Iain Writes:

 

I thought I'd share a little story with you (I've been meaning to for a couple of months but I've just never got around to it), to give a practical, real-world, non-magic example of when being an amateur magician came in handy for me recently.

 

I've been interested in magic for a good few years.  My skills aren't amazing, but I've got enough of a repertoire of tricks that I can perform competently, so that when I do get people asking me to show them one, I can create a little moment of amazement for them. Apart from my poor wife, who is my guinea pig, and gets to see them going wrong when I practise, and who therefore has no love of magic whatsoever.  That's true love for you..  

 

I'm largely a "family and friends" kind of performer, and have no aspirations to perform anywhere else (although if time and money were no object…), but I've had occasions where I've performed in front of strangers (birthday parties, weddings, in the pub etc.) and it's always left me with a great feeling. You don't know what you're going to get with these guys, so it adds an edge to what you're doing, which probably bolsters my "acting" part of the act.

Anyway, back in December, I decided to look for a new job.  I felt like I'd reached the end of the line in my existing role, and wanted to try for something new.  To my amazement, I had a company contact me out of the blue – they had seen my skill set, and thought I'd be a great fit for a position they were looking to fill.  It was a consulting role – so lots of going on site, meeting people, and engaging with them – which is slightly different from what I do at the moment.  As I was preparing for the interview I was conscious of this fact – after all, while I had the technical skills listed on the job specification, I wasn't in a role at the moment where I was consulting in any capacity.

 

When I arrived for the interview, the first thing they wanted to know was about me, the person.  I'd been through a couple of telephone interviews prior to this, so they knew that my skill-set matched up to what was on my CV and I wasn't blagging my technical knowledge.  Therefore, they wanted to know about what I got up to when I wasn't working.  After all, you can be the most technically brilliant person in the world, but if you're personality is not a right fit you will not make a good hire.  Naturally, when it came to pastimes, I said one of my hobbies was performing as an amateur magician.

 

They were VERY interested in this.

 

I explained a little, to which the interviewer said "So, basically, you are comfortable with performing in front of complete strangers, being the centre of attention, answering all sorts of questions that are thrown your way, and thinking on your feet?"

 

I nodded, and he smiled and said "Because that's exactly what this role entails!"

 

The rest of the interview went brilliantly.

 

I start in my new role at the beginning of April. 🙂

 

So, there you go.  A little feel-good story that I thought you'd like me to share with you.  It just goes to prove that all those lovely magic books that I have bought from the magic shop over the years DO have a practical application if you're NOT working as a professional magician!