Talent Directors
Arts, Audio/Video Technology and CommunicationsO*NET 27-2012.04United States
Audition and interview performers to select most appropriate talent for parts in stage, television, radio, or motion picture productions.
- Median annual earnings
- $85,168
- Projected change
- +9.4%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 178.94K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
50.9% of the workforce
Growing to 195.79K by 2035
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The work
What talent directors do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Audition and interview performers to match their attributes to specific roles or to increase the pool of available acting talent.
- Prepare actors for auditions by providing scripts and information about roles and casting requirements.
- Select performers for roles or submit lists of suitable performers to producers or directors for final selection.
- Contact agents and actors to provide notification of audition and performance opportunities and to set up audition times.
- Serve as liaisons between directors, actors, and agents.
- Negotiate contract agreements with performers, with agents, or between performers and agents or production companies.
- Review performer information, such as photos, resumes, voice tapes, videos, and union membership, to decide whom to audition for parts.
- Arrange for or design screen tests or auditions for prospective performers.
- Maintain talent files that include information such as performers' specialties, past performances, and availability.
- Read scripts and confer with producers to determine the types and numbers of performers required for a given production.
- Attend or view productions to maintain knowledge of available actors.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $39,558
- 25th percentile
- $56,946
- 50th percentile
- $85,168
- 75th percentile
- $129,016
- 90th percentile
- $203,863
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $85,168 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+9.4%faster than average
2025178,939 jobs
2035 projected195,786 jobs
16,847 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 50.9%
- Associate degree
- 18.8%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 18.4%
- Some college
- 10.2%
- High school diploma or less
- 1.3%
- Certificate
- 0.4%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Production Directors263 postings
- 02Commercial Directors187 postings
- 03Commercial Managers105 postings
- 04Sports Directors104 postings
- 05Directors87 postings
- 06Commercial Insurance Producers79 postings
- 07Directors of Talent78 postings
- 08Directors of Photography68 postings
- 09Commercial Excellence Managers59 postings
- 10Directors of Sports Performance58 postings
- 11Directors of Learning and Development57 postings
- 12Directors of External Communications56 postings
- 13Directors of Partnerships53 postings
- 14Directors/Heads53 postings
- 15Expansion Leaders52 postings
- 16Pharmaceutical Specialists52 postings
- 17Associate Directors46 postings
- 18Directors of Technical Services45 postings
- 19Messaging Specialists45 postings
- 20Youth Sports Directors39 postings
Top employers
- 01GPAC172 postings
- 02Publicis Groupe118 postings
- 03YMCA107 postings
- 04Bausch Health105 postings
- 05GE Aerospace56 postings
- 06Merck & Co.55 postings
- 07ChurchStaffing53 postings
- 08Fund For The Public Interest52 postings
- 09General Motors48 postings
- 10Sumitomo Pharma48 postings
- 11Willdan Group45 postings
- 12Amcor43 postings
- 13Beacon Hill Staffing Group41 postings
- 14Biotalent30 postings
- 15Grant Thornton30 postings
- 16STV23 postings
- 17Adams21 postings
- 18Google21 postings
- 19Southern Glazer's20 postings
- 20CBRE19 postings
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