Erin Joy Swank is a freelance stage manager, working nationally in multiple genres including traditional theatre, musicals, opera, and dance. Her favorite cast members ever were the camels of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (tour, featuring the Rockettes). Member: Actors’ Equity, the Stage Manager’s Association and the United States Institute for Theatre Techology. She is often in a position to hire designers and technicians, and adds these comments:

You and the prospective employer each have a problem. Your problem is that you need a job. The employer's problem is that s/he has an open position to fill and must make the best possible selection out of the many, many possibilities. To a point, your success will be directly proportional to the degree with which you successfully present yourself as the solution to the employer's problem. You should always try to make it as easy as possible for the employer to hire you.

• Do not give potential employers an excuse not to hire you:

  Employers get many many more résumés than they have open positions, so their first step is to get the pile down to a manageable size. Do not give them an excuse to eliminate you!

  Make sure that:

  • Your résumé and cover letter are neat and attractive.
    
  • You have no spelling or grammatical errors. Especially make sure that you properly use "your" and "you're". Other words which are commonly misused are:
    • "There", "they're", and "their"
    • "Too", "two", and "to"
    • "Its" and "it's"
    • "Then" and "than".

    One word that every English-speaker in theatre should know how to spell correctly is "rehearsal". Other things to remember are that there is no such word as "alot" (The correct usage is "a lot" -- two words) and an apostrophe does not, as Dave Barry said, mean, "Yikes! here comes an 'S'!" (In other word's...er...words...don't use an apostrophe to indicate that a word is plural.)

    If you live in a country in which English is not the primary language, there probably are similar mistakes which are frequently made. Learn the correct usage!

    You may feel that these concerns are picayune; you are, after all, applying to design the lighting, not to write the program notes. This may be true, but theatre is a collaborative art form and communication is the key to collaboration. In addition, the employer may well consider spelling and grammar to be indicative of your attention to detail and of your level of education. It's possible that the employers to whom you're applying may not care about your language skills, but you have nothing to lose by assuming that they do, and much to lose by assuming that they do not.

    Humans have a natural tendency not to notice their own errors. Our minds automatically translate our mistyped text into that which we meant to write. It's always a good idea, after you've done your own proofreading, to ask someone else – as John puts it, "your smarter friend" – to look over your work. This can save you a great deal of embarrassment. Don't rely solely on spelling checkers; they will not catch every error.

  • Make sure that the jobs in which you're interested ("Lighting Design," "Electrician," etc.) are clearly listed at the top of your résumé. If employers have to work to figure out which job(s) you want, they're more likely to toss your résumé aside and move to the next one in the very large pile in front of them.

  • Do not use abbreviations. You may know that AGPCCA stands for "Alferd G. Packer College of Culinary Arts", but do not expect prospective employers to know that. It is acceptable, however, to use the acronym subsequent to the first usage. And no, I'm not telling you; Google "Alferd G. Packer".

• Use a professional-sounding email address. If your email address is something like, "Partygirl99@******.com," that's your business, but it's unlikely to impress a prospective employer – at least, not in a positive way. It's easy enough to get a free email address, preferably one which incorporates your first and last names.

• Let the employer decide whether or not you are qualified:

  It isn't your job to decide that your qualifications are not what they want. That's the employers' job; don't do it for them. As a college student or recent graduate, you are unlikely to be hired to design a Broadway show or for the Metropolitan Opera, but other than that, if you see a job opening for which you feel you are qualified, by all means apply. The worst thing that can happen is that you won't be hired...and you don't have the job now, so you'll be no worse off.

  [Note: By the same token, be realistic; if the stated requirements are an MFA degree and you have only a BFA with no significant professional experience, don't waste their time, or yours.]

• Assume that anyone with whom you are working now will some day be asked about you:

  Theatre is a very small, close-knit society, and the degrees of separation tend to be significantly fewer than six. Even if you do not list a particular former supervisor or colleague as a reference, he or she may be asked about you.

• Have your portfolio available in a variety of formats:

  Some employers may want to look at a physical portfolio, while others may prefer to go online to see samples of your work. If you choose to have a web site, there are a variety of inexpensive hosting services, some of which give discounts to theatre artists. In either format, your work should be well-organized and neatly presented.

• Be ruthless in editing:

  Your résumé and portfolio should contain only those examples which best demonstrate the quality of your work. The fact that you really enjoyed working on a particular production is unlikely to matter to prospective employers; all they care about is the breadth of your experience and the quality of your work.

• Online applications:

  If you are applying or submitting materials online, make sure that your name and the position for which you're applying appear both in the "Subject" field of your email and in the names of any files you submit. Remember that you want to make it as easy as possible for employers to hire you; if a prospective employer wants to review your materials one more time, make it as easy as you can for him/her to find them. A file or email entitled "Thomas Edison - Lighting Design Résumé.pdf" will be clearer and easier than one among many merely entitled, "Résumé."

• John Devlin's suggestion that, you specifically address the person to whom you are writing is a very good one:

  It's easy enough to do a web search to find the name of the artistic director or production manager, and in the case of androgynous names like "Chris" or "Kim", there will often be articles, interviews, or bios that will give you clues to the person's gender. This is a good idea in any case; there are women named "Michael," and I know of at least one female artistic director named "Timothy". In the Houston professional theatre community, for many years there was a married couple whose names were Lorraine and Johnny; Lorraine was the husband and Johnny was the wife.

• When you have two or more options and don't know which is correct, go with the more conservative:

  For example, if you should be lucky enough to get an interview and you don't know whether or not to wear a tie (or the conventional female equivalent), wear one. You won't offend anyone by being too well dressed (within reason), and it's a lot easier to remove a tie than to make one materialize out of thin air. A good rule of thumb is to dress one level higher than the position requires.

• John's suggestion about not using fancy papers is also good:

  I suggest using a grey or an off-white. This gives the impression that you cared enough to select the right paper (you did care, didn't you?), but isn't garish and offensive.

• The same applies to your choice of typeface:

  Your cover letter and résumé are business documents. Use a font that is attractive, but not distracting or difficult to read. Don't waste time or money using colored text; even if you do it tastefully, The employer will undoubtedly scan/photocopy/print your résumé in black and white.

• An example of an inappropriate résumé (Click on résumé to see a larger image):

  

  This résumé has several problems, including:

  • The floral border has problems on at least two levels:
    1. It is distracting. You want your résumé to be about you and your achievements. The flowery border draws the eye away from the text – and the text is the most important element.

    2. You may be tempted to use fancy paper and graphics to demonstrate that you are an artist, but remember that the art of lighting design is largely about knowing what's appropriate within the context of a given situation. By using paper that some might consider inappropriate for a business document, the applicant is demonstrating a weakness in this regard. Have faith in your résumé; let your accomplishments speak for themselves.

  • The font is unevenly spaced, which makes it difficult to read. This is exacerbated by the text's
    being all uppercase.

  • There is at least one misspelled word (Nope, find it yourself).

  • The applicant takes inordinate pride in having a high score on a video game. The potential employer may well wonder if this is included because the applicant has nothing more relevant to list, and certainly will question the applicant's values and sense of priority.

  • Production experience should be listed in reverse chronological order -- with the most
    recent work listed first.

  • The name of the educational institution is abbreviated, and could be "San Diego State Technical
    College," "South Dakota State Teachers College," or something else.

  This is, obviously, an example taken to extremes in order to make a point, but many similar, if less egregious, errors are committed regularly.

• Now, let's look at a résumé that is more likely to be effective (Click on résumé to see a
  larger image):

  

  This one is clean and easy to read. It's visually less exciting, perhaps, but the purpose of the résumé
  is to inform, not to entertain. There is a lot of white space, making it easy for the employer to jot
  down notes. One possible criticism might be: If you ever do win an Obie award, you might want to
  put that somewhere near the top of your résumé.

I've looked at hundreds of resumes (those that cleared HR already) from about equally qualified candidates. I didn't have time to admire all the clever nuances that you labored so long and hard over. Sorry, it's just not possible. Give me the TRUE highlights -short, simple, and intelligible- that will get you the interview. THERE is when you really need to shine. Prepare an elevator pitch, a ten minute pitch, and an hour of backup. You probably won't ever use the backup, but it helps your confidence that you have it ready for any unexpected questions. It also helps you pick out those things that you truly contributed something to and not just moved an object from point A to point B. Length is not nearly as important as contributions and why you made that choice.

Before the interview:

• Research the company. Most theatre, dance, and opera companies have web sites. It's quite possible that you have friends who have worked for the company with which you are interviewing. Learn what the company does. Does it specialize in Broadway musicals? Original plays? Forgotten American classics? If you happen to have a lot of experience in the type of work in which the theatre specializes, that gives you an advantage, but you can't prepare for it and can't take advantage of it unless you know about it.

• Learn about the interviewer. Most professional directors have been the subjects of feature articles and, of course, their productions will have been reviewed. Production managers and designers are less thoroughly covered, but there is still a wealth of information available on the web. Particularly helpful are program bios, which are often found on companies' web sites. Since these are written by the subjects themselves, they are often revealing of the things people think are important about their professional lives.

• Get plenty of sleep the night before. Don't go out drinking. Don't stay up late "cramming", as if for an English Literature midterm. In fact, it might be a good idea to set a cutoff time, say 5:00PM, at which point you stop preparing. Watch television. Go to a movie. Read a book. Do whatever relaxes you.

• Arrive early. The first director with whom Jeff ever worked used to say, "If you're not 10 minutes early, you're late." Allow time for unforeseen delays such as traffic jams and subway service delays (If you live in Los Angeles, Boston, or New York, you should consider these to be foreseen delays. Allow time for them, as well as for any other situations that might arise.)

• Eat your breakfast or lunch first. Do not arrive for the interview carrying coffee or a burger.

• Learn the interviewer's name, and remember it.

• Dress appropriately. See the suggestion above (in Résumés and Cover Letters) about making the conservative choice.

• Bring a pen and paper in case the interviewer asks you to write something down.

• Know what questions you want to ask about the company. Remember that an interview is a two-way street; The company is deciding if it wants you to to work there, and you are deciding whether or not this is a place you want to work.

• Assume that you will be asked the following questions:
  • "Why did you leave your previous job?" (or, "Why are you leaving your current job?")

  • "Why do you want to work for ____________ Theatre Company?"

  • "What are your strong points?"

  • "What are your weak points?"

  • "What is your proudest accomplishment?" (Be advised that the purpose of this question may be to test your priorities. Don't dismiss it with something that may be perceived as shallow (Remember the "XBox Achievement Points" in the "bad" résumé above?).

  • "Tell me about yourself." (This may indicate that the interviewer is not trained in interviewing techniques and is looking for something – anything – to say, or it may indicate a sophisticated interviewer who is, again, testing your priorities. Either way, the question is a gift; it's an opportunity to shine. Be prepared for it.)

  Have answers ready. You might not be asked all of these questions, but it costs you nothing to prepare.

• Assume that any staff member with whom you speak in the weeks/days/minutes before your interview is part of the interview process.

• Assume that anything you post on Facebook, Twitter, or any other public forum in the weeks/days/minutes before your interview will be read by a staff member of the company.

• Use the interviewer's name, but not excessively. People do like to hear their names, but if you use it too often or too forcefully, it comes across as manipulative and will work against you.

• Don't chew gum.

• Don't take notes during the interview unless specifically encouraged to do so by the interviewer.

• At the appropriate time (Hint: The interviewer will almost always ask, at some point, if you have any questions), ask whatever questions you might have. These should be real, legitimate questions; you do not want to give the impression that you are asking questions merely because you think it's expected of you. Do not flaunt the fact that you've researched the company; if you've prepared well, that fact will be obvious in the questions you ask. If the interviewer for some reason does not prompt you for questions, feel free, at the end of the interviewer to ask, politely, "Do you mind answering a few questions?"

  Your questions serve two purposes. they get you more information about the company, and they also show the interviewer that you're truly interested and give her/him an idea of how perceptive you are.

  Do not ask questions the answers to which are easily available on the company's web site. This gives the impression that you were too lazy to do basic research.

• Assume that the interviewer already knows (as may indeed be the case) the answers to questions such as "Why did you leave your previous job?" and "How much money are you making now?". If you yield to the temptation to inflate your salary, and the interviewer already knows how much you're making, you will appear to be dishonest. Likewise, if you were fired from your previous job, and the interviewer knows this, answering, "I decided to pursue other activities," (or other dissembling answer) will undoubtedly disqualify you. If you were fired, there are ways to address it in a manner that will minimize its impact and possibly even work to your advantage, such as, "The artistic director and I had differences over _____________. In retrospect, I realize that I handled it poorly. I learned a lot from the experience and if it were ever to happen again, I would ______________ ."

  John Devlin comments: I'd replace "appear to be dishonest" with "prove you are dishonest"--why not call a spade a spade?

• The mirror image of "Why did you leave your previous job?" is "Why is this position open now?", and this is a question you should certainly ask, especially if your research has indicated that the position has been open several times over the past few years or, in general, if the company seems to have a large turnover in staff.

• Don't bad-mouth your current or past employers. This will cause the interviewer to wonder what you will, if hired, eventually be saying about him or her.

• The question, "Why did you leave your previous job?" (or its variant, "Why are you leaving your current position?") can be a minefield. It may well be that the Artistic Director is a jerk, but you have nothing to gain by saying that (and, given how few people there are in theatre, it's quite possible that the interviewer already knows that the AD is a jerk and is interested more in the level of tact with which you answer the question). You can use "We just didn't get along," one time, at most. Answering that way more than once will rightly cause the interviewer to question whether you would get along with his or her company and whether you may be less careful about making important decisions (such as which job offers to accept) as you might be. You should definitely be prepared to honestly, yet tactfully, say why you left each of your most recent jobs.

• John Devlin asks: How do you suggest handling what I'd class as inane questions? I once got, "If you had to describe theatre as a sport, which sport do you think it would be, and why?" Of course I answered it, but the little voice in my mind was saying, "It's the 'I don't want to play with you' sport," and I was neither offered the job nor would have taken it if offered.

  Jeff replies: This is an interesting problem. On the off chance that you still want the job, it's probably not appropriate to respond, "The sport in which the participants ask really stupid questions," even if that is, indeed, the honest reply. I can think of two legitimate reasons for which this question might be asked:

  1. The employer may be inexperienced at conducting interviews and may simply be flailing about desperately trying to think of something to ask. If this is the case, you have much to gain by helping him (In this case, let's assume the interviewer is male) out by answering the question. You could say something like, "I'd compare it to baseball, in that it requires close teamwork, yet each player has a time at bat – an opportunity to shine, individually," or, if you prefer, "I've never thought of it that way before. I'd say that art and sport are so different that I really don't know how to answer that." I would go with the first answer, but then, I'm so not sports-oriented that my instinctive response might be, "Baseball -- that's the one with the goal posts, right?" If he is, indeed, uncomfortable and flailing, and you've helped him out, he will be grateful.

     The point is that in response to a question like that, it's OK to vamp; it's OK to make something up, because the question itself is divorced from reality.

  2. The interviewer (and now we'll assume she's female) may know exactly what she's doing. The question may be designed to test your ability to think quickly, and adapt. The inanity may be deliberate; after all, what are you going to do when a director comes in and says, "I see Death of a Salesman as taking place on Mars, in the 25^th century"?

     In this case, you might answer something like, "I'd compare it to baseball, in that it requires close teamwork, yet each player has a time at bat – an opportunity to shine, individually." Yep, same answer – because you have no way of knowing whether the interviewer is sophisticated or merely faking it, and you have everything to gain (and nothing to lose) by assuming she knows what she's doing and by always responding appropriately.

  John adds: "The inane question was asked during a conference call – there were 3-4 faculty sitting around a table taking turns asking questions and I was the little speaker in the middle of the table. My answer at the time was that what sport I'd compare theatre to depended on the situation being addressed: there are times when basketball, baseball, football, soccer, or hockey all have appropriate analogous behavior (you'll note they're all team sports, not individual or 'star' sports like tennis, golf, bowling, race-car driving--though the last may be more team oriented than the earlier). I made my analogies along the way with each sport...I remember saying something about an ally-oop pass at one point. But the question really turned me off the institution."

• Don't ask what the salary is. It's theatre; it's not enough, anyway, and being the first one to bring up the subject gives the impression that money is your primary concern. On the other hand, if the interviewer broaches the subject, that probably means that he or she is seriously considering you for the position.

• If an interviewer asks an ambiguous question, either ask her/him to clarify it, or interpret it in the way that best presents you and your abilities.

• Be natural. Even if you've prepared answers for every question you are asked, you don't want to come across as "rehearsed".

• Assume that the interviewer has a reason for every question. This will not always be true -- in most cases, the interviewer will be a theatre artist or technician with no formal training in interviewing techniques -- but, again, you have nothing to lose by assuming that the interviewer knows what he or she is doing.

• You may be asked questions about your private life. You do not, technically, have to answer these (and in some cases, these questions are illegal under American labor law), but if you decline to answer, do so tactfully. Understand that the interviewer's purpose in asking whether you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend (or a girlfriend and a boyfriend) may be to get a sense of whether or not you will have the commitment and availability necessary for a demanding and time-consuming job in theatre.

• Be confident. Remember that the main topic of the interview is a subject about which you know more than any other person alive – yourself.

• Assume that anything you post on Facebook, Twitter, or any other public forum in the minutes/days/weeks after your interview will be read by a staff member of the company.

• Assume that any staff member with whom you speak in the minutes/days/weeks after your interview is part of the interview process.

• Write down a summary of what was asked and said.

• Don't make assumptions about how well you did or didn't do. As the interviewee, you are in the absolute worst position from which to evaluate how well it went. Most of your colleagues who are actors can tell you stories of auditions which they thought they'd aced, only not to be cast, and about auditions they thought were catastrophes, yet resulted in job offers. The same goes for you and your interviews.

As Jeff said - the interviewer may be inexperienced in conducting interviews. In general you can bear in mind that the interviewer is a person too. You're not performing to a shadowy audience, you're talking to someone who has his own perspective.

What does this mean, in practice?

The interviewer might not know to ask questions that would give him an accurate idea of you. If you feel you have relevant skills and experience that haven't come out during the interview, you can mention them before you leave.

The interviewer might have preconceptions about the kind of person he (she) wants for the job. You can't do much about this, but it would help to know what kind of person had held the job before, and whether they were satisfactory or not - and why. You should find this out beforehand if possible.

During the interview you should also try to clarify what kind of person you're talking to. This might give you a better idea of how to respond. You must not ask the interviewer any personal questions! But if she keeps talking about discipline obviously that's the kind of thing that she values. If she warns you that the job isn't easy she may have had bad experience in the past, and you can clarify that you're not just there to have a good time.

In addition - she might be shy. She might be picky. She might be brilliantly skilled and absorbed in the work. It helps to bear in mind that you're talking to a real person. This is a person-to-person meeting, not a performance, and you should be flexible enough to react to that.