hiring woes

[Casino Jockey]

i have gone out on business for my self, opening up a store that specializes in classical music. we keep the popular stuff in stock - Reiu (can't stand him but it flies off the shelves), kennedy and the various top symphonies.

however if you want something a bit more obscure we can attempt to source it. this, combined with the internet side of the business has been booming. customers love the fact we know what we are talking about - unlike some of the big music retailers.

due to my work now being mainly tracking down specialist items and sending out online orders i need someone to run the counter.

i placed an advertisement asking for someone with retail skills who has a passable knowledge of classical music.

i have received the following:

someone who listed there favorite composers as Dream Theater, System of a down and slipknot

someone else who listed Randy Newman as there favorite composer (he has done the music for almost all the pixar movies)

one who i thought was good and interviewed who proceeded to tell me that "John (Lennon) was the greatest music writer of all time" which is fine if you believe this bit we don't sell much beatles

i think im going to place an advertisement at the local conservatorium and see how i go

[Jetfire]

How much volume you get? You might want to word the advertisement to stress the Classical Music knowledge more than the retail knowledge. If you're low volume enough, the retail can be taught easier than the Classical music.

And the conservatorium is probably a good place to advertise too. And anywhere else that may play that sort of music (a local theatre perhaps; stage theatre not movie)

[Raveni]

To be honest, don't ask for passable. Ask for someone who is well-versed in the field, and you'll find someone who is closer to your real goal.

[auntiem]

I agree - retail is easier to get someone up to speed on than an appreciation for classical music. But I wouldn't discount someone's willingness to learn. It may be a matter of exposure too - just having the new employee listen to all kinds of music to see which one "clicks" for them - maybe they have never been exposed to chamber music before and discover a love for it - it is easier to focus on learning about something you love first then continue to learn about the other genres later.
Sometimes having an employee who is learning and a "newbie" isn't always a bad thing. Many of your clients would probably love to "show off" their knowlage and help teach a new employee. They also don't have pre-concieved notions or judgements. For example, I was raised on classical music and when I was 25 or so I heard something on the radio that I loved so much that I called the station to find out what it was (it was a composer I'd never heard of). I called my Mom all excited about it and she went on a 15 min rant and the sound of disapointment in her voice was palpable - and this is from a parent that knew I listed to Noise as a teenager. After that I was nervous to go the store and order the CD because I was expecting if not another rant, a look of sympathy for my pathetic taste.

[Seshat]

I agree with most of the above advice.

You'll probably be able to find people like me - people who enjoy and appreciate classical music but don't actually know much about it.

For instance, I can tell you that "Night on bald mountain" is one of my favourite pieces, but I'd also have to admit that I only learned about it from Fantasia - and that I wouldn't have been able to tell you it was a Mussorgsky piece until just now.

Someone like me would probably work very well - we'd settle down in the break room with a Mussorgsky book and ask if we could play more of his work during the shift. Then let others lead us to similar things, or other things we might enjoy.

Heck: there's quite a bit of classical music I recognise and like, but would never be able to name. And a few I can name. (Grieg: Hall of the Mountain King. Pachelbel: Canon in D. Vivaldi: Four Seasons. Beethoven: almost his whole repertoire, but I do have favourites...)

[auntiem]

Heck: there's quite a bit of classical music I recognise and like, but would never be able to name.

I once called BA and put the hold music on speaker when I had a client in that was an opera expert so she could identify the aria. I had only ever heard it before in the movie Diva. It was apparently the suicide aria from La Wally. The client was pleased to help me out that way and went on to explain why I'd never seen the opera staged before - apparently there are elephants or some such?!

[dalesys]

I saw Aida with elephants... mid 60s.

[BlaqueKatt]

i think im going to place an advertisement at the local conservatorium and see how i go

another thought, any colleges with an orchestra nearby?

[Marmalady]

If you were in my area, I'd apply like a shot. I love classical music (among other genres) and know enough to realise there's a lot that I don't know, if that makes sense.

[Casino Jockey]

If you were in my area, I'd apply like a shot. I love classical music (among other genres) and know enough to realise there's a lot that I don't know, if that makes sense.

that's what i'm looking for.. someone who knows they don't know everything.

i'll follow up on a few of the ideas posed above.
thanks guys

[Zoom]

someone who listed there favorite composers as ... System of a Down

I may point out their frontman, Serj Tankian, re-released his first solo album as fully orchestrated, to much acclaim among the classical gentry. (Though admittedly I, who actually like classical, prefer the original.)

[Gurndigarn]

I agree with most of the above advice.

You'll probably be able to find people like me - people who enjoy and appreciate classical music but don't actually know much about it.

For instance, I can tell you that "Night on bald mountain" is one of my favourite pieces, but I'd also have to admit that I only learned about it from Fantasia - and that I wouldn't have been able to tell you it was a Mussorgsky piece until just now.

Someone like me would probably work very well - we'd settle down in the break room with a Mussorgsky book and ask if we could play more of his work during the shift. Then let others lead us to similar things, or other things we might enjoy.

One other thing to possibly consider are people up on classical fusion and/or orchestral pop. Usually people like that have enough traditional classic knowledge that they can stumble by while learning the rest of it.

And I'll second the notion that someone who knows classical and is willing to learn retail will also definitely work. Normally, I don't steer people towards retail (too many emotional scars), but it sounds like a place that doesn't have most of the usual retail problems.

[Casino Jockey]

t it sounds like a place that doesn't have most of the usual retail problems.

i wish
we had the guy who wanted the beatles. when i explained we are a classical music shop he responded with the fact that "the beatles are classic"

than there was the lady who placed a special order - minimum 10 days to get in - who called twice a day for 3 weeks chasing her order starting 3 days after she placed it.

there was the guy who told me "i don't know shit" because i ran out of Nigel Kennedys recording of the 4 seasons... it's only best selling classical record of all time