I know I kind of ended the Disney College Program Blog series in June, but one of my friends has decided to apply to the program for this coming spring. She asked me if I had any application and interview tips for her, and this got me thinking.. I should share this wisdom with the world as well. So here you go...
As you should know, if you read my DCP series, that the application for the DCP comes in 3 parts. Application, Web Interview and Phone Interview. And I have some tips for each part.
Application:
There really isn't much you can do with this. The original application just asks you your basic information, like your full name, social security number, birthday, etc. and it asks you to fill out a basic resume with your past jobs and choose which roles you would like to do for the program. This is where my tip comes in.
*Don't just pick one role to do.* Pick as many roles as you can. The more you choose, the better your chances of getting in. Honestly if you want to, check all the roles. The application does ask you for your top choices, second choices and third choices and ones that you aren't interested in. So if you truly don't want to a certain role, don't check it, but be open minded about everything else.
Web Based Interview:
The WBI is basically a timed "Quiz." I say quiz because they are asking you to answer a series of statements anywhere from Strongly Disagree- to Strongly Agree. A couple things with this...
- Don't stress out about the timer: If you miss a couple, it's not a big deal. I missed a couple and I still got into the program.
- Do the WBI with someone who knows you well: At the time, I was at school, so I just skyped with my parents, read the questions out loud, and they helped me figure out what I should put down. The WBI is about being honest with your answers. The only warning I have about doing this with another person, is that it can be distracting (hence the reason why I missed a couple of answers)
- Do not mark "neutral" or "undecided" for any of the answers. Disney wants you to have an opinion and wants a clear answer. So if you mark "undecided" for most the answers instead of strongly agree/disagree you have a higher chance of not passing the WBI.
Phone Interview:
This is the last and most stressful part of the Application process. I honestly didn't sleep the night before the interview because I was so nervous! But if you follow these tips, you will do just fine.
Prepare: If you are one of those people who can just wing it, do not, I repeat, DO NOT wing it on the phone interview. You want to at least have an idea of things you are going to say to the interviewer. Here are my steps to prepare for the interview.
Step 1: Research possible interview questions and have a general answer. There are tons of websites and videos that have lists of possible questions. In fact here are a few...
- Do you prefer to work in a fast-paced or slow-paced environment?
- Are you comfortable talking in front of large groups of people?
- How do you think the DCP will help you professionally?
Step 2: Once you have a list of questions that you like, write all of them out on a piece of paper, and under the questions write a general answer that you like. And when I say general I mean GENERAL! Part of the reason why you shouldn't write out a full answer, is that if the interviewer asks you that question, you don't want to sound like you are reading it. There is nothing less off-putting than listening to someone who sounds like a robot.
Step 3: At the top of your paper, have a blank line. This will be the spot where you will write the interviewers name.
Step 4: Have a good answer prepared for the question... Why do you want to do the Disney College Program?
Interview Day: The day has come where your fate with Disney is in the hands of a simple interview over the phone and you want to make it good. Here are my steps for giving a good interview.
Step 1: Make sure to be in a quiet space at least a half hour before your set interview time. Remember the interviewer can call you 15 minutes before or after your set time.
Step 2:Tape or lay out all your papers with the interview questions on them in front of you. Make sure you have a blank space at the top of your paper to write down the name of your interviewer.
Step 3: To de-stress yourself before the interview watch a movie or do something that has to do with Disney. ( I watched Frozen before my interview on my laptop and put it on silent during my interview so I could still kind of see it playing in the background to keep my nerves down.)
Step 4: Once the interview starts, the person on the other end will introduce themselves. That's when you write down their name in the blank space on your paper. You want to mention their name a couple times during the interview, and thank them by name at the end.
Step 5: Once your interview comes to an end and if they still didn't ask you why you want to do the Disney College Program, tell them anyways. Nothing stands out more to an interviewer than someone saying that they want that job.
Step 6: At the end of the interview, the interviewer asks if you have any questions for them. Even if you don't, ask them a question anyways. This helps show that you are interested and really want the job. A lot of times people ask the interviewer how they got involved with Disney and if they ever did the Disney College Program. This seems to help, and you could learn something too.
Step 7: Once the interview is over, now you can freak out. Pace the floor, jump around, scream out the window. And within 2 short weeks you will find out what the answer is.
Step 8: Check your email every hour until you see that one that pops up and says congratulations in the topic bar, and you know that your life is about to change. And then you think to yourself, wow, that blog I read really helped me! Thanks S!
Anyways, all jokes aside, I hope that anyone of you who decide to apply make it in the DCP and have a life changing experience like I did!
Until the next one... S
