On the increasingly rare occasions I do get feedback from my prelims, it's always a technical shortcoming that holds me back. Positive feedback is either a "good" or a checkmark but little else.
I never hear about committees describing the winner's audition performances. What makes them stand out? Technical polish? Stylistic literacy and knowledge? Creativity? Flexibility on immediate feedback?
It would be good for me to spend some time pursuing what sets the winners apart as opposed to my typical mode of avoiding mistakes.
I've been on committees with older colleagues, and auditions with younger colleagues, and I've noticed a trend: On majority older committees (not that this is good or bad) they've tended to favor technique- they'll value accuracy, how many notes missed, how faithful were they to the written tempi or the unwritten moments codified by performance practice.
On majority younger committees (generally millennials and younger, and again, not good or bad) they tend to favor tone above anything else. They'll forgive a chipped note or a different interpretation in favor of if the core of sound is there.
I (a millennial) believe I'd much rather have a good core of sound, and ideally one who's sensitive to tuning and ensemble work (which is slightly harder to ascertain during the sterile audition process). I've gotten into discussions with cherished colleagues during auditions between these two extremes- there may have been a player who played everything "right" but their sound wasn't as rich as the other, who might have (in my opinion) "went for it" and missed.
My reasoning is this: perfection in the orchestra isn't what sells tickets- it never has been; it's the human connection, the depth, the beauty, the personality. Perfection can be found in any growing number of recordings, of whatever respected conductor interpreted the Brahms cycle again. Cool. The orchestra should be where music, for all of it's triumphs and foibles, comes alive.
My close friend in the orchestra and I discuss this often, whenever we hear of the huge number of no-hires. One idea we have is that if you have an audition, someone in the section should get up and play the list first, before any other blind candidates come up. Presumably you're happy with that player in the section, and they may or may not play that list perfectly, but now you have a reference for where your orchestra is at- the tone to match, the quality of a solo high-pressure situation- now listen behind the curtain for who could sit with them, and make your community of humans on stage an even better group of artists.