It’s funny how often bits of common sense and conventional wisdom that should really go without saying turn out to be just what someone desperately needs to hear. Everyone slips up from time to time, and even those who ostensibly know better can be caught on the wrong side of a no-brainer. Many of these errors are minor and can be chalked up to experience. But sometimes what seems like a minor mistake can be very costly to your career—and chances are, you will never find out what it was you did wrong. You’ll only know you didn’t get the job.
Simple etiquette and common sense, as it turns out, are not all that simple or common.
Initial Contact
If you are writing a letter of inquiry, you should observe business etiquette and a reasonable level of formality. Many first contacts now take place via e-mail or Web forms. E-mail can be an informal medium, but when it is used for business purposes, you must treat it as you would a letter. This means using an appropriate and polite greeting. You wouldn’t dream of mailing someone you’ve never met a note that reads only, “What are the dates for your program?” Sending an e-mail without a proper salutation and signature is just as rude and off-putting. And, for the record, “Hello” and “Hey” are not proper business salutations (I’ve received inquiries beginning with both). The only proper way to address those with whom you hope to establish a business relationship is by their name (including the appropriate honorific) and/or title. “Dear Mr. Snow . . . ”
You should always take the time to find out the name of the person whom correspondence should be addressed to. If an application says it should be addressed to the artistic administrator or auditions coordinator, find out who that person is. (While you’re at it, check the spelling and gender, even if you think it’s apparent.) If there is no name listed on the website, you can call the company directly and inquire—you needn’t give your name unless they ask. Only when you’ve exhausted the possibilities for discovering the name, or if instructions explicitly state, for example, “Address all inquiries to the Auditions Coordinator,” should you use only a title or a standard phrase along the lines of “To Whom It May Concern” or the old-fashioned “Dear Sir or Madam.” These are last resorts.
If you are filling out a Web form inquiring about a program, remember that it goes to the recipient as an e-mail, so you need to observe the same niceties. Use a salutation, write in complete sentences with good grammar and spelling, thank the reader for their time, and sign off with “Sincerely, [Your Full Name].”
For more complex communications, including cover letters, be sure to keep the correspondence brief and to the point. Check grammar and spelling carefully. Neatness counts, just like your grade school teacher told you. Also, don’t forget to include your own contact information on any piece of material you send out—that includes cover letters, letters of inquiry, résumés, bios, headshots, reviews, anything. Make it easy for people to reach you. The easiest thing to do is create a simple letterhead to use for all your professional correspondence.
These rules for polite salutations apply to any unknown person you are hoping to establish a relationship with—whether it is a YAP administrator, manager, or a teacher or coach that you’d like to work with. Err on the side of formality. Save the casual communication for when you know the person better.
Applications
This should also go without saying, but somehow it doesn’t. Sloppy, incomplete applications make a terrible impression. Failure to follow directions makes a terrible impression. Check and double-check information before you seal that envelope or hit the send button. And if you don’t understand something, don’t be afraid to ask. If you need clarification, chances are someone else does, too.
Letters of Recommendation
’Tis the season—and recently, several students have been asking me for letters of recommendation, which I am generally happy to provide. Most ask politely and several weeks in advance, giving me the due dates for each and later gently reminding me of upcoming due dates—all excellent rec-letter-requesting form. But I’ve had to remind a couple of folks to give me the titles, addresses and, in one case, the names of the people the recommendations should be sent to. I also had to do a search to determine whether one of them was a man or a woman. [Insert “frowny” face here.]
When you are asking for a favor, it’s not only your responsibility but very much in your best interest to make sure it is as easy as possible for your benefactor to do that favor for you. That means, for letters of recommendation, you should provide the following:
* The name, including appropriate honorific, and title of the person the letter should be addressed to. Be sure to check spelling and make sure you know whether Artistic Administrator Kris Kay is a Mr. or a Ms.
* An addressed, stamped envelope if you want the writer to post the letter for you (some programs require that you do so) or an addressed, unstamped envelope and instructions for return if you’re sending them with your materials. Make it easy for the letters to be returned to you—include a SASE or arrange to pick them up.
* Ask in a timely manner. Your lack of preparation is not grounds for an emergency on someone else’s part. If it’s a last-minute audition, that’s a different story, but make sure your recommender knows that—and go overboard trying to make it easy for them to help you.
You should also be careful whom you ask for recommendations. Make sure they are willing to write you a glowing review. One way to do that is to tell them that you are thinking of auditioning for program “A”—do they think it’s a good fit for you at this time? This gives them the opportunity to either enthusiastically agree or tactfully guide you toward a program that they think you might be better suited for. It saves face for both of you and it spares you a denial or, worse, a lukewarm letter of recommendation.
Don’t ask for recommendations from people who haven’t heard you recently—and if you can at all avoid it, don’t ask from people you’ve worked with only a short time. It really isn’t fair to the teacher, as you are putting him on the spot by asking him to recommend you at all—and, if he does, he is putting his reputation on the line to some degree. Besides, the recommendation won’t carry much weight if your work together isn’t current.
Finally, a word on gratitude. When I speak with my fellow teachers and program administrators about this, we all have a good laugh about what a lot of wheezing old curmudgeons we sound like: “Those young whippersnappers! It’s all about them! They don’t know how to say thank you!” But the truth is, too many young singers get what they need and move on without expressing appropriate thanks. One teacher I know recently took time out from an incredibly busy schedule to write a large number of letters on very short notice for a longtime and very much beloved student, who only a few weeks later thought nothing of rather publicly announcing that they were changing studios. Talk about burning bridges.
No mentor of developing singers that I know expects to receive more than a polite “thank you” for recommending their students. However, your appreciation should be demonstrated on a level proportionate to the amount of trouble that person went through for you. If you asked for letters to be written, the classy thing to do is to handwrite a thank-you note and mail it. U.S. Postal Service, not e-mail.
If someone wrote you a great number of recommendations, or did so on very short notice, it would not be out of line to show up at your next meeting with a cup of their favorite coffee, some flowers, or some other small token of appreciation in addition to a handwritten note. And if someone really went to the mat for you, you might think more along the lines of lunch or a bottle of wine. But you needn’t even spend money—the important thing is to simply show that you understand that they did you a big favor and you appreciate it.
At the Audition
If a singer needs to be told to be nice to the audition panel, he or she isn’t ready to be auditioning. Developing singers, however, may not be aware that the audition begins from the moment they set foot in public, and that means before even entering the audition space. More than one company installs an audition monitor as the first line of resistance, and singers unwise enough to be unpleasant to this person have failed the audition before they ever open their mouths to sing.
“We put one of our stage managers in the hall, but we don’t tell anyone that that’s who she is,” an opera company admin recently told me. “If singers are rude to her on the way in, she simply gives us the sign and although we let that person sing, we mark them down as a ‘do not hire.’ In this case, it’s one strike, you’re out.”
You simply don’t know who’s who in the hall (or in the restroom, for that matter!) while you’re waiting to sing, so it’s not the place to jockey for position, psych out your colleagues, or show off your diva-tude. Behave graciously to all who cross your path and you’ll be seen as the type of colleague a company enjoys employing.
This common sense courtesy extends to your pianist, even if you’re disappointed in his work. Once you’re in the audition room, concentrate on doing your job and don’t worry about anyone else’s. If you’re unhappy with the pianist, keep your opinion to yourself. Besides, if you are singing well, keyboard clunkers won’t matter.
If you hope to crash an audition, be very careful. Show up early, materials and cash for a pianist in hand, and ask if there’s a chance they’ll hear unscheduled singers. Many companies don’t mind filling cancellations with walk-ins—but if they say no, the only appropriate response is a cheerful “Thank you for your time. I hope to have the opportunity in the future.” This should be followed by a quick exit. Also, you should never crash an audition that you have already been rejected for or a callback that you were not specifically invited to.
When the audition is over, unless the panelists or other company personnel invite conversation, don’t hang around chatting. They have a job to do and a schedule to keep, and your job is to be charming, sing fabulously, and leave them wanting more. There’ll be plenty of time to hang out once you land the gig.
And speaking of gigs, stay tuned for Part Two, when we’ll discuss more things that go without saying (but need to be said) once you’re on the job.
