I applied for the program in September of 2010, to apply for the Spring Advantage program in 2011. Spring Advantage means that the program would go from January until August instead of January - May. The first portion of the application was very similar to a standard job application. It was entirely online, and was basically a form that asked for things like your name, address, social security number, phone number, email, work experience and education. I believe that it also had a section to upload your resume so I did that too. At the time, my resume did not have very much on it. I worked at Staples as a sales associate for almost three years and participated in History Society and Classics Society at school. My resume also had a career objective section, which I tailored for the DCP, and volunteer experience which was essentially just helping out with my dance studio's recitals. My references on my resume were one of my Staples' managers and one of my professors.
Another section of the application included a screen where you could rank the different roles in the program by your interest in them (high interest, some, little or none). For this section I ranked roles like Hospitality, Vacation Planner, Attractions, Merchandise, and Photopass as high interest. (There was a couple of more that I placed in this section though I'm having a hard time remembering them now). For some interest I chose roles like Quick & Full Service Food, Transportation and Main Entrance Operations. My low interest roles were Custodial, Housekeeping and Bell Services. And I noted that I have no interest in Lifeguard, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and Character Performer. Because I placed Merchandise in the high interest section, and all of my work experience at the time was retail, I assumed that if I got accepted into the program I would be placed in Merchandise (which I was). I chose the high interest roles as the roles that I would genuinely enjoy doing. The medium ones are roles that I would be content with, but not my favorite. And the low interest were roles that I would really only want if it was that or not doing the program at all. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm afraid of germs, so Custodial or Housekeeping is really not for me. That being said I have heard from a fair number of Custodial cast members who love their jobs because they get tons of guest interaction. I still don't think its for me, but I would do it if I absolutely had to.
After completing the application online, I was prompted to take a web based interview. Some program applicants will not receive this prompt, and are cut from the program right then and there. The web based interview was also similar to other online job applications. The questions were mainly customer service based, and sometimes repetitive, probably to make sure that you know what you're talking about and you're not changing your answers halfway through. Most of the questions were things like "I do not let stress outside of work interfere my ability to perform my job well," with answers like "Strongly agree," "Somewhat Agree," "Somewhat Disagree," or "Strongly Disagree." Upon finishing the web based interview, which took me about forty minutes, I was prompted to choose a date and time slot for a phone interview. This is another point where some applicants also get cut, as not everyone will be given a phone interview.
I chose the earliest time slot on a day that I only had a night class at school for my interview. Like many college students, I live in a dorm, so the thought of a phone interview kind of worried me because I didn't know what could happen without being in the privacy of my own house if that makes sense. If having my interview in my dorm room did not seem like a good idea when the time came, I planned to drive to a quiet part of campus and have the interview in my car. Conveniently, my roommate was in class when the time came for my interview, and I assume most of the other girls on my floor were too as it was quiet that morning. My interview was scheduled for 10:30 AM, but it was made clear that they could call about 20-30 minutes earlier or later so we should be prepared for either instance. At about 10:15, my phone rang and my interview started.
A lot of people seem to dislike phone interviews, but I actually felt as though this went very well. I had a notebook with some jotted down notes written in it, and I was sitting on my bed (in my pajamas) with a pen handy in case I needed to write anything down. My notes were basically a larger written yet concise copy of my resume, some roles in the program that I was particularly interested in, and some bullet points for questions I figured they'd ask (like why I wanted to work for Disney). I think the bullet points were extremely helpful, as I did not write out a full paragraph as answers to questions, so my responses probably sounded more natural. The points I wrote down were really just there as reminders in case nervousness struck.
My interview lasted for about 25 minutes. The first couple of questions were logistical (ie: what year I was in school, my major, when I planned on graduating, if I would take Disney classes, confirming that I wanted to apply for Florida and not California). My interviewer asked about how you deal with a repetitive job or a situation where work may seem boring to do day after day. The only other question of substance was why I wanted to work for Disney, and what made me interested in the program over other possible internships. Lastly, she asked me if I had any request for a role in the event that I got accepted. At the time of this interview, I really had no idea what I wanted to do after I graduated and just thought it would be fun to work at an attraction, so Attractions was the answer I gave. My interviewer asked if I had any questions and the last of the application process was over.
I should also mention that my call was lost during the interview. I had terrible cell phone reception in my dorm room, so this was basically my worst nightmare during a phone interview. Before the interview started, the interviewer said not to worry if the call was lost, that she would immediately call back. When the call was lost it was about a whole 30 seconds before she called back and everything was fine again. It was extremely worrisome to have the call be lost, but the interviewer was very relaxed about it and moved on quickly. I assume for her it happens a lot and wasn't a big deal, but she was very professional about it and got right back into the interview so I didn't have much time to be worried. I did worry after the fact that it would have somehow thrown off the flow of the interview and hurt my chances, but since I got accepted that was not the case. So if this happens to anyone reading it, don't worry!!
You know from my previous post how the rest of the process went. I was accepted within a couple of days, but could not pursue the program further do to my school's stand on it.
When I followed the steps below, as the above email mentions, I learned that my role was Merchandise. I assume this was because of my retail experience, but I was excited nonetheless. The rest of the steps included paying your housing deposit and choosing arrival dates. The link (that is no longer active as this email is from two years ago), also had information about the "Disney Look" (how you should keep your appearance according to Disney standards), and information about my role and pay. Declining an offer to work for Disney was miserable for me. With all the changes of my major and decisions that seem impossible to make, working for Disney is the only thing I've ever consistently wanted to do for my entire life thus far, so it was terrible to be accepted into the program and have to decline it. But at least I now know what the process is like for when I apply again for Fall of 2014.
If anyone reading has any questions or comments you can also feel free to email me at bdicologero@yahoo.com.
-Brittany
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