Thursday 21 November 2013

The Pre-Screen Interview

When I received my response, I got an email saying; 

After a review of your application the Yummy Jobs Team is delighted to inform you that you have been successful through to the next stage of the interview process.

I was so happy :) I had heard that this programme is hard to get in to so I was proud that had got through to the next stage! 

The email told me when and where my interview would be held, mine was in Manchester on the 4th October but they also held one in London. I think they just allocate you to the place that is nearest to where you live. I was also told to bring an object that represents my home town. I tried to think outside the box by bringing something completely different :)

I had to get the train from Preston at 7am on the day of my interview so I was pretty tired but also excited and nervous! The interview was held and Manchester Met Uni and a few of us from the Facebook group had arranged to meet in Starbucks down the road beforehand. When we arrived at Manchester Met at 9am we were given a presentation on the programme and lots of details and information. Following this our interview groups were called.

My group interview was at 12pm, so I had a couple of hours to kill. I went and sat in the cafe with a couple of others in the same group as me and had a chat about what type of questions they might ask etc. 

My group turned out to be really good, 3 girls and 3 boys and we all got on really well. Our interviewer was James, he is really nice and easy to talk to which calmed most of our nerves :) The interview was more of a chat really, just a group discussion to answer his questions. First he checked our availability for the programme and which role we would prefer to do, then we had to chat to the person next to us and introduce them. After this, some of his questions were;

Which Disney character would you be and why?
Why do you want to work for Disney?
How would you feel about living with people from other cultures?
What would you do if you felt homesick or if someone you were living with missed home?
How would you cope with the heat and the climate?
What is your favourite brand and why?
Describe the item you have brought with you and why you have brought it. 

We were also given a situational question about dealing with a problem a guest may have. There may have been a couple of extra questions too but I can't remember!

Once the interview was over we were all pretty relieved, we had all done well and were just hoping that we would receive some good news in a couple of weeks time!

The Application Process

So in July this year I saw that Yummy Jobs (the UK recruiting agency for Disney) were opening applications for the Cultural Representative Programme (CRP), this is a 12 month programme where you work in Epcot in the UK pavilion  to represent your hometown.

As I loved the ICP summer programme, I could not decide whether to apply for this again or to apply for the CRP instead, as you can only apply to one at a time. In the end I decided to go for the CRP as I really don't know what to do when I finish university. I also thought it would be great to go back and hopefully another amazing experience.

The application through Yummy Jobs involves;

  • - Personal Details
  • - Contact Information
  • - Education
  • - Work Experience
  • - Questions
    • Why do you value cultural exchange and interaction?
    • What is your motivation for this programme?
  • Your documents
    • Cover letter
    • CV
    • Previous Visas
    • Copy of your passport
  • Passport Information
The questions section took me a while as you have to write a good answer in order to get through. I did some research and tried the best I could. I also made sure I had an up to date copy of my CV and that I had written a cover letter. The application allows you to save your progress and go back to it which is a benefit :)

Applications closed on 16th September and I got an email with a responses on the 20th September so it wasn't really a long wait, although I submitted my application in August. 

Monday 10 June 2013

One year later...

So.. it has been just over a year since I arrived in Orlando for the International College Programme. I havn't even been on this blog since before I left Orlando last August and I still need to write about my last couple of weeks there. I was so busy in these weeks that I forgot to update my blog, then I got home and went back to university so it has been a bit hectic! So I will begin with talking about my last couple of weeks in the best place on earth!

My last post was on the 3rd of August which was about 2 weeks before I finished my programme and went home. On the 7th August was my 19th Birthday!!! I can remember that I went to Magic Kingdom with Kirsty and Lauren, then  either the night before or the night after all four of us went to Magic Kingdom and they had arranged for my to make Mickey cake pops in the confectionery store, they had also bought me presents which was really nice of them! Over the last few days we tried to do as much as possible... including 4 parks in 1 day! It was hilarious but we were so tired by the end of it! It was sad to think that we wouldn't be able to just go to a Disney park whenever we wanted when we got home :(

Soon it was time for graduation - a ceromony that all college programme participants take part in. We got Mickey ears with a graduation tassle and certificates :) We also got to have pictures with Mickey and Minnie and a couple of other characters before heading off to Magic Kingdom for the last time! How we got to Magic Kingdom was incredibly crazy, but lets just say we got there JUST in time! Watching Wishes was so emotional, all four of us were in bits and looked such a mess from crying but we didn't really care. We all got out Mickey ears embroidered with our names and took some final pictures together before we left the park :(

The next day we headed to the Grand Floridian where we had breakfast with the characters, I got some more autographs in my autograph book :) Then we had to say goodbye to each other, it was really sad but we knew we would meet up soon! I also went to say goodbye to Chuck around this time, it was horrible to say goodbye to him too as I might never see him again, he was such a lovely guy :)

After this I went to meet my family who had flown out a week and a half earlier to meet me, we had stayed in the Art of Animation resort before heading off to stay at Universal! We had such a good time, I do love Universal!

So... that is what happened in my last couple of weeks in Orlando. It was the best experience ever and the best 3 months of my life! I really didn't want to go home. Unfortunately I couldn't go back this year but I am definately applying to go back next Summer! I hope it works out :)