My daughter landed a plum internship this summer as an assistant to a musical director and casting director for the national tour of a very well known Broadway musical. On her first day she observed a typical theater audition, cattle-call style and in less than eight hours learned what it takes most people decades to learn about interviews. Here were her take-aways.
- Having strong skills in multiple areas makes you a better candidate. For these auditions, the directors were looking for the triple threat…someone who can sing, dance, and act. Many of the people who auditioned could sing but not dance. They were quickly passed up for those candidates that had a diversity of skills and could perform at an expert level at each. The same is often true in today’s competitive job market. The candidate with a strong and diverse competency base may have an advantage over one with more siloed skills.
- No one reads resumes. The casting directors saw a new applicant every 45 seconds. The resumes were collected the morning of the audition and reviewed just seconds before the auditions. The resumes weren’t read; they were quickly scanned to assess experience level and career highlights. While corporate interviews aren’t run like casting calls, hiring managers are still under pressure to sort through hundreds of resumes quickly and make split second decisions about who to call in for an interview.
- Being original helps you stand out. At the auditions many applicants chose the same song to sing. After awhile, their auditions started blending together and it became difficult to differentiate who had sung the song the best. The candidates that chose less typical songs to sing were more memorable and there was less of a chance that their performance would be compared to ten other people who sang the same song. During a typical interview, conversations about job tasks fall flat. What makes job seekers unique is not the tasks they do, but rather their success in these tasks and the impact they had on the organization.
- Looks can play a role in the interview process. My daughter observed that some people had great voices, but they just didn’t have the right look for the part. Fair or not, the way a person looks can influence hiring decisions. Retailers may expect their employees to dress a certain way. Professionals who look “too old” or “too young” to fit in with the team could be turned down for the job. Candidates with visible tattoos and piercings could get a thumbs down as well. Matching the corporate culture or “dressing for the part” is still part of the process.
- The most talented applicant isn’t necessarily the one who lands the job. My daughter noticed that some of the people who made the audition cut got through not because they were the best, but because they had some indefinable characteristic that the people casting the show liked. Sometimes a hiring manager senses something about a candidate that makes them feel they are a good pick. It might be something about their enthusiasm or drive or their ability to converse during the interview process or be a good listener.
- Interviewing is a subjective process. My daughter tried to figure out the system the casting directors were using to make their decisions. She soon realized that there is no formula and a part of interviewing comes from the gut. The intangible qualities still play a part in the process. In the world of entertainment, people have come to expect that there is a certain degree of subjectivity in the process and that many factors come into play when success is involved. So why should it be any different for the average Joe job seeker?
You may be wondering how my daughter landed this internship. She found out about it through an alumni connection at her school. Connections and your network are important. It took her even less than one day to learn that.
