smile, show up and act like you belong. even if you don’t people will assume you do. if you want to join in, all you need to do is find the right person to ask.
i joined my first professional band that way. looked up [specific genre] bands in my area, found a few, looked up which one was the best, called up the director, showed up to practice, auditioned in and was their new [let’s pretend i play upright bass. i actually do, but last time i played one a tuning peg flew across the damn room. i also suck at it. so i was not playing upright bass with them] specialist. favorite band i ever played with.
it’s one of those “walk in and give a firm handshake and you’ll get a job” bullshit advice things. I had good timing, they were looking for someone who specialized in what i do (they had a specialist who moved away a year prior and they were noticing the difference) but they were the only ones i’ve played with that did all the frills and trills.
I learned the same general thing through doing theatre. I reframe the interview so it’s not an interview at all - I already work there and it’s my first day back from some kind of sabbatical. I’m really looking forward to seeing the old group again. We get along great and our manager is awesome. Can’t wait! So when I walk in I’m in that character and feel genuinely glad to be there and happy to see everybody. Cultural fit kicks in right away. I feel like I belong there and so do they. Works great.
smile, show up and act like you belong. even if you don’t people will assume you do. if you want to join in, all you need to do is find the right person to ask.
i joined my first professional band that way. looked up [specific genre] bands in my area, found a few, looked up which one was the best, called up the director, showed up to practice, auditioned in and was their new [let’s pretend i play upright bass. i actually do, but last time i played one a tuning peg flew across the damn room. i also suck at it. so i was not playing upright bass with them] specialist. favorite band i ever played with.
it’s one of those “walk in and give a firm handshake and you’ll get a job” bullshit advice things. I had good timing, they were looking for someone who specialized in what i do (they had a specialist who moved away a year prior and they were noticing the difference) but they were the only ones i’ve played with that did all the frills and trills.
I learned the same general thing through doing theatre. I reframe the interview so it’s not an interview at all - I already work there and it’s my first day back from some kind of sabbatical. I’m really looking forward to seeing the old group again. We get along great and our manager is awesome. Can’t wait! So when I walk in I’m in that character and feel genuinely glad to be there and happy to see everybody. Cultural fit kicks in right away. I feel like I belong there and so do they. Works great.
performing arts folk are special