would be this hard. The truth is that the struggle won’t be much easier until you’ve landed your first great role and feel like you’ve finally done something right. You will be rejected. You will be asked to leave. You will wait for phone calls that never come. If you let this affect your outlook and become bitter, the tables will never turn. Hollywood hates negativity, and the city is overflowing with people eager to accomplish the same goals as you. Why would anyone choose to work with someone who brings everyone down when there are so many people ready for work who can remain positive? Losing hope and having a bad attitude or seeming miserable will put a thorn in your efforts to move up in this business.

2. Not looking like your headshot.

Entertainers have a creative side, and sometimes that means changing looks every couple months. We will only say this once: you are jeopardizing your career if you cannot stick to one look for a long period of time. “When the person I am meeting with doesn’t look like their pictures, a number of red flags go up that cause assumptions and put doubts in my mind about offering this person representation,” says Ashley Partington, an agent based in Los Angeles. In addition to not being taken seriously, not having updated photos also risks your agent’s reputation. Ashley admits she’s received a handful of calls from casting directors who felt disrespected and didn’t take her as seriously when a client arrived at an audition looking like a whole other person. Keep up-to-date headshots at all times; your career isn’t the only one that will benefit.

3. Trying to be James Bond when your style screams Steve Urkel.

Partington also warns against trying to be something you aren’t or not knowing your type. Until you’re famous, you have to find out the roles that already work for your presence. This can go hand-in-hand with not looking like your headshot. If you’re a technology geek using a photo that makes you look sexy or auditioning for a role that requires being sexy, you have to be sexy. If you’re a fun-loving dork like most of Zooey Deschanel’s characters, you have to audition for those roles and not try to be “the hot girl.” If you really are sexy, don’t audition for characters who are supposed to be the average nerd. “I’m in the business of getting people work, and I can’t do that if they don’t who they are and how to represent themselves when they go into an audition room,” Partington explains. “I promise you’ll book like crazy if you have a grasp on your type.”

4. Wasting time between auditions instead of staying productive.

There’s one guaranteed way to stop yourself from moving forward: do nothing. As Samuel L. Jackson says, “The actor’s job is finding work. The fringe benefit of our job is that we get to act.” Most actors use weeks without any auditions lined up to relax and take a break, but don’t be one of them! Doing nothing for a week sounds like a good time, but it’s actually good time wasted. Use this time to find a play, web series, or independent film to join. Even better, why not take an acting class to better hone your skills before your next big audition? You can even use this time to work on branding yourself. It’s your time to do what you want: continue progressing in your acting career or don’t.

5. Not caring what you post on social media.

Great headshots, a clean website, and a pristine resumé aren’t enough to make it in this industry. You need to have a golden reputation, and social media can kill it. Nothing is private any more, and someday a hardcore fan may accidentally dig up a negative post that could tarnish your positive image and branding. For that reason, you should never post negative thoughts about your coworkers. In general, posting negative statuses is frowned upon in any industry. Save the photos of you and your gang partying last weekend for Snapchat; nothing says “I have no responsibility” like a timeline filled with party photos. You should also never spoil fans about the project you’re working on or ask random internet “friends” to do you a favor. For a full list of social media don’ts, Backstage offers this list of 10 Things an Actor Should Never Do on Social Media.

With these items in mind, it’s time to do better work! For staying inspired, we suggest reading these 10 inspirational quotes from actors who know your situation.