I often see posts here about people taking job interviews and being asked to provide work samples, saying the company should compensate them for their time. Yes, they should!
I took an orchestra audition recently for which I spent 2 months preparing, practicing the approximately 1 hour of assigned repertoire every day, and taking lessons with local professionals (paying them of course). I bought a plane ticket and a hotel room and food while in town for the audition (there are only about 10 full time job openings in the US for my instrument per year so I have to fly to most of them). I took a week off of work.
About 50 candidates showed up, I played for 6 minutes, was sent home, and at the end of the day they decided not to hire anyone. It’s not uncommon to do a no-hire — they will schedule another audition within a year.
This was my 13th audition and the whole thing makes me so mad; so much time and money invested, and no explanation for their decision.
Anyway, I just wanted to share that this is what we all go through, and there is no talk to edit the process; it’s rarely criticized among musicians.