“The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created–created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination.” – John Scholar
Ever feel like you might not have the right skills and tools to get either a full time or temp job to make ends meet, when you make the move to a larger city where there are more opportunities to work, hone and master the necessary skills required for a professional singing career? This conversation comes up time and time again in my consultations and as I mentor singers about to make this kind of move. Here are some ideas you need to understand and embrace concerning this subject.
First fact! With so many Baby Boomers turning 65 (10,000 every day) and leaving the job market, many organizations and businesses are not prepared for such an unequaled drain on their work force choices. And on the other side of that coin, the projections of younger workers entering the workforce are even more shocking. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the 10 years between 2010 to 2020, the number of workers between the ages of 16 to 54 will decrease by about 1 million. So, as the person hiring, your biggest human challenge is this: Where will you find enough next-generation workers with the skills required for success? Organizations and businesses far and wide will compete intensely for workers who are adaptable, resourceful, and can quickly learn and apply new skills to a variety of challenges. The big question for them is where can you find such workers? The big answer to this question is: Employ an artist.
Second Fact! Artists of all types often possess the skills and temperament that business leaders regularly say are in short supply: creativity, resiliency, flexibility, high tolerance for risk and uncertainty as well as the courage to fail. Artists have the ability for critical thinking, adaptability and resourcefulness when working with others. Plus they are often innovative, courageous, gutsy with a pretty clear understand of how to use their creative skills in a variety of settings. And, the business and corporate world has finally realized all of this. To put the topping on the cake, here is what IBM found in a global study of more than 1,500 CEOs from 60 countries and 33 industries, that the most important skill for successfully traversing our increasingly complex, volatile, and uncertain world is none other than creativity.
Because our industry of performance often requires maintaining a more flexible schedule, (making time for lessons, coaching’s, rehearsals, and even taking a larger block of time off for performances) when you are out there looking for a job, make sure your work resume gives a really great description of what you, as an artist, have to offer that is unique to those looking for great employees. Use some of these valuable facts and pepper your CV with these influential adjectives when introducing yourself on paper. You are the commodity they are looking for. I know for a fact that many of my students have found well paying jobs whether they are 9-5 or temp jobs, in fields they know very little about, where when it came time for them to move on to a better situation or because they had enough work as a performer to pay the bills, the employers were surprised that they had to hire 2-3 people to fill that job.
Remember that many people still see artists as shamans, dreamers, outsiders, and rebels. However, when you interview for that job, it’s up to you to change their minds by introducing some of the skills we have just talked about. In reality, the artist is a builder, a manager, a research analyst, a human relations expert, a project manager, a communications specialist, and a salesperson. The artist is all of those and more–combined with the imagination of an inventor and the courage of an explorer. Not a bad set of talents for any business challenged to innovate in a world of volatility, uncertainty, and change.
Ciao until next time. Carol
