Talent Directors
Audition and interview performers to select most appropriate talent for parts in stage, television, radio, or motion picture productions.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Monitoring
- Negotiation
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Communications and Media
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Administration and Management
- Administrative
- Fine Arts
- Sales and Marketing
What the work involves
- Review performer information, such as photos, resumes, voice tapes, videos, and union membership, to decide whom to audition for parts.
- Read scripts and confer with producers to determine the types and numbers of performers required for a given production.
- Select performers for roles or submit lists of suitable performers to producers or directors for final selection.
- Audition and interview performers to match their attributes to specific roles or to increase the pool of available acting talent.
- Maintain talent files that include information such as performers' specialties, past performances, and availability.
- Prepare actors for auditions by providing scripts and information about roles and casting requirements.
- Serve as liaisons between directors, actors, and agents.
- Attend or view productions to maintain knowledge of available actors.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Enterprising, Artistic, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (42.3% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (32.4%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (31.4%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Talent Directors is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
- Projection education uses SOC 27-2012 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 66% of occupations compared | 81% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 72% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 55% of occupations compared | 71% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 59% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 66% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 56% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 71% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 90% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 11.95%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 7.53%
- Constant contact with others: 80.52%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 2.54%
- Important: 32.06%
- Very important: 32.18%
- Extremely important: 33.22%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 11.95%
- Fairly important: 6.31%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 11.13%
- Extremely important: 70.61%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 9.5%
- Some freedom: 58.01%
- A lot of freedom: 32.49%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 18.26%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.98%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 39.62%
- Every day: 22.14%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 12.53%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 17.99%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 35.27%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 32.71%
- Every day: 1.51%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 12.53%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 39.12%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 43.18%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 4.58%
- Every day: 0.58%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 37.44%
- Fairly serious: 27.32%
- Serious: 29.37%
- Very serious: 4.37%
- Extremely serious: 1.51%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2019
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes
Closeness 94/100
- Analyze
Fundraisers
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Fundraising Managers
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Public Relations Specialists
Closeness 91/100
- Analyze
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents
Closeness 91/100
- Analyze
Advertising and Promotions Managers
Closeness 91/100
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 27-2012.04 · SOC 27-2012 (detailed_parent, medium confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8