You’re Qualified. Are They?

The tiny gatekeepers holding the keys to giant doors.

I always see the words “apply” everywhere I go. Apply to a job. Apply to secure funding for a startup. Apply to this class that will help you towards your future. I must admit, I’m a late bloomer. I made all the select teams, the jazz programs, and anything I wanted to be a part of growing up. I applied myself and got in. I auditioned into a jazz program for college and it was no different. And then my 20’s hit and I’m not sure if I really applied to anything in particular. I applied myself in the arts, but arts are subjective and culture was shifting. Gone were the days of record labels and a cost to music. In were the cover bands, the instant clicks, and by that time I was a dying breed of musician. Now, in my mid 30’s I’ve bounced back on the application train and it’s been an interesting ride to say the least. After applying to a great deal of many things I’ve stopped to wonder… who are these people that I’m talking to? What makes them qualified to qualify me? If this was The Voice, the judges would be a distinguished panel of accomplished singers. They wouldn’t be judging a song, for example, because many of them do not write their own music. No, they’d specifically be judging most likely a cover song and honing in on the voice, (thus the aptly named title of the show). But what about jobs? What about start up funds? This now more so resembles The Masked Singer but the roles are reversed. They aren’t auditioning for the judges, they are the judge. But who are they?