OHMYGOSH JUST HAD MY PHONE INTERVIEW AND IT WENT SO WELL. I hope. I think. Ah!
First of all, here's something kind of funny: my phone interview lasted the EXACT same amount of time as my phone interview for Fall 2014. 30 minutes long (it was supposed to be 20, whoops). So I'm just going to lay it all out for you.
My recruiter, Jenny, called at 12:20pm on Thursday, September 8 (my interview was scheduled for 12:15pm).
First she asked how I was and verified all the info about my preferences (Walt Disney World location, and Spring over Spring Advantage). She also verified my year/major/school and graduation date.
She asked about the Disney look and I told her I had a tattoo on the outside of my left ankle that can be covered by socks or makeup. She asked my dimensions and I said 1 inch wide and 1/2 inch high.
She said she knew I lived with roommates from my last program but asked how we dealt with any issues in the house and I told her about our system for doing dishes and taking out trash.
She also asked if I'd be okay living with international students so I told her how when I studied abroad I actually lived with people from Germany, Norway, China, and Japan in our apartment.
Then she asked me how doing another DCP will help me professionally, and how it would be different from my first program. I told her I wanted to work for Disney as a career, and didn't take advantage of the resources on my first program and would definitely do that this time (and some other stuff but I'm not going to repeat myself word for word). She really liked my answer :)
She looked at my job experience ("wow you have a big variety") and asked about my experience working at Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estate, what I did there.
She asked how I dealt with a tough customer and I told her about my encounters with drunk customers and told her the key is to be respectful, cool, and collected.
She asked how I deal with emergencies and I told her about the time I was guiding a trail ride and my horse sat down and rolled over and wouldn't get up and how I handled the guests behind me, then told her how to handle emergencies in general. She loved that story and was so nervous that the horse as going to die hahaha.
She asked if I prefer working in a team or individually and I said I'm open to both but prefer working in a team.
Then she asked a little bit about my previous DCP, verifying I did indeed do one and she asked where I worked (R.I.P. Studio Catering Co).
She asked about lifeguarding and how comfortable I was swimming and I said I had always lived by the water and took swim lessons when I was little.
She also asked if I'd be comfortable with the swim test and I said yeah, sounds like a great workout.
She asked what I thought the main duties of a lifeguard are and I said safety for sure.
She asked why I put high interest in vacation planning and I told her that I thought it was easily translate into the professional world, especially the marketing industry. I also said I tried to pick high interest roles that translate best into the professional industry.
She asked about experience meeting sales goals, and I said working at the winery we didn't have quotas but we did have incentives to make the most/biggest sales (free wine). I told her I got a few free bottles by the end of the summer :)
She said if a family was only in town for a day what would I recommend and I said it totally depends on the family, but for just one park I would recommend Magic Kingdom but a park hopper would also be a great option for Epcot and Animal Kingdom or something.
She asked my why I was qualified for convention guide and why I want it and I talked about my experience at the winery giving tours and how it could translate well professionally.
She asked if someone came up asking about the private event what would I do and I said if it was a short question I'd go ahead and address it otherwise I would point them toward another Cast Member.
She then asked if I like Epcot, because convention guides work there and I said I LOVED Epcot because food is the best thing ever and Food & Wine Festival is the greatest thing ever.
She asked which roles I think I'm most qualified for and I said attractions, lifeguarding but I want a role with more interaction, vacation planning, and convention guide and explained why for each role.
She asked if I had height problems and I said I actually love heights - I've been both skydiving and bungy jumping.
She asked if I was okay working main entrance or parking and I said that is fine with me, but I would really love to work a ride in the parks but will take what I can get and do it to the best of my ability!
She asked if I was able to perform all duties required of a Cast Member (we're talking about any restrictions you might have) and I said yes.
She said the majority of decisions will be made at the end of October but to keep checking your dashboard periodically.
She asked if I had any questions.
I first asked how you decide role and location for people and she said no one had ever asked that before but said role is by previous work experience and interview, where they think you fit best. Location is random, it's just filling in where they need people but you can request a location and they'll do their best to grant that. So I requested Journey of the Little Mermaid hahaha she sounded surprised by that request! But most people go for Haunted Mansion or Jungle Cruise or Tower of Terror or something. She said she'll write it down but there's no guarantee.
I also asked what she recommends as far as networking and stuff like that, getting into the more corporate side of Disney and she basically said I already had a great plan and to follow that (Disney classes, networking, talking to leaders, going to seminars, shooting for a Professional Internship).
Finally I asked what qualities make a great Cast Member and she said going 110% and just doing your job and knowing what's important.
And that was it! I thanked her for taking the time out of her day to talk to me, and she did the same and told me to have a magical day!
My interview was 30 minutes exactly and went really well. Jenny was so sweet and easy to talk to and she mentioned a few times that I had great work experience and a great skill set so I'm feeling pretty confident, but we'll see!! She mostly asked questions about lifeguard, vacation planner, and convention guide with a few attractions questions. I made sure to really emphasize how the program would help my professionally this time, and used a lot more examples when answering questions than I did on my first interview when I got QSFB for Fall 2014. Last time I had Christy, and this time I had Jenny, and Jenny seemed a lot more engaging but they were both great.
That's it!! Now the waiting game shall begin. Hopefully the next blog post is about my acceptance but it all depends on how strong the applicants all are this season! Wishing everyone a magical Thursday and wonderful application season :)
Also side note: this is my 100th blog post! Woah!!
