I am part audio professional, part unlicensed therapist.
It is inarguable to me that the last part of that statement is of more importance than the former.
I don’t mean morally, I don’t mean emotionally.
I mean that people hire me because I’m a highly skilled “unlicensed therapist”.
Being good at audio is always 100% assumed.
It’s both my belief and experience that the most important skill in business is communication.
That means listening, and speaking effectively. The former being slightly more important than the latter.
People don’t hire you to make beautiful art. People hire you because they have problems – the person who convinces the employer that they can solve the employer’s problems with the least amount of effort by the employer often gets the job.
That’s one minor reason why “networking” is important – it’s less effort to find someone through people you already trust than a cold hiring process.
I never set out to understand this – but learned it gradually over time, because I needed to get work.
So on one of my first film sets – when I knew I needed to leave an impression to get re-hired – I started high giving everyone daily, telling them good job, and using their name specifically.
(The name part was a big deal – on those sets you were known by your title, not name, unless you were well known. “Audio guy” and “Lighting girl” were common names.)
By doing this – I simultaneously shamed people into remembering my name and lifted their spirits every day. Eventually people got upset if I didn’t give them a high five.
In every other position since, I’ve made an effort to listen to my bosses’ panics, figure out the unspoken issues, and solve their problems before they’re spoken about.
Most people don’t even realize what I’m doing until after it’s already done.
They usually don’t realize how valuable it is until I’m leaving.
Be good at what you do. Get incredibly technically proficient if you can. Determine what sets you apart from everyone else in your field and lean on that.
But more importantly, concern yourself with what ails your employer or your clients. Listen to them, empathize with them, put yourself in their shoes.
Don’t just complain that they suck to work for.
Solve their problems.
It will solve your problems with them, and make you indispensable.
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