Lengthy response here... brace yourself.
I've been talking to some of my managers about what my options are for when my CP is over, since I want to stay with the Company either on a Professional Internship and then into full time, or straight into full time. Here's the advice I have been given...
You can apply for full time just before the end of your program. You can choose what roles you would like to be considered for. So just because I'm in Attractions now doesn't mean I would have to go full time in that role, but I could if I wanted to. Then you would have to wait for a position in whatever you requested to become available. I've heard some people get a job right away... some people wait for months. I'm sure it's like everything else: it just depends on what they have available and where they need people.
As far as other positions (such as education, finance, public relations, etc.), it sounds like the path is a little longer. For me, I'm interested in education, so I'm applying to some education-related Professional Internships to try to get my foot in the door in that department. There is a separate application process for those kinds of positions, and unfortunately I don't know much about it at this point. Sorry. :(
Likewise, I don't know much about Entertainment or how to get a stage manager position. I'm not sure if you would need to go full time in Entertainment and work your way up or if that's one of the positions that have the separate application process. But from talking to Cast Members in all different lines of business, it sounds like people move around quite a bit, and it is pretty easy to find a connection to an area you're interested in. So while you're on your program, maybe you could talk to your managers and see if they have any contacts in Entertainment that could talk to you about a stage manager job.
A Cast Member who is in her dream role right now as a Disney wedding planner gave this advice at a recent presentation for us CPers: "Make no secret of what you want to do." If you want to be a stage manager, make sure your managers know it! That way if an opportunity does come up, whether it's to network with someone in Entertainment or it's the job offer itself, your name is at the front of their minds.
Keep the questions coming!
I often read that it's best to let your managers know what you want to do in the company so that they may help you with networking, but I can't help but wonder that this may also be a bad thing because some people might try to sabotage you. Does it, for the most part, seem like fellow cast members genuinely want to help each other or is it like a lot of other companies where people tend to be mean and jealous while pretending to help you just so they can stop you even when you've never done anything wrong or mean?
ReplyDeleteI suppose that's something that could happen anywhere. I haven't ran into anything like that here yet though. My managers seem eager to help me get where I want to be. They're setting up meetings with higher-ups in other departments, helping me with mock interviews, etc. They seem to genuinely want to help me.
ReplyDeleteAs far as fellow Cast Members, like peers rather than managers, I can't say. I don't really end up getting into discussions with people about long term plans. It's more of what's going on day to day.
Hope this helps. :)