My Apprentice Audition

Friday - February 25, 2005 -

I get up to go to a work meeting at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce from 7:30-9:30am. Things were cool. I was using it as wakeup time to get me ready for the audition.

Went back to work from 9:30-10am then LEft to go wait in line at the audition. I come home, pick up Courtney and we head out. No idea of how many people are in line or who even knows about it. This was a special audition for UW students, faculty, and alumni. I would have never even known about it if it was not for courntnet receiving an e-mail from the business school.

We get to campus and park in Padelford, probably as close to the hub as we could have gotten. Everyone says you should dress for hte apprentice audition like you were ready to go to a job interview so I wore my Black Banana Republic Skirt and a Maroon Banana Republic Shirt. Not a bad outfit but we will have to see what everyone else would be wearing.

Court and I get to the hub and go looking for room 108 where the auditions will be held. We assume it is 10:30 and the auditions are a t 1:00 so there will be a line already. We keep looking around and find the room... no one is there. What? Are we first in line? I want to be there early, but First? That is never good. I do not want to look too confident and crazy psycho.

We deceide to go get a soda downstairs in the Hub Cafe. Gotta always have me a DIET COKE! We come back and still no one. We see people who are setting up the room but no one there who "looks like they would audition". There is a certain type of people who audition for reality tv.. IE. People like me. :) I did not see anyone. There were some nice chairs in the hub so court and I claimed some. About an hour later, a guy and girl walk up. Guy in a suit, girl in a nice coat. Are they auditioning too??? This is odd actually seeing others here too. They walk around and proceed to sit in the general area. Still an hour before audition time and there are only 3 people here. Not quite what you would expect for an Apprentice Audition.

By 12:30 a few more well dressed people have shown up... likely fellow auditioners. We also see a group of 3 people walk by. One shorter guy with two taller girls... fairly plain, yet you can tell they are wearing designer jeans and one is caring a LV bag. I point them out to court. Those are the casting agents. She said I was thinking that but they are so plain. I said no... You have seen one person in the biz you can pick any out. They all have that same look about them. Nice clothes, nice big purse, and look like they just got off a plane. LOL

They set up standards and say the audition will start in 15 min and anyone here for it should get in line. I know I was there first but being the first person in line is not at all appealing to me. I am developing a strategy even though I am not even on the show... YET. I casually walk over to the line and end up # 15 or so. Not a bad spot.

In the research I have done on the net, I would assume these to be group interviews. Then the guy comes out and annouces the casting people will spend about 5-10 min with each person. WHAT? That is cool but not at all what I would expect. Now I will have to wait a while... was this a good strategy to be so far back in line???

We see people go in and then come out... another in, another out.... This is not so bad. When they come out, they start talking about what they were asked. They say pretty general questions. General Questions? What is that about? OK.... we'll see what more say. One girl says they asked her why she wanted to be on the show... she was so young... only 22. I was thinking... They asked that because the next one is old versus young.... hmmm... maybe I should tailor my answer to accomodate that fact....

I keep waiting. Court by my side.... she is more nervous than I am. I do not get nervous. I just talk faster. I notice something else. No one is coming out looking happy. Why is that? If I had jsut finished this audition, I would come out with a big smile, not one of these blah faces. They guy says it is because they aren't really interviewing as much as they are having conversations with the auditioners. I was thinking GREAT! That is my kind of interview! I know busines school people are not used to those kind of interviews, but for me, that is all I do.

Pretty soon I am in the front of the line... I am next. Ok... Courtney says her stomach is in knots and she is so nervous. WAIT... she is not auditioning.. I am. What a good friend to have sympathy pains for me. LOL I am getting excited. SO excited that this could be the beginning of life as I know it. I try to pump myself up. I am thinking I need to bonk heads or smack myself to get me crazed. But I just start making jokes... the energy is there. Time to screw on perma-smile... it is my turn.

The door opens. I see a table at the far end of the room with both the casting agents sitting there and a chair in front of them. That is my chair and it looks like a runway up to it. Time to walk the runway. Head up, big smile, lots of energy. I walk in. I get halfway down, they look up. I say HI! How are you! They are suprised. They say.. wow .. start off with some energy. That is great! Point AMY!

I sit down... Hand them my resume and we begin... or did it begin when I walked through the door??? The blonde says, so I see you have a bachelor of Arts in Communications. I said, Yes I do! From UW in fact, GO figure! The brounette points to my resume and the blonde stops. You were on the radio??? I was thinking to myself... YES! MY uniqueness. I say YES I WAS.. she says tell me about the morning show. OH LORD.. Where do I begin. I start telling about my life on the morning show. WHat I would do and so on. I told her about going to the ALAMO premiere and interviewing people on the red carpet. Like Billy Bob THornton and Dennis QUade. She says... WOW.. and you were not nervous? I said I do not get nervous.. I jsut talk faster. She was amused.

She says did you ever do any crazy stunts? I started telling her about throw down til you throw up and sewervivor. SHe is amazed I am so energetic telling a story about something so disgusting. I tell her I have pictures if she would like to see. :)

Then we go into what I do now, Internet Marketing. I tell her all about internet marketing and what we do. I said how I work in a small office and how that is nice but nothing like working in a big company like the trumps. She said, is that why you want to be on the apprentice... I want to give her props for her segway, but I let it slide.

I say no, I want to be on the Apprentice becuase It is a way to get to the top without working your way up. I have heard so may times how you have to work your way up and how you have to go work this job because when I was your age I had to go do that. I know you have talent but If It took me this long to get here... you should have to do it too. YOu are young and you have time to succeed.

Way to go Amy. Talk about how much it sux to be young in business!!!

They seem impressed with my answers.. but who really knows. They ask who I would want to be an apprentice for: Donald or Martha. I say I am very creative and so Martha would be the obvious choice, however, I really htink I would fit better with Donald. He works on a lot of the promotional marketing side and coming from that world and working on the streets and in management, I have a lot of knowledge that would work well for me with him.

They say thanks for coming and I am done. I stand up and ask. Where do we go from here? When will I find out anything? They say if I were to be chosen I should get a call in the next week. If not, then pretty much tough luck until next time. I was like sounds good! Thanks for having me! They say it was great meeting me and i turn around and walk towards the door. They say THANKS again. I say thank you too and I walk out. I leave with a smile. I WAS AMY. There was no more AMY I could be in that interview. I could not ask for more.

I made sure I left with a big smile on my face... Unlike my competition. I knew I did the best I could and that was all I could ask for. I am sure they said the typical line of we will call you if you get chosen because they can't make any promises, however, I am still optimiztic. No one else at this auditon was quite like me. Many business students and marketing professionals, but lacking in overall personality. THat is something I do have.

Now I wait a week and see how long it takes them to call. I will stay informed and stay excited!!!