You should hire theatre/TV/film/entertainment and arts workers.

Yes, even if your industry is not “the arts”. Yes, even if they don’t have a degree and 5+ years of experience in your field.

I’ll tell you why!

I’ve got a lot of friends who are out of work for the foreseeable future applying for minimum wage jobs. They’re qualified for and capable of way more than that.

You’ve heard of “the show must go on”, right? Well, that’s the super power of arts workers.

Arts workers will get the thing done, come hell or high water. They know the right way to do it, the cheap way to do it, and the way that it just needs to be done for now so we can get through it and then we can fix it tomorrow.

I know someone who owns an experiential events marketing company, he only hires people with a theatre background to run his events. When I asked him why, he said “because they’re the best at making sure the show goes on. I can teach them the tech. I can’t teach that ingenuity.”

You ever planned a wedding and thought “damn, anyone who plans a wedding could be a project manager.”

Arts workers are like that.

You got a budget and a thing you want to do? They’ll do it on your budget. They’ll be upfront about how it can be done on budget.

The things arts workers can do with a dollar would blow your mind.

I co-created a massive theatre project involving a ton of live-streaming and about $80,000 worth of gear, that my Live-Streaming director managed to secure in exchange for putting a logo on our stuff. No cost.

A lot of arts workers start off doing drama or music as performers. The “soft skills” we talk about? Arts workers have them in spades and many have received what amount to professional training and experience in empathy, listening, collaboration and team work.

In the arts you learn to spot problems before they become problems. You learn to think about all the ways something could go sideways and how to right it again. You learn to act fast and think faster.

I was in a show once where glass was smashed on stage, a window pane from an antique window. Without discussing it and without stopping the show, the cast managed to check on everyone and make the playing space safe. It just happened because it needed to happen.

One time my zipper caught in the middle of a 15 second quick change. I had to be on stage so I just pinned my elbows to my ribs to hold up the dress. My cast noticed and took turns finding a way to hold my dress up for me anytime I had to move my arms. No discussion. Just did it.

My band played a wedding last summer where there was no wedding planner and no coordinator on site. I, the lead singer in the band and formerly of the theatrical arts, stepped in to coordinate on the day because things weren’t going to get done if someone didn’t do ‘em.

You can’t tell me this kind of energy, empathy, creative problem solving and on the spot collaboration is something that’s best suited to minimum wage jobs. I’ve worked with corporate managers who don’t have half the team management skills a stage manager has.

You want something done well, on budget, and on schedule hire someone with an arts background.

And if you want it ahead of time hire a drummer.