The Audition Process - the Job Interview Analogy

So the awesome Hara had an excellent question for me about auditions.  How many rounds are there?  There actually aren't any!  The audition process is more like a job interview.

In this senario, SM is the company, you are the candidate, and the job is that of being a trainee.

For those of you too young to have a job, a job interview usually consists of these stages:  the application, correspondence, a face-to-face interview, (sometimes) consideration [on the part of the company], and the job offer.  Some stages can be skipped, repeated, or prolonged at the company's discretion.  Also, the company sometimes alerts you when you get rejected in the early stages, but sometimes forgets completely and you never hear from them...

At any point the company offering the job can offer the candidate the job or reject them.
Also, like a regular job, the applicant must apply for only one position.  The employer has no obligation to actually select any applicant and can pick as few or as many candidates as they want/need.  Most importantly, there is no "winner."  You either get the job or you don't.  Whether your first place, second place, eighth place or whatnot, you won't know and maybe your employer doesn't even know.



Application
Real world:  Filling out a physical application with your basic information or applying online at the company's website.
SME:  Filling out a physical application with your basic information at Global, Youth Star, or Weekly Auditions or applying online via email or everysing.com.
The email you send to sign up for the Global or Youth Star Auditions are a pre-step to this.
Notes:  This helps eliminate those who are obviously not qualified.  In the Real World that would be like applying to be a lifeguard when you can't swim.  At SME that would be like applying to be an idol when you're 54.

Correspondence
Real world:  Receiving confirmation that they received your application and how to procede.  This can also include back and forth communication with someone in your future employer's HR (Human Resource) office.
SME:  Receiving confirmation that they received your application and (sometimes) how to procede.  This can also include back and forth communication with a representative from SM.
Notes:  This is a step that is often skipped in auditioning but not in the real world.  In the real world this is when you chat nervously with your employer.
At SME, this is when you get a confirmation email form them telling you your time and date for Global or Youth Star Auditions.  It is also when the reps ask for more clips if they really liked your profile.

Face-to-Face Interview [Live Audition]
Real world:  Meeting your future employer face-to-face and making a case for why you should get the job.
SME:  Meeting your future employer face-to-face and making a case for why you should get the job.
Notes:  In the real world you would answer questions about your qualification and how you would handle certain situations.  At SME you sing and dance to show your qualification and show how you react under pressure.

Consideration
Real world:  The company thanks you for your time and then weighs you against other possible qualified candidates.
SME:  The company thanks you for your time and then weighs you against other possible qualified candidates.
Notes:  This is the step that is most often skipped in the Real World or at SME.  They usually offer you the job immediately or it leads to a rejection.  However, if they can only hire X many more candidates and have more qualified candidates than positions, this is where this step comes into play.  This is also where your special talents kick in and truly matter.

Job Offer
Real world:  The company offers you the job.  Now it is up to you to accept or reject.
SME:  The company offers you the job.  Now it is up to you to accept or reject.