So how DO you judge a reader?

I know that the threads on certification here tend to get a bit heated, so I thought I'd start a new thread and hopefully keep it a bit lighter.

Here is the situation. Next spring we intend to open our studio up again (we closed it temporarily due to many circumstances). All the houses in the street, which used to be mostly derelict, have now become hotels - it's very close to the Castle - and a friend who works in one of them says that many of the guests see our window and ask if we do readings. This means we know there is likely to be some demand, probably mostly "one-off" readings for visitors.

So... we've decided that we will offer readings when we reopen. However, I won't be able to do more than a very few (we're wildly busy as it is and I tend to feel happiest not doing many readings at a time in any case) so I will need to look for a reader or two to work with us. We will need someone who fits with our own approach - straightforward, ethical, considerate and NO "you've been cursed and I need money to take it off" scams. Of course the person should also speak good English as this will be the first language of most clients I imagine. They may also need to be prepared to read by appointment in someone's hotel room.

In my position, how would you judge and what would you look for?

As I say, I really don't want this to get into another debate about certification, but I'm interested to have your thoughts on how you'd go about checking and verifying that someone has the skills and qualities necessary. Of course we will do interviews and ask people to read. We'll also look at their background in reading - how much experience they have and so on. But beyond that I want to feel that there is a certain "fit" - we tend to be very NON occult and don't really want someone who will turn up dressed in gypsy paraphernalia LOL.

All thoughts appreciated

Oh, and by the way, if anyone here is looking for a good part-time job in Prague next year...

If I were you then I would get the prospective candidate to give me a reading.

If they actually read for you then you can see whether you like their reading style etc.

I would advise them to pretend that I was just a normal paying customer and take it from there.

Firstly, I would ask if they are in fact certifi... oops

Seriously, I would, more importantly than asking for a reading, have an informal discussion with them about tarot, about spreads, about their style and view as to what tarot can and cannot do, etc..

Next, instead of asking for a reading, I would personally have a spread out (spread in non-standard manner - such as a 5-card spread arranged as two above three), from perhaps random cards from a strange deck (like the errrr... nah - will leave that too ), and discuss possible interpretations.

These would give me a better idea as to the likelihood of an actual reading than to ask for a reading as part of an interview - something some excellent readers may find closes them as they react as some react to exams: presenting something different to what they would normally do.

Those two aspects would, from my perspective, give a better indication as to whether their particular style is likely to fit with the style and image you want to present and promote as representing your business.

I don't know how you'd feel (like if this wasn't honest enough), but you could always go to them for a reading first...? That might cue you in as to whether or not they're cheats. Of course, then there's the whole issue of them possibly feeling offended and the tarot telling them what's up, etc. It's a thought.

I'd also talk to them about their theories of reading to make sure that they're at least similar to what you're looking for.

Sulis said:

If I were you then I would get the prospective candidate to give me a reading.

If they actually read for you then you can see whether you like their reading style etc.

I would advise them to pretend that I was just a normal paying customer and take it from there.

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Thank-you Sulis. We certainly intend to do this, but just to push you a little - how would you then decide how good they were? Would you look at whether they could predict events or see events they hadn't been told about (er, hmm, yes, difficult one as basically that's asking if the person is in some way "psychic" ) or would you feel that that wasn't important? It's one thing I'm tussling with in my own mind. Do we want someone who can "fortune-tell" or not? Interesting question.

jmd said:

These would give me a better idea as to the likelihood of an actual reading than to ask for a reading as part of an interview - something some excellent readers may find closes them as they react as some react to exams: presenting something different to what they would normally do.

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I hadn't thought of it like that. Perhaps we could make doing a reading an optional part of the "interview".

I suppose that the more I think about this the more I realise that there are some very different ways of judging. We have one or two readers here who have the reputation of being very "psychic" (maybe I prefer the word "intuitive" though) but who I think would not necessarily be very compassionate. I don't really want someone who tells someone bluntly that something awful is about to happen - even if it is.

On the other hand personally I don't just want someone who is very pschoanalytical in approach. We also have one (US) reader here who is like that. Personally I do feel that the "out of the blue" insights the reader can get are valuable. I don't want a reading to be just a therapy session.

Of course, I'm thinking about what my ideal reader would be like, it's far from likely that we will find someone ideal. So I also need to think what compromises I would be willing to make. Compromises on ethics? No way. But beyond that? What compromises would you make and where would you draw a line?

Miren said:

I don't know how you'd feel (like if this wasn't honest enough), but you could always go to them for a reading first...?

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Prague is in some ways a small town and I think they might well guess who I was, or at least feel a bit uncomfortable later. So I doubt I can do that. But I understand what you're saying - someone reading as part of an interview might be very different from when they read for a client. Ideally one would want to check that somehow.

Just my two cents worth ...

But I dont approve of 'pretending' to be a paying customer idea - I dont think it show (in business) integrity nor respect to the person who is being interviewed - also it may come up in the cards - its not a 'fair nor reasonable way' to assess someones talents, and its very obvious also that this may be the tactic of a prospective employer.
It may cause a distance of sorts between reader and employer.

I do feel the ideas jmd propossed a better approach - and as a reader - my last position (current) didnt even ask for an interview, they asked me how I would like to conduct 'my business' reading in their cafe - and they charge me nothing, but I include a coffee in the reading price which boosts their sales, (which I pay for) and often the client will have something to eat whilst they are there, and return custom on other days.

I know its not exactly the same situation, but my loyalty to the cafe is unquestionable. I have been asked to work at other cafes and not taken the offer up, but asked if I could include another day at the cafe, which they embraced.

And it took me about a month to settle and adjust my style and work out what was the best approach for the range of people I was reading for. The cafe were very understanding towards this issue as well.

I love where I work - and I find that helps my readings - the atmosphere is great and very supportive towards tarot readings and the clients.

A good 'reader' is more than a person who can interpret cards - and I think the other social personal communication and attributes are as important as their reading skills.

Feedback from clients will indicate if the person is 'good' or not.

Hope this is OK to add.

Blessings Elven x

Well, you'd be the one in charge, so if I were you, I'd give the prospective reader a job description and a written ethics policy and just see what they'd say or how they'd react. You're the one who will be, in effect if not actually (don't know how you plan to do the pay thing), their employer and like any other employer, it's you who sets the standard for their work. Even if not their employer in the usual sense, you're still the one sponsoring them and their work will reflect on your business. What you said here about someone not giving drastic bad news, being extremely analytical, or acting as a psychologist would be great to put into your job description. You certainly would want to include that offering candles and spells wouldn't be allowed. I found that a written job description and ethics that the employee was to read and sign was a great asset when I was an employer. Then there wasn't room for "oh, I didn't know that" if problems arose.

jmd said:

Next, instead of asking for a reading, I would personally have a spread out (spread in non-standard manner - such as a 5-card spread arranged as two above three), from perhaps random cards from a strange deck (like the errrr... nah - will leave that too ), and discuss possible interpretations.

Click to expand...

I just can't get on board with this idea. I never mind being tested, but I do not like having things misrepresented to me when I am giving something my serious attention.

I don't understand how having a reader read on what's essentially a nonsensical arrangement of cards would tell you anything about how good they are, any more than if you were hiring an art curator, it would help your decision-making process to have them look at a pile of miscellaneous trash and tell them it was art and to critique it. I do well at my shop, and I do well for them, but if they had wanted me to read a bunch of random cards to "test" me, I would have gotten a very bad feeling about their integrity.

Also, I agree that faking who you are and going in for a reading would be a very bad idea if you want to have a good ongoing relationship with your reader.

What's wrong with just having them read for you and using that plus your intuition to make your choice? When I read for the owner at the shop where I read, I did a few real readings for her on actual questions she had, and then I did a reading on how we would work together and whether it would benefit the shop and me. That's what we both really wanted to know, so ie made sense to me to read on it while we were both there. Or even do a mutual reading together and see how your interpretations of the same reading mesh. But please don't do anything random or false. That's not how you want to start out.