A Friend of Mickey

I just received the following question on my Formspring:

How did you apply for internship? Through school or online? Online all I can find is the talent program info..where you have to be graduated from college :( Also, do you know if it's too late to apply for next spring? Thanks :)

I realized how very little information there is about the application process for the Disney College Program, so I think I'll give you guys a small taste of what I went through during my application process.

I received several emails from my college about a special presentation about a Disney internship. Not knowing too much about it, I decided I would attend one of the presentations. Unfortunately, all of the presentations at my school were snowed out. I decided to take matters into my own hands and look up information on the program. When I saw that the program was a way to work and study at Disney World for an entire semester, I decided to turn in an application right away. However, when I went to apply, I realized that attending one of the presentations was absolutely necessary for the application process because they give you a code at the end of the presentation that you must enter to get to the application. Luckily, you can watch the presentation online, which is exactly what I did. As I watched the 45 minute presentation, I began to get more and more excited about the program. By the end, I was chomping at the bit to get to the application.

I received the application code in my email within five minutes of the end of the presentation. I immediately entered the code into the application and began. I filled out the preliminary application in about a half hour. It asked similar questions to any other job application I've ever filled out: name, address, birth date, education, job experience, etc.

After that portion of the application, I began the questionnaire. This part of the application process tests how compatible you are with what the Disney Company expects out of its employees. This portion of the application took me about an hour. There are many questions, and each asks you to rank how you fit each question on a scale of one to five. You must read this section carefully: sometimes one is the best and sometimes five is the best! At the end of this section, you will find out if you are compatible with Disney or not. If you are, you receive a phone number to call and schedule a phone interview.

I called immediately after finishing the application, but unfortunately, the office was closed for the evening, so I called the next morning. My interview was scheduled roughly two weeks after I scheduled it. I was extremely nervous and did not know what to expect, so I Googled past interview questions. Even after doing that, I was still extremely uneasy, so I decided to contact my cousin, who is very knowledgeable in the area of human resources. She suggested this book:




I have to say, reading this book was probably the best decision I made regarding this interview. Lee Cockerell is the former Executive Vice President of Operations, and as such, he is extremely well informed about Disney management. It was extremely helpful to know what Disney looks for in an employee, but even more than that, it taught me a great deal about what to expect when I enter into the workforce and become a manager myself.



I do not remember too much of my telephone interview. I was so amped up on adrenaline that I was running on sheer nerves. I expected interviewer to throw me a lot of curve balls, but she didn't. She basically went over what I had said on my initial application. The only real advice I have about this process is simply to smile and be as pleasant as possible. I thought my interview went well. I was just nervous that I had said, "Um..." too much.

At the end of the interview, the interviewer told me that I would have to wait up to a month for my results but if I didn't hear back from them at the end of that time, to send them an email. It turned out that I wouldn't have to wait nearly that amount of time. I found out after a mere ten days, the shortest amount of time out of everyone I knew. I was ecstatic.

I would highly suggest that anyone who is interested just take the plunge and apply. There isn't much to lose, and everyone who is involved in the internship application process is really nice and friendly. As far as I know, they are still accepting applications for fall 2010, but I think they are nearing the end date now. Either way, all the information to apply can be found here:

https://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap/its/mimes/zh_wdwcp/index.html

Go for it! Who knows what could happen?


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