PRE-SCREEN INTERVIEW | WHERE IT ALL BEGINS

*ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN AND NOT OF THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY OR YUMMY JOBS*

Hey there, pals!

To kick start this blog, I thought I would take you back to the very beginning of my placement journey... Have you ever wondered who's involved in the recruitment process for working at Disney? Well, I had absolutely no idea until the employer presentation event held at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU)!

For those of you who are unaware, Yummy Jobs is the Walt Disney World Resort's (WDW) recruitment partners for the various Disney International College Programs (ICPs) that, typically, university students can participate in. It is them who came into the university on October 11th, 2018. The representatives from Yummy Jobs, alongside two SHU students who had just completed the program, delivered a presentation detailing a greater insight into the Disney Academic Exchange Program (DAEP) - one of the three different ICPs that UK residents can participate in. The presentation about the DAEP included the roles we'd be undertaking, the academic courses, living information and program costs. The presentation lasted around 45mins, and then those who were no longer interested in the program were free to head off.

Those of us who were interested assigned our name next to a time slot where we would return to the venue where the presentation was held (mine was at the Careers and Employability Centre next to the Owen building at SHU’s city campus) for a 'pre-screen interview'. At my time slot, the other candidates and I split off into two groups of around six/seven where our contact details were taken, so we could be notified of our outcome, as well as our printed CVs - if you do forget your CV, Yummy Jobs are pretty relaxed and they could let you email an electronic copy of your CV. Although, I would recommend printing it out the night before and put it in your bag for confirmation that you have got it!

Careers and Employability Centre (known as Careers Connect)

The actual pre-screen interview itself, from my experience, is not too dissimilar from a typical one-to-one job interview! The Yummy Jobs representative who interviewed my group, Natalie, did an icebreaker-type activity finding out about what we're studying at university and why we wanted to participate on the program. I decided to apply to work in a customer environment like none other at one of the world's most famous tourist attractions, where I can apply my existing knowledge of working in a tourist attraction and learn new skills for my future tourism career. Also, Natalie asked our group about our previous work and living experiences, as well as our ideal roles for the program. The group interview is just like having a networking conversation and is an opportunity for the Yummy Jobs representative to get to know you and your personality.

After the pre-screen interview, Yummy Jobs contacted me with a request for some information, so they could pass this onto the Disney recruiters - nothing too daunting, just personal information. I did this super early (basically as soon as I got the email!) to show that I was super keen! Within the next few days after my pre-screen interview, I found out that I was successful for a final interview!! And that's it! This interview was super easy, straightforward and an oddly enjoyable one to found out more about the placement and have a chat with the representatives! If you have any questions about the pre-screen interview, leave them in comments. And, if you were applying for the DAEP what would your top roles be? I'd love to know your thoughts!

Have a magical day!

-Hannah

DISCLAIMER: this blog is my personal experience on the Disney Academic Exchange Program and in no way reflects everyone's experience! Other programs and future participants on the DAEP may have slight adjustments which may not be reflected in my posts. That being said, if you do leave any questions, I will try to answer them as best I can or cover topics in blogposts :)