Monday, March 1, 2010

Disneyland Interview

I just had my Disneyland interview today at 8:45pm. I think it went well, but I thought the same thing about WDW and we all know how that ended. Everything is pretty fresh in my mind, so here's a list of questions they asked:

1. Tell me about your previous work experience.

I didn't get many other previous experience based questions after this, mainly because I talked for so long. It was such a vague question that I figured I may as well get as much out as possible about my previous job.

2. Why do you want to do the Disney College Program?

I simply told them that I've been a huge Disney fan since I was very little and that I wanted to start a career with Disney after I graduate. Obviously I made it sound a little better in my interview.

3. What are your top roles?

At first I listed Front Desk, Attractions, and Stores/Retail. When she asked for more, I ended up listing every role I checked off in order from most to least wanted (I had prepared a list just in case).

4. Tell me about an experience where you had multiple things to do and didn't know how you would possibly get them all done.

I simply talked about multi-tasking and prioritizing in both the work place and at school. I didn't give a specific incident, but I think I gave the kind of answer they were looking for.

5. Have you ever handled an emergency situation before?

I told her about a handicapped child who fell down the stairs at my previous job. I called an ambulance and provided the caretaker with whatever she needed to help. I emphasized that I remained calm during the entire situation and required an incident report to be filled out at the end.

6. Are you comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people?

I feel like I should of mentioned that I spoke in front of groups of people many times at my previous job, but sadly I forgot. Instead I talked about how I've taken multiple public speaking classes and generally enjoy talking in front of people. I also mentioned that I would be very happy memorizing a large spiel for a ride, since I think it would make it more fun. I'm not sure if this was the kind of answer they were looking for, but I don't think my answer was horrible either.

7. What do you think the role of Front Desk entails?

I talked about them being one of the first people that people come in contact with when they enter the resort, so it's important to make a good impression. I also talked about multi-tasking and having a lot of knowledge about the resort.

8. Tell me about a time when you provided a magical moment for a customer.

I honestly was not expecting this at all, but I feel like I did a decent job answering it. I talked about hosting birthday parties at my previous job. We would take the birthday boy/girl behind the counter to pick out a present. As if getting to go behind the counter (it's cooler when your a kid) wasn't awesome enough, you also got a trophy (or a t-shirt which no one ever picked). I said it was always a good feeling to see how happy the kids were when we did this.

9. Working in parking you'll be one of the first people guests come in contact with, how would you make each guest feel special?

I wasn't really sure how to answer this. I said I would greet each guest with a smile and show just how high Disney standards are for customer service. I would make sure to answer any questions the person may have and bid farewell with "Have a magical day".

10. What's your favorite kind of weather?

This was definitely the weirdest question I had. She said something about California weather being different and whether I could handle it or not. I said I like warm weather the best, but I live in Michigan so I'm used to super cold and snow.

11. Do you think you would be able to handle the housing element of the program?

I simply said that even though I've never lived on campus, it's something I always wanted to do. I talked about being outgoing and enjoying meeting new people and making new friends. I also slipped in something about taking Japanese and hoping to travel to Japan in the near future.


So for the most part, I'm happy with my interview. The only odd part was at the end when I was going to thank her and talk about how much the opportunity meant to me. I said "thank you so much for interviewing me", then she interrupted me saying "you're welcome, bye". I said "bye" back and she hung up. It was weird getting cut off like that, but my sister says that's a good thing since it means she got all the information she needed.

Anyways, just wanted to mention Honey and Alyssa who commented on my last post. Your comments definitely helped me remain positive for my interview, thanks!

NOTE: You may notice some changes to this post, as I remember to edit in things I originally forgot.

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