Today one of my colleges noted that he was looking to fill a position with our company. Someone else said it should be an easy time to fill a job because so many people are looking. I know in the DC area many theatres have had to lay off staff to try and make their fiscal goals. So I wondered what kinds of jobs are out there right now.
I have personally found only two sights to be really useful when looking for work. First, Playbill.com has a great jobs page but is geared more toward NYC and commercial theatre whereas Artsearch (my other favorite) is geared more toward regional and educational theatre.
Yesterday I went through the Artsearch site and looked at the job data to see what kind of jobs were posted this month. I split them into 11 categories and the descriptions and results are below. There were 101 jobs posted on Artsearch for the month of April.
27 Technical – TD, ME, Shop Managers, Crews, ect. (costumes included)
18 Education – Education Department for a theatre or Faculty at a college
13 Interns – Any kind of Intern or Apprentice
9 Leadership – Artistic Directors, Managing Directors, General Managers
8 Sales / Marketing – includes Group Sales, Marketing, PR, Box Office
7 Management – Production Man, Stage Man, ASM, Company Man.
7 Other – Random jobs that did not fit anywhere else
5 Development – Development Staff and Directors
4 Design – Costume, Scene, Lighting, Sound Designers and Assistants
2 Business – Accounting, Bookkeepers
1 Artistic – Directors, Choreographers
Are they posting jobs you are qualified for? Should you be learning more about the technical or educational fields? People ask why I am always looking at job postings if I am happy in my job, which I am. The reason is to know what’s out there and be aware of tends. Plus I like to be helpful and if I see a job that is right for someone I know I pass along that information. Being aware of the job market in my industry makes me an asset to my friends and to my network.
When I have more time I will do a bigger analysis of the jobs by expanding the time frame. Again this is from one site and that site caters more toward Educational and Regional Theatres.
This will be the first in a series of blogs about networking. I think networking is perhaps the most important part of theatre management / producing. I joke about how much I eat and drink every time I go to New York because I have so many people to see and it’s easy to say lets grab a bite or go get a coffee.
One particular way I network is by writing “welcome cards.” I compose little cards to individuals in theatre who come to DC to start a new job in theatre. I recently got invited to meet with a new Managing Director in town because of one of those welcome cards.
(And so grows my network.)
I have done this many times and each time it I get another connection in the business and better yet, in my city. I start the note by welcoming them to town and their new job. Then I let them know that I am more than happy to be used as a resource if there is anything they might need. I also invite them to meet up for lunch or coffee (go figure). This particular Managing Director, who I am meeting with in a couple of weeks, is really exciting because he is a commercial theatre producer. Something I am trying to do myself.
This is just one example of how I network. There are many ways to do it and I will talk about more later, but how do you network? Let me know.
So I know these postings might seem mundane to some but they are points of professionalism that apply to every business and are sometimes overlooked.
First impressions are always important. On a consulting job yesterday one of the media people had on a vest of lots pockets and it looked like he was ready to go into the jungle and film. I asked why the get-up and he said it is handy to have the extra pockets on the vest but he told me the real reason was to look the part. If you want to be taken serious as a leader dress up. It lets people know you are taking them / their project seriously.
I dress up every day at my job and not because I have to but because I never know who I will meet. I have had commercial producers stop by and want to meet and see the space I rent. I also feel like I get a little more respect because it shows I take what I do seriously. I am not saying that people who wear jeans don’t take their job seriously but it is different.
I attend several conferences where some in the room are dressed to impressed. Not dressed in suits but have on ties or at least a nice button up shirt. Then there are some others dressed in jogging suits. I am all for being comfortable but what if you run into Ken Davenport (my favorite blogger). Would he be impressed? Who would he take more seriously? Just be aware of your surroundings and remember in this business you have to market yourself. Your appearance sends a message to everyone you meet. What message are you sending?
My biggest pet peeve is sending thank you notes. You should always send thank you notes. If someone volunteers to help you out, gives you work or gives you tickets; send them a thank you note. It will almost always make an impression because it is a lost art. It will make you stand out from everyone else.
When I interviewed for my current job I sent a thank you note to everyone I met with. After I started work two out of the four people I sent them to commented to me how impressed they were by that and how amazed they were that none of the other candidates sent them. I don�t imagine that was the deciding factor in me landing the job but it sure didn�t hurt.
There are many websites that can describe the proper way to write a thank you note but the important part is to just do it. And try and do it as soon as you can but know that it is never too late to write one.
I was recently cruising theatre news websites when I saw an article about a new play series. I clicked on it because the name was familiar. Turns out I was right and the series is hosted by one of the big DC theatres. However of the full name of the theatre wasn’t mentioned in the title and the first time the name was mentioned it was wrong.
The theatre was Arena Stage but the headline reads “Plays by Tazewell Thompson, Psalmayene 24 and Sullivan Will Be Heard in Arena Series” and the first line of the article reads, “Arena Theatre, committed to new, recent and classic American plays and musicals, has announced the titles…”
The name Arena Stage was not mentioned until the end of the second paragraph. The lesson here is to take care of your brand. I would want my company name to be in the first paragraph. Google Arena Theatre and you might get this.
My name is Jared Neff and this is a blog that will be dedicated to lots of topics but it will revolve around theatre, Broadway and management, some of my favorite topics. Everyday there will be something new and exciting about producing, management or trends in theatre.
Today one of my colleges noted that he was looking to fill a position with our company. Someone else said it should be an easy time to fill a job because so many people are looking. I know in the DC area many theatres have had to lay off staff to try and make their fiscal goals. So I wondered what kinds of jobs are out there right now.
