Phone Interviews

Before the final interviews, everyone for the Canadian program goes through a phone interview with Kristen from Yummy Jobs. The phone interviews for all the applicants that got through the initial application for a start date between February and July of 2013 were September 18^th-20^th from 8:30am to 5pm. We had to send our availability for the phone interview to Kristen and she sent back your interview time. I was available all three days between 8:30 and 4 and my interview was scheduled for Wednesday, September 19^th at 3pm.

To prep for the interview, I did as much research as I could on the program and through other blogs that had been written in previous years. As I had just finished my Major Research Paper for my Master’s degree, my brain was still in full out research mode, so it wasn’t too difficult for me to adjust! The WDWIP forums were a HUGE help with this stage of the process (www.wdwip.com/smf)! From members posting their blogs detailing their interview process and the Canadian applicants discussion, I gained a lot of information and found the private facebook group for the Canadian applicants!

For the interview, I typed up a list of questions that I had seen on other blogs along with ones that I have typically been asked at other interviews. I made point form notes under each question, so that I had prepared answers but they weren’t fully scripted or anything. I wanted the answers to sound like they were well thought out and as natural as possible. I knew I would get nervous for the interview so it was comforting having those in front of me, just in case I needed them.

The night before the interview proved to be very difficult to sleep through, but I got some sleep! Before the interview, I made sure that I had everything that I might possibly need in front of me, including my notes, a bottle of water, some Kleenex, etc. and made sure that I was set up somewhere quiet. For me, that was my office downstairs. I also wore a professional outfit to put myself in more of an interview mindset.

The interviews were slightly behind, which makes sense seeing as they were going on all day. Kristen called at about 3:15 and we had a nice chat. She tried to make me feel as comfortable as possible and tried to emphasize that I shouldn’t be nervous. The interview started with some simple questions, which helped to calm me down a bit. I was asked the standard Disney look questions (whether I had any tattoos or piercings) as well as if I had a Canadian passport. My interview was only a couple of questions long, but I tend to try and give as much detail as possible so that could have easily been why! I was asked why I wanted to work at Disney, what motivated me about the opportunity, how I would deal with the heat in Florida, and how I would feel living with people from around the world. I tried to make my answers detailed and to try to answer slowly and coherently (when I’m nervous I talk REALLY fast!).

I was finally asked if I had any questions. If you are going through this interview process (or any other for that matter), you should try to have some kind of question to ask the interviewer. It shows that you are really interested in the job and learning more about what is available with this position.

That was the entirety of the interview! It lasted 6 minutes and 36 seconds (Yes, I looked at the time on the phone afterwards!) It seemed really short and I was so nervous after I saw how little time the interview actually lasted. The initial email about our phone interviews said that the interview should last about 10 to 15 minutes and mine had only been 6 and a half. I was a bit of a nervous wreck until we received the email on October 2^nd. I had gotten through the phone interview and was invited to the final face to face interview in Toronto in November! I was so excited! My dream to work at Disney was getting very close to actually happening and I couldn’t believe my luck!

Currently Listening to: “Listen & Forgive” by Transit from the album Listen & Forgive