Hiring at Griffin

Posted by Daniel Toop on May 19, 2011 in Management | 0 comments

If you’re reading this then you’re either a regular reader of my blog or you’ve been sent here from Griffin Alliance to see what you’re about to get yourself into because we think you might have what it takes to be a Griff

So what are we looking for in our staff members?

Excellent Communicators
You must be an excellent communicator, with excellent English verbal and written skills. We are different to other DJs in that we always want feedback from our customers in multiple forms, whether reading the dancefloor, talking to Managers, networking with DJs or taking requests from customers.

Intelligent
You must be smart, able to pick things up and willing to learn new things. The DJ industry is always innovating along with technology, we have used Vinyl, Mini-Disc, Compact Disc, SD Card, Flash Drives, Hard Drives, Laptops and new controller systems are coming out every day. We pride ourselves on using any new technology that will help us to better entertain our customers.

Humility:
It takes a special type of person to be in 100% control of the entertainment of what can sometimes be thousands of people at a time. Some DJs do it for the kudos and others do it for the love of it. In our experience once work becomes about how much better you are then other people, the crowds can feel it. It takes a special type of person to have power and be humble enough to use it to make people have a great time rather than as a power trip.

Reliability
We pride ourselves on not being crack-heads. I know this sounds weird, but in the DJ industry a lot of the time we are literally competing against alcoholics and drug addicts. If you need to be on special substances to perform your job then move you can get a job at pretty much any other DJ company. We pride ourself on being professional entertainers.

Artistic
You need to be a true artist. I’m not talking about someone that cycles to the local coffee shop in their paint speckled smock and talks about things that are ironic/new wave/so 2010.
I’m talking about how people traditionally related to artists, I’m talking about the Dr Dres, Michael Jordans, Jonathan Ives, Picassos, Michael Jacksons, Will Smiths and James Browns of the world.
Steve Martin once gave the advice to “Be so good that they can’t ignore you”, that is the core of the services we provide. The entertainment industry is very fickle, the only way to guarantee job security is to be so good that it is undeniable.

Motivated
As you can tell, it takes a lot of training to make it in the DJ business. Anyone can pop some pills, put a mix CD in a CD player and pump their fist all night. It takes a true DJ to be to bring the party to the people regardless of the circumstances or the audience. This will mean that you will need to do a lot of practice both at gigs with a mentor and at home by yourself. We have made teaching DJing an art form, but it still takes effort on behalf of the mentor and the trainee. If you’re not motivated then you will lose interest half way through and waste both our time.

Transport
You’ll need some way to get to gigs and some of the gigs will be away from public transport or you will have to bring equipment with you. If you dont have your own car or license then a loving family may be able to help you out. If you have neither then you better have a bicycle and large quads.

Love for Music
You must have a love for music of all types. Trends change and music evolves, one year you may be DJing R&B and the next you may be DJing at House clubs. We look for people that have a love of great music regardless of genre. If your focus is on the dancefloor then the genre won’t matter.

Love for People
You need to have a love for people of all types. You will come across people from all walks of life throughout your career as a DJ, most of whom you would never associate with in your normal life. What sets us apart is that we are happy with our own lives and don’t feel the need to judge others to feel better about ourselves. Plato said “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.”

Work Weekends
You need to be able to work and train on weekends, not every weekend, but most. If you’re not DJing on the weekend then you will be expected to be training or looking for your own gigs.

Still here? Excellent.

So what are the upsides if you are this kind of person?

Intelligent
You get to work with other smart people. If you have ever worked with stupid people you will know why this is good.

Training
We supply the initial DJ training and also have ongoing training in other areas of business such as Leadership as well as business skills that are transferable into other jobs and life skills.

Leadership
We give you the ability to learn and use real leadership skills in the real world, with the backup of a safety net if things dont go the way theyre planned.

Fun
We have a lot of fun. ’nuff said.

Integrity
We operate at a high level of integrity, you would be surprised how much difference this makes in having a drama free work environment that also comes across into your personal life. Things just work.

Opportunity
We expect a lot from our staff, but also pay the top of market rates, provide free training and have a lot of opportunities for the right people.

Still Reading? Wicked.

 

What is the next step?
If you havent sent your resume in yet then do it here:

http://www.griffinalliance.com/employment

If you have been sent to this post after the resume screening then send me an email and we’ll get you out to meet the crew in person and then go to the interview stage!