Author Topic: Leaving a job  (Read 7592 times)

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Joshua S.

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Leaving a job
« on: Aug 20, 2008, 06:11 pm »
Hi.  I've always valued the information I've optained on this forum, and I would like to get others opinions on my current situation.

I'm currently an intern (even though intern really isn't the best description for my job) at one of the largest community theatres in the nation.  I am just begining my second season with the company, and I am considering leaving.  I have alot of reasons for wanting to leave ranging from hating the upcoming season, not liking the area of the country the company is located in, to purely not wanting to be a stage manager anymore.  I basically don't think I am doing what is best for me at this time in my life.

I guess what I would like peoples opinions on is how detrimental will this be to my career.  I don't plan on stage managing again, at least not for awhile, but I do want to stay in theatre.  I'm hoping to work on my lighting and sound design portfolio the rest of the season and hopefully go to grad school for that.

I keep going back and forth on whether to stay or whether to leave and what the best decision would be, and would love some of everyones input.

MatthewShiner

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Re: Leaving a job
« Reply #1 on: Aug 20, 2008, 07:26 pm »
Breaking a contract without adequate notice will almost always reflect negatively on you - but giving enough notice, offering to to train a replacement, and working on making your transition out the door easier . . . all will help.

Giving legit reasons to back out - like what you have written here - also helps.

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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

Meg_23_c2o

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Re: Leaving a job
« Reply #2 on: Aug 20, 2008, 08:05 pm »
It sounds like this just isn't the job for you anymore.  That's fine--if the company's worth anything, they'll understand.  Just make sure you give ample notice.  Helping to find a replacement wouldn't hurt either.  Just do what you can to make it a smooth transition.  That will buy you a lot of leverage.  I would also ask around within the company to see if anyone there could possibly help you with developing your lighting/sound portfolio.  If you maintain some of your current connection and leave on good terms, those people will remember and possibly help you out in the future.
Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound.  Stage managers have to lift up the buildings so everyone else can walk under them.

Joshua S.

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Re: Leaving a job
« Reply #3 on: Aug 21, 2008, 01:24 pm »
Breaking a contract without adequate notice will almost always reflect negatively on you - but giving enough notice, offering to to train a replacement, and working on making your transition out the door easier . . . all will help.

Giving legit reasons to back out - like what you have written here - also helps.



The nice part is that technically I'm not breaking a contract.  I'm an at will employee with nothing more than a letter of agreement.  While I would like to leave right away, I do plan on putting mid to late October as my last day in my letter of resignation because I just started rehearsals recently for a produciton and would feel horrible leaving before the show closed.

I appreciate the feedback so far.  I'm pretty sure leaving this field is what I need to do for awhile, and I don't know if my sanity is worth sticking it out until June.

MatthewShiner

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Re: Leaving a job
« Reply #4 on: Aug 21, 2008, 02:42 pm »
If you are not on contract, then I think you are giving plenty of notice.

And if it makes you feel better, I left this industry twice.  Each time I left for a different reason, and it gave me a tremendous amount of insight into myself and why I had gotten into theatre in the first place.  It's amazing to go out and do SOMETHING else for awhile that may just highlight why you loved theatre (or stage management) in the first place.

If you chose to leave theatre, remember it will be here when you are ready to come back - just as well as stage management.  If you plan on leaving stage management, and go into other aspects, know that your time as a stage manager will be a tremendous asset in other areas in theatre.  (One of the best lighting designers I have worked with is an ex-stage manager.)
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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

SMExtraordinaire

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Re: Leaving a job
« Reply #5 on: Aug 31, 2008, 01:01 am »
I agree. Stage Management will always be here and the contacts you have made (if kept on positive terms) will always be there as well.

I left theatre to pursue a career in the military and eventually in television. I got bogged down in the contract to contract issues as well as money in stage management and just needed a change (that and 9/11 happened). Anyway, I left - found out I missed it way too much (gotta love a job you enjoy getting up for) and with those people I stayed friends with and the reputation I had prior to leaving I was able to find another SM gig pretty quickly.

And since you are looking to stay in theatre anyway - those connections will be there and the transition back into stage management would probably be a lot easier. You could even do it "once and a while" for kicks if in the future you felt you missed it.

Follow your heart and find your passion - no matter what it may be for.
"It required a bland, conscientious temperament that expected abuse and never admiration. The best stage managers are usually women, who bear the indignity for the historical neccessity of continuity itself." - John Osbourne

stagemonkey

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Re: Leaving a job
« Reply #6 on: Oct 07, 2008, 04:20 pm »
I think given the reasons you said most places would understand your wanting to leave.  Personally I would stress more that you want to go to grad school to work more on sound and lighting, I think most places would support you on that.  And give the fact you are giving them ample notice of wanting to leave there should be plenty of time for them to find a replacement.

centaura

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Re: Leaving a job
« Reply #7 on: Oct 11, 2008, 11:47 am »
Ample notice, and above and beyond efforts to make the transition a smooth one, and you should leave with a good reputation.  The most important aspects for most companies is the smooth functioning of things, so offering to train in a replacement, or leaving detailed lists of the things that you do and how/when you did them will score good points when leaving. 

When I took my current job, the previous person had wiped the computer clean - I had to start from scratch on a lot of things.  That person still works in town, and its a small town, so it got around quickly that he had left a mess in this position.  It doesn't reflect well on him.

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