Today I went to Omaha for The Apprentice 2 open casting call.  It was an odd experience.  I've been watching The Apprentice (catch phrase:  You're Fired) since the premiere, and had been thinking about sending in a tape - a plan which never happened.  So when I read they were having a casting call in Omaha (at Nebraska Furniture Mart no less), I had to go.

I booked a hotel a while back and headed out from Misty's after watching last night's ep.  That got me into Omaha right around 11:30 last night.

From the website I knew that they were handing out wristbands at 9am and that only those with wristbands got in, so I opted to go the some-but-little sleep route and set the alarm for 4am.  By the time I hit snooze a couple times and then actually got up and going, I hit the line at 5:15am.  My place in line - #93.

So there I stood for the next couple hours along with Damien - an Omaha resident who is GM of a Sizzler, another Omaha-an (Omahanian?  Omahaoian?) named Chris and his girlfriend who, despite waiting all that time, didn't want to interview, and this woman whose name escapes me but was mentally handicapped.  And that's not my opinion, she told us straight out that she was and wanted to try to be on the show because "they don't have any handicapped people on the show right now."

Around 9:30a we got our wristbands, after a cold (but thankfully not raining) morning.  And then we proceeded to wait some more.

Starting around 10:30, they started to take groups of 30 into the NFM "Mrs. B's" building (the discount/clearance part of the complex).  Once in there we proceeded to wait for about another hour before being taken to casting tables in groups of 10.

As I mentioned, the interviews were done group-style, with 10 people at a table along with a casting person.  The interview lasted 10 minutes during which time the casting person would ask questions and watch how the group interacted while making notes about this and that.  Since we all went in order numbered in line, most of us at the table had been hanging around together since very early morning.  There was myself, Damien, Chris, the handicapped woman, and a group that had come over from Denver.

The first thing the casting person (caster? is that a real way to call it?) asked us to do was the obligatory go-around-the-table-and-introduce.  "Hi.  My name is Jason Cross from Des Moines, Iowa, and I am an Internet consultant for Iowa's largest Internet provider."  They then asked us right off the bat - who at the table did we think should not be there.

Immediately the group starts going after this guy two over from me, as he was still in college.  "He doesn't have experience."  "He's not educated."  Those types of arguments.  I then chimed in how I thought that wasn't fair, as I for one never graduated from college yet had started and sold a company by the age many graduate with a Bachelors.  The casting person then turned to me, "Well, who do you think shouldn't be here?"  And I was honest - in my opinion, despite her being a very nice person, I indicated the handicapped woman.  "She's very sweet, and I think she has a lot to contribute to others, but this just isn't the right environment for her to succeed in."  Everyone was thinking it, but nobody wanted to say it.  I understand her wanting to prove that someone mentally handicapped can contribute, but when she didn't even write her own application but instead had her aunt write it for her, running a Trump company isn't going to be the best fit.  So I said it, and I hated doing so, but it was the truth.  They asked if she wanted to say something in her defense, and she told us how she used to be a manager at Nebraska Furniture Mart and how a drunk driver hit her some time back causing brain damage and leaving her like that.  Damien then responded among my line - that nobody is questioning how she's a nice person, but that this probably wasn't the right place for her.  It was a tragedy what happened to her, but while there are things she could do well in a business evironment such as a customer service position, CEO was not the best fit from what we saw.

Questions continued along the same lines.  "What makes a great leader."  One guy said how a leader had to know a bit of every part of the business.  I added to that how a leader has to not only know it, but also be willing to take the reigns and apply it, not just be one of these smart guys who let others take the lead, risk and responsibility.  A girl said how she thought a great leader was someone who cared about the people working for them as the highest priority.  I pointed out how a leader sometimes has to make the tough decisions that can cost someone their job if it's necessary for the company and how a leader has to lead even when unpopular or not friend-like if the situation demands it.

The ten minutes passed quickly and that was that.  They told us that we'd hear in 3-4 days if they wanted a call-back.  And we all went our separate ways.

Leaving the building, the line was still several hundred people long, and many people called out wanting to know what happened inside.  We opted to let them find out for themselves.  After all, why make it easier on the competition?  ;)