Catharsis and American Idol

Emotions that feel familiar. Stories that resonate. Dreams that need to be put on a back burner. Someone telling you you're just not good enough. OK, well maybe not that last one. Three things I've become familiar with over the last two years. However, those three things are not from sharing my experiences with someone else out of work. That's from one night of watching American Idol!!

I'll admit, I am one to get emotional when watching reality TV. Whether it's watching someone come in second on The Amazing Race (my favorite!) or a hopeful young woman having her dream of landing Prince Charming dashed to pieces on The Bachelor, some days I'm so empathetic, I actually tear up, sitting on my couch.

Normally, I don't even watch the first six or so weeks of American Idol. I find the auditions to be a waste of time. The show is really manufactured to begin with, and I don't find the back-story packages or ridicule of delusional non-singers for viewer entertainment to be, well, particularly entertaining. But last night I just wasn't in the mood to watch the Olympics, so that's what I sat down to.

This "results" show struck all kinds of nerves. Here's all these musicians, pouring their hearts out. You can tell which ones truly believe in themselves and which ones have inner voices screaming at them that they have no talent. You can sense which ones have families that wanted them to go to college or get 'real' jobs. And you can see how each one handles the stress of not knowing, and subsequently, finding out, whether they've been granted a hall pass to potential stardom. 

It was so hard for me to watch the judges torture some of the performers who actually got through (five interviews before a job offer? Happens all the time). But it was even harder to watch them "rip off the band-aid" of the kids who didn't make it. Not because they didn't make it, but because some of them truly believed in their talent (and they ARE talented!!)~~ and the judges and producers, who have THEIR perceptions of what will sell on TV, think they just don't fit the mold. They don't want to build a cast that isn't 'interesting' (according to THEIR standards). These are the entrants the judges implore, "Don't stop singing," or "Come back next year."  How many times do we know in our hearts we can do a job but the employer doesn't see it because they have their own checklist (and we don't know what's really on it)? You can only create a professional picture for them based on what you DO know they are looking for (figure out their needs, then solve the problem, as the saying goes). Without the whole picture, this can be quite the challenge. Not to mention, every time I heard, "The competition was really stiff this year," I could so relate to that (keep in mind how many thousands of resumés they get for each job opening!!).

Some of that happens in a job search, some of it doesn't. First of all, half the time, no one sits down with us to tell us we just weren't what they were looking for (I jump for joy when I get rejection e-mails these days!). But we certainly don't get pep talks from the people rejecting us!! On Idol, you can see the devastation in the contestants' faces, and certainly when they leave the stage and have to face a post-rejection interview. Well, thank goodness that's the one thing we don't have to endure, right? Unless you count my mom asking, "What are you going to DO???" every time I talk to her! Granted, she's no Simon Cowell, but she sure is one tough critic.The rest of us have to take the rejection and keep going.Do those kids realize how LUCKY they are? They actually get FEEDBACK!

I'd give anything to hear "You've made it through to the next round!!" from an employer right now. That day can't come soon enough!