On the 14th October I found out I GOT THROUGH TO THE FACE TO FACE INTERVIEWS ahhhh!!!
Receiving the email saying I had made it to the Face-To-Face interviews was the best feeling EVER!!! I was completely gobsmacked. I had to read it over at least a hundred times and get family to read it before it truly sank in. I thought my chances were over I'd been preparing all my family and friends for the rejection email, I honestly thought they wouldn't put me through to the next stage after I thought I totally failed my Pre-Screen Interview.
The email came through from Disney just after The Apprentice had finished so around 10pm on October 14th. (After the Pre-Screen interviews I would check my email daily but as their office hours are the usual 9-5pm I adopted the philosophy of if I hadn't heard by 5pm I wouldn't hear from them so would stop checking/refreshing my emails after this point so the email came as a total shock). The subject lines from Yummy Jobs never give much away, the subject literally just read 'Your Yummy Jobs Application' so I prepped myself for the rejection email I thought was coming my way. However after the first few lines the email read:
The Yummy Jobs Team very much enjoyed our conversation with you and would be delighted to invite you to the final stage of recruitment.
I immediately ran around the house like a crazy wide-eyed, heart pumping out of my chest, crazy loon, showing the email to my Mum and Sister and called up my Dad to tell him the good news. My parents then both asked so when are the interviews then? I was so excited to see I had passed that I hadn't bothered to read the rest of the email haha.
Within the email was a link to visit Disney's Online Application, as it is at this point Yummy Jobs start to take a step back in the application process and Disney start coming forward. The application itself is very straightforward, filling in information of your employment, personal details and re-uploading your Cover Letter and CV so Disney have their own copy. Disney then ask you to register online to DOC (Disney Onboarding Central) to upload your passport and any previous VISAS stamped on our passport e.t.c. We were then told to wait for an email from Disney which would outline further details of the interview such as the date and time and other bits and bobs.
A Disney email came through asking us to complete a Role Checklist to indicate which roles we were most interested in, so this could be discussed at interview. The list listed all the available roles at the Walt Disney World park in Florida but sadly as a UK Disney CRP applicant you only have 3 main roles to choose from; Merchandise (They also listed Kidcot as a separate role but this is part of Merchandise), Food & Beverage or HRC (I think you need to have a History degree for this or a very keen interest in history, not too sure so don't quote me on this, it also is a bit more complex this role but that can be discussed at a later time). I selected Merchandise as high interest (alongside Kidcot) then put Food & Beverage as moderate interest.
Another email then arrived from Disney asking us to schedule in our interviews which would take place on 8th November 2014. This email came in whilst I was at work and sadly the booking of interview slots is a first come-first served situation. So all the early time slots had gone. I was panicking that I would be left with the latest slot available but thankfully there was space left on the penultimate time slot of 3-4pm so I quickly booked my place on that! Disney ask you to arrive 30mins before the scheduled presentation time of 9.30am, so ideally I didn't want to be waiting around all day after the presentation until 5pm to have my interview so I was grateful to have the 3-4pm time slot.
Interview Day!!!
On Facebook some of us had sorted out meeting at Starbucks at 8am by Hammersmith Tube Station before hand. This was so nice to not only calm the nerves and have people to walk over with but also to meet up with friends made at the Pre-Screen Interviews and meet new people too.
After our drinks we all headed over to WALT DISNEY HQ!!!! Eeeeeeeek excitement overload! Upon entering the building security ask to take your photo and hand over a lanyard for you to wear and ask you to be seated (Next to a diamante Mickey Mouse)
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| It's Mickey Mouse all sparkly!! |
You then show your passport to Louise or Katie from Yummy Jobs to register/sign in. As you are waiting for everyone to do this you get to soak in all the wonderful Disney items and memorabilia around you. Ahh heaven/childood dream come true! Then we were called into the cinema room....yes they have an actual CINEMA in Disney HQ amazing...and the seats were super comfy! The presentation began and we were introduced to three Disney Representatives who had flown over from the USA especially for this eeek! At my interview we had Sue who is Disney's International Recruiter focussing on Africa, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Ireland, then we had Reggie the owner of the All-Star Resorts complex at WDW, then Alesya/Alyssa (I know it had a y in the name but can't for the life of me remember how she spelt it :/) who is the Merchandise Manager for the UK, France and Canada?! All were super friendly and had amazing American accents ;). They started off the presentation after the introductions with a Disney related quiz where of course like the Pre-Screen there were some amazing Disney goodies up for grabs, if you got the answer correct to the questions. Then throughout the presentation in between speakers they insert clips of a film which is just simply magical and overwhelming, I definitely had a few tears in my eyes, but most people did. The presentation covered areas such as housing, pay, the opportunities available to you on the programme and other things. We also had a Disney alumni called Katie who gave us an insight into her CRP year which was lovely to hear how she enjoyed it so much and was going through the application process again just to get back out there. It was really helpful.
So, after the presentation and having a later interview time slot a big group of us wondered over to a traditional UK pub which became our kind of waiting room where we had lunch and chatted about all things Disney related and we also went on such an emotional rollercoaster during this time I must admit. As people left for their interviews the nerves would heighten in thinking 'oh my gosh this is real, don't mess this up, you've come so far' then after a few chats about our favourite Disney films or rides at WDW my nerves would calm down again and I would feel quite relaxed and I would end up thinking 'it's okay Rachael you can do this, it's just a friendly chat, no biggy'. Then people started to come back from their interviews all saying the same thing, that their interviews were over super quick and they weren't sure if this was a good or bad thing. I wasn't sure what this meant either, so as per our group would go over and analyse this in our heads.
My interview time slot came, so back to Walt Disney HQ I went, where Louise and Katie were sat upstairs with the rest of the Disney CRP interviewees. I have to say this also was so nice as we all talked amongst ourselves swapping stories e.t.c. Although a bit odd as where we were sat was in the same room as one interview which was taking place so we had to talk quietly although they were at the opposite end of this big room/hallway thing we were in and we couldn't hear what was being said, it just felt a bit weird. Louise from Yummy Jobs let me know that Alyssa/Alyessa would be taking my interview as I had stated Merchandise being my preferred role and being the Merchandise manager it just made sense. So Alyssa/Aleyssa came over to our waiting area and called my name and off I went with her to my interview. My interview took place in a room which had Spider Man hanging off the ceiling you know just a casual room to have a job interview in haha oh Disney I love you! However, in this room 2 interviews were taking place mine and another persons, which surprisingly wasn't a problem as although it was a fairly small room you are so focussed on your own interview you barely notice the other people in the room so it was totally fine.
The interview only lasted around 15 minutes and in that time I got asked a few quick fire questions such as; Do you have any tattoos or piercings? Are you okay doing a drug test if asked? How will you cope in the heat? Then she asked a few more questions which required longer answers to but to be honest the interview was such a blur I am struggling to remember exactly what they were but something along the lines of, How did you hear about this program? What would you tell someone about your hometown? What do you expect to get/take/learn from this program? and something to do with what are your future career plans? The interview was over quite quickly I had a lovely time talking to Alyessa/Alyssa and am so excited that now with the knowledge that I am going she will be my manager when I am out there YAY!!!!!
So after saying goodbye to the friends I had made on the day, I was on my way back home on the train after a truly magical Disney filled day! I came home to a courtesy email from Disney saying:
And so the waiting began.....
That’s amazing, congratulations! My cousin worked for Disney, and she found it to be one of the most rewarding jobs she ever had. Personally, I find that the face to face part of the recruitment process is the easiest, because all you have to do is present yourself beyond what was on your resume. Smiling is half the battle! I hope you get good news!
ReplyDeleteCeline Goodson @ RMS Recruitment