The Eyes of Love Are Upon You

Going on job interviews can feel like walking into a firing squad.
You prepare, you rehearse, you suit up … and still half-expect to get shot down.

But I try to remind myself of a piece of advice I once heard.
It’s the kind of mantra I’d normally roll my eyes at, but it came from a very unlikely source, and so it’s stuck with me:

“The eyes of love are upon you.”

It sounds like something a fuzzy-wuzzy acting coach might whisper before a group hug, right?

Not quite. It came from Nina Foch, a legendary Hollywood actress and one of the toughest instructors at USC’s Graduate Screenwriting Program.

In our Directing the Actor class, Nina was anything but touchy-feely. More like a drill sergeant. She’d critique each line delivery, gesture, or dramatic pause with such intensely specific feedback that every student felt like she had a personal vendetta against them.

But in those razor-edged takedowns, she taught us how to write scenes actors could really use — with intention, subtext, and emotional logic. I still use that training today. And maybe because her guidance was so ruthless, I’ve also never forgotten one of her most unexpected refrains:

“The eyes of love are upon you.”

She meant: the audience wants you to succeed.
They're not aiming to shoot you down; they're hoping to connect.
They want to be moved. Entertained. Surprised.

I’ve passed the same advice on to my daughter before a school performance.
When she’s nervous about classmates judging her, I tell her: “Don’t hold back. They want to like you.”

That kind of encouragement creates a positive feedback loop — the more you believe in them, the more they believe in you. Confidence is contagious.

And I try to remind myself of it now, too, as I navigate the job market.
Even though the system can feel cold, slow, and indifferent, most people on the other side of the table are hoping you’re the one.

If Field Marshall Foch could say it,
maybe it’s true.

The eyes of love are upon you.