I started working in the summer season of 2014, when I was 18. I had just finished high school and I had July and August free so I decided to try this experience. In my mind, it was a one-time thing. A summer gig. I thought that once in university I would not have made time for this, because I had other expectations and ambitions for my career and I had to accomplish them as soon as possible.
Little did I know, in 2020 I am still part of what has now become a family for me, and what I thought to be just a summer gig became a business to be proud of and a bottom-line to my life path.
I finished my season in 2014 in September and went on to join university, I decided to study in my hometown of Trento. University went well, for two weeks. Then I started wondering whether it was the right thing to do for me. I disenrolled and worked at a bar for some months, and in spring a thought struck me. “What if?” NO. It was a one-time thing man. A summer gig!
One day, while washing a couple hundred wine-glasses my phone rings: Marsha.
“We need you at Ca´Savio”
No. It was a one-time thing.
“There is a girl named Loes that will contact you for the details, she will be your team leader”
No. Good luck convincing me.
“You will work with an Italian guy called Mattia, we think you guys can be good friends”
No. It was a one-time thing.
Turns out Marsha and Loes are quite good at convincing people. My one-time thing mantra turned into just one more season.
The summer of 2015 really changed my life. One day, after practicing for a show, I sit down with Loes and I tell her that I really want to study at University, but that my last experience was not successful.
“Come to Utrecht”
Ok.
By September 2015 I had worked one more season, Loes had brought me to Utrecht, and me and that Italian guy called Mattia actually became good friends.
Now my student life finally started, and I had the right energy and motivation to face it. The coolest thing of being in Utrecht was being surrounded by all these people from APPLY. We met every month, we became great friends.
The problem was that now I was hooked to the company. No way to escape it. Every summer they knew they would find a way to convince me. Just one more season in 2016. And thank God I did that season, because of that now I live in Sweden, but that is a story for another blogpost….
Back to Utrecht in 2017, and university started getting harder and harder.
This year I am not doing one more season, exams exams exams.
“We need you as team leader”
Just one more season.
Worked at the Garda Lake, and during that season I started thinking that university is not a world away from entertainment.
I could actually use what I learnt in school and apply it to the job. I did some management courses in school and I decided to apply them to the role of team leader. I did some design course and decided to apply them to posters for activities.
It was not much of a revelation, but I felt like I was growing as a professional. That job that was “just a summer gig” became a way to build relevant experience.
How do I sell more t-shirts?
How do I empower my team of entertainers so they want to work better?
How do I allocate my human resources so that the guests get the most benefit from them, and maybe leave a positive review?
How do I convince the guests to leave a review, without actually asking for it?
Try to find an answer to these questions, and you will become a better chief, you will sell more, and you will get more recognition.
After I realized that entertainment was not a gig but a business, I became so proud of the path I chose.
I started advocating for this job with my family and friends, many of them had a negative prejudice towards this profession. They thought it was “just a summer gig where you dance with kids and go out in the evening”. I found that many of them changed their mind, they realized that entertainers are much more than that. It takes skills to become a good entertainer and grow in this company.
That is why I think APPLY has a huge potential. Because the people of APPLY are talented, curious and hardworking. APPLY has a huge potential because there are so many people out there who still have a negative prejudice about entertainment, so many people still to convince… So much advocacy to do.
And that is also why, after 2017 I did one more season, and now I am approaching one more season.
I think this is going to be my last one, but again, every season had to be the last one…
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