So, I thought that now that I've made it into DCP, I would give some advice and ideas on the application process so you don't go into it blind.
As you start thinking about applying, there are a few things you need to know.
If you meet these requirements then you can continue the application, if you don't, you can just wait and then you will be prepared. I suggest that if you meet the requirements and also if you don't, to search around the website, understanding the process and what goes on in the program. See if you are interested and if this is something you want to do. See what roles there are and make a list of the top roles you would like.
There is an international program, so if you are interested in that, google and look on the website for more information on that program.
Then decide a couple of things before or during the online application.
-Decide whether you would prefer working at Walt Disney World (WDW) or Disneyland (DL).
-Which roles you would love.
-Which roles you absolutely would not like.
The online application is basically a job application. Fill it out as you usually would. Depending on when you hit submit on the application, the wait time on when you will find out if you make it to the next step will vary. If you apply immediately when the application is released, a lot of people will also be applying and so the wait time will be longer than if you apply later when the number of applicants is significantly lower. If you apply when the application first comes out, you could be waiting several hours. If you apply later on, like I did, it could be just a couple of hours. For me it was 2-3 hours.
Finally, after all that waiting, you will find out if you made it to the next step: the Web-Based Interview (WBI). I have a few tips for the WBI. The questions for the WBI are timed, but if you miss a couple of the questions, it is fine. You need to take your time and not rush. The questions may be timed, but there is plenty of time and you need to just breathe and calm down.
There are 2 kinds of questions. The first kind are the kind where you rate your agreement: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. The second kind of question are rate on 1-10. Also, there are a couple of Multiple Choice Questions.
1) Turn off anything that may end up taking away your concentration and distract you.
2)Take your time. Read the questions thoroughly and take your time answering them.
3)Answer them honestly. You don't want to make yourself seem too fake or too Disney (trust me the computer can tell if you aren't being yourself. I've heard of people not making it in because they tried to make their answers as Disneyfied as they can. They thought about what Disney would want, but they want honesty)
4) Relax. The questions come in sections and so in between each section, I'd recommend taking a couple of seconds to breathe and get ready for the next questions.
5) For the agreement questions, you'll want to try and answer neutral as little as possible.
6) Also, you'll want to answer Strongly Agree and Strongly Disagree as much as possible, depending on the kind of question.
7) Consistency. The interview will ask the same question phrased differently, so you will want to answer the question the same way.
8) Finally, a last advice I would give would be possibly be to have someone at your side as you take the interview. I had my mom at my side because she knows me really well and there were a couple of questions I didn't know how to answer because I started stressing out, and she helped me.
Once you finish the interview, it will say tell you whether you made it on or not. I've heard some people saying that it took a couple minutes for it to tell them, but usually it will tell you immediately if you made it to the next and final step: The Phone Interview.
You will want to schedule the phone interview quickly, especially if it is when the number of applicants is high. I only had 2-3 slots available to schedule, but thankfully one of them was a time I was able to do, but it was in the morning: 8:15 AM.
THE PHONE INTERVIEW!! CONGRATULATIONS!!
This is a big step! So make sure you set it up for a time a couple of days later, instead of immediately. You will also want to set up your phone interview to be a time that is a couple of hours before and after anything you have going on. I had it in the morning, 2 hours before my first class. I made sure I got up an 2 hours before my interview to prepare myself. You want to prepare yourself. It can be scary, especially if you've never done an interview.
The interviewer can call before or after your scheduled time, usually up to 15 minutes before or after. And I have a lot of tips!
1) Research Research Research! Make a list of questions from online that they might ask. I printed out questions and posted them on the wall in my apartment living room. Next to each of the questions I had put a few words to remind me of what my answer would be. I had also sorted my questions into categories so I could look for the questions easily. During my interview I would turn to the pages and look for the question, especially and usually when I got stuck in answering a question.
2) Look and Feel Confident! When I got up, I put on Disney music. I had to have it in my headphones because I got up at 6:00 and didn't want my roommates to wake up. I ate breakfast, showered, got dressed in an interview-ready outfit. Even though they couldn't see me, I wanted to feel like they could, and it made me feel more professional and prepared for anything. It also made me feel confident. For 45 minutes before my interview, I sat on the couch, sang to Disney music, and went over my notes and questions.
3) Smile! It can show through your voice if you are smiling.
4) Breathe!
5) Get Your Disney On! That is why I sang to Disney song. I also had my Mickey Mouse stuffed animal right by me and I gave him hugs for good luck-I know, I'm a geek.
6) Remember your Interviewer's name and thank them. Write it on a paper-I wrote it on the question pages I had. At the end of the interview, I thanked the interviewer by name, to show that I cared about the interviewer as a person.
7) Slow Down! When I did my interview, I spoke quite fast at first, and so I tried to slow down. On top of that, my interviewer asked me halfway through my interview to shorten my answers because I apparently was rambling on and kept talking in my interview, when I needed to shorten my answers.
8) Have Some Water! Sometimes my throat would get dry or I would start to panic, and so I would drink some of my water, which helped calm me down. I usually took the water while the interviewer was asking me a question.
9) Make sure your phone is charged! Can you imagine your phone turning off in the middle of an interview?
10) Familiarize yourself with Disney Look and Character Integrity. Disney Look can be found:
http://cp.disneycareers.com/en/about-disney-college-program/disney-look/
Disney Look can be through the physicality and performance. Familiarize yourself with it because your interviewer will ask you questions about it. It involves tattoos and piercings-which are fine to have, as long as they fall along the lines of the Disney Look or can be covered up.
Character Integrity is the integrity of a Disney character. This means keeping the characteristics of the character. Answering questions about why a character is gone and such. For example, the question I was given was, why did Pooh Bear leave, like if the performer needed to go to the bathroom or switch shifts? I answered saying that Pooh Bear was hungry and went to go find some honey with his best friend Piglet. Another big Character Integrity is making sure everyone knows there is one of each character. There is only one Mickey Mouse.
11) Be Yourself. They want you to be yourself and not be too fake.
12) Get a couple of questions ready for what you would like to ask the interviewer. You can ask any sort of questions. To be honest, I don't remember what my questions are, but I do remember that one of my questions I got during the interview.
13) Look online for more advice and YouTube videos of advice and actual phone interviews. This really helped me because I gained all of my questions for my pages online. To be honest, my interviewer didn't ask me a lot of the questions I had collected, and it went by so fast I didn't know what she had asked or what had happened. I actually thought that I failed the interview. I thought it went terribly. When it was done I just sat there and stared into space. The entire day I cried, panicked, smiled, frowned, and got angry. I went through probably every emotion possible.
Here are a lot of questions they may or may not ask:
-Why do you want to work for Disney?
-Why do you want to do DCP?
-Are you familiar with the parks, resorts, and Orlando area?
-What does Disney mean to you?
-How will DCP help your future?
-What makes you a good candidate?
-Three positive qualities about yourself?
-Three negative qualities about yourself?
-What Disney character do you relate to the most?
-Magical moments in the parks?
At which park or resort would you prefer to work?
-Past work experiences?
-Tell me about a time when you made a guest happy at work.
-How would your bosses, both past and present, describe you?
-Tell me about a time where a customer was difficult. How did you handle it?
-Do you mind working and living far away from home?
-Do you mind working outside in Florida's heat or inside in air conditioning?
-Would you rather work independently or in a group setting?
-Would you rather work in a slow or fast-paced environment?
-How would you handle an emergency?
-How would you make a guest's day?
-Have you ever lived in a dorm or with other people?
-Have you ever lived alone?
-How do you feel about the apartment setting?
-How would you handle a roommate disagreement?
-What do you think the worst aspect of Disney Housing would be?
What are your top 3-5 roles?
After that, I would recommend looking up questions for each of your top roles.
After the phone interview comes the waiting. I don't know how many times a day I looked online to see if I got any kind of acceptance or decline. Even though I knew it would be at least a month before I would find anything out.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, but was just over a month, I finally found out. I was in class and my mom was visiting. I received a text from a friend who was participating in DCP at that time. She asked if I had found out yet, and I hadn't, so I told her no. Yet, immediately I turned to my email and saw I had one from the Disney Recruiters. I grabbed my mom's hand and squeezed it as I opened the email and read these words:
"Congratulations! On behalf of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc., we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to participate in the Disney College Program."
My next post about DCP will be the acceptance process and what to do between accepting and getting to Disney!
If you make it to getting this email, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
If not, it is fine! You can apply once the next application is released!
Just never give up on your dreams!!
LOVE,
KM
