Sunday 18 November 2012

The Application Process: Pre-Screens!

So, here's the next part of my application process, the pre screen. I got the email inviting me to one on the 28th September at 6:30pm. Needless to say I was pretty excited, nervous and prepared for it like a mad woman.

disney icp pre screen email

I got the 5am coach from Southampton to London, which arrived at 7:30am giving me plenty of time to make my way over to Waterloo. After chilling in Starbucks for 30 mins, people I had arranged to meet up with beforehand arrived (oh George! – inside joke) and we made our way over to the restaurant together.
At the event we had a presentation and a little quiz, then got given time slots. I was in the same group as Becky, one of the girls I had met up with that morning which was pretty cool, so we just stuck together and got some food/chatted to others with our time slot ect. Interviews were running over a little, so we got into the room at maybe 12:30ish. There was a desk at the front where the yummyjobs ladies were sitting, and chairs in a semi-circle around the desk. I actually enjoyed the pre-screen most of all about the whole process, as it really was a massive chat between us all. Firstly we went around and said our names (there was about 10 people in each interview), what course we study and an interesting fact about ourselves. Then questions were just thrown out by YJ! Remember it is a group interview so anyone can chip in at any time, luckily everyone in my group was very considerate of others talking so we all just bounced off each other.
Some of the things they asked us were:
  • Why do you want to do the program?
  • How would you cope with the long hours & the heat?
  • How would you deal with living in shared dorms?
  • What of American culture would you like to experience and what of British culture could you share?
Individually they asked us:
  • An interesting fact about yourself.
  • What is your future realistic and unrealistic job?
  • Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
  • Top 3 roles.
  • What program dates are you available for?
  • What Disney character are you most like?

It lasted about 45 minuets, and that time literally flew by. Abit of advice is to interact with people. They want to see that you can listen and communicate within a group. Also don't forget to smile (although it should be pretty hard not too anyway)!
Also don’t see the others as competition, see them as future friends. Two of the girls i met in Starbucks I'm actually going traveling with after the program, which is going to be amazing. Oh and remember the Disney look ladies and gents. It’s not crucial for this stage, but its recommended. Natural makeup, hair and take your piercings out.
I hope this helped a little and if you have any questions feel free to message me.
xox

Friday 16 November 2012

Video: Application, Pre-Screen & Final Interview!

Hey! So I’ve started vlogging eep! I’ve done 2 so far, one on the application process/pre-screen/final interview and a little room-mate survey. These are going to be put on my main YouTube channel which will feature some beauty videos, so I’m going to be linking each video here for those of you who don’t want to get makeup spam if you subscribe haha!



I will do accompanying posts for the pre-screen and final interview, having already done an application one which you can find here. Mostly this is to future applicants to help them with the whole process, so if your reading this from the future (wooooooooo) good luck and feel free to ask me any questions!

xox

Thursday 15 November 2012

200 Days to go: Flights Booked, CRB Sorted!

I don’t think it’s actually sunk in yet that I’m gonna be working for the mouse. An overload of university projects, applying for post-grad and working has taken over my life at the moment making me mega excited for Christmas. WTB relaxation. Some very exciting news though, is that I've booked my flights!

Virgin-Atlantic

I wanted to get flights done as quickly as possible as prices can go up dramatically! £583.37 is not too bad I guess.
I am going to travel a little after the program and luckily me and 3 other lovely ladies have decided to adventure together. I have met Becky and Jennifer before at pre-screens/final interviews so I’m very excited that we get to share this experience. Also looking forward to meeting Rachel for the first time, hopefully at the Manchester meet up in December! All three have blogs so go check them out.

Rachel: http://www.disneysummerexperience.blogspot.co.uk
Becky: http://becky-adams.tumblr.com
Jennifer: http://jennisney.tumblr.com

flights

I will chat more about our travel plans in another post.
As well as booking flights, I did the whole Criminal Background Check thing we are required to do this week. Another thing tickets off the “to-do” list. A simple form and £60, sorted.

xox

Sunday 11 November 2012

The Application Process: CV & Online Application!

Hey! I just thought I would write abit about the initial application process starting with the online application and CV! This year (summer 2013 applicants) the online submissions opened on August 3rd and ran until September 28th, I received an email that very night inviting me to a pre-screen.

Picture1

Before I go into more detail about that though, I want to share with you all what I wrote on my CV and for my cover letter. I personally spent a whole week refining and working on my application as I wanted it to be absolutely perfect. According to yummy jobs 1600 people applied for the program and 500ish got through to pre-screens, although that's not official as we are unsure if they were allowed to disclose exact numbers.

Anyway! The application consists of a few personal details, name and address ect plus a job history box. The bits i focused on the most though, were “motivation for taking part” and my actual uploaded CV. Starting with the cover letter, i put mine in the motivation for taking part section as the guys at yummy jobs have thousands of applicants to look through, if my uploaded CV has too many pages they’re just gonna skim it right?

Having visited Walt Disney World Florida and Disneyland Paris in the past, I am very keen to get involved with the Walt Disney Company by undertaking a position on the Summer International College Program. I am currently a photography student at university and believe the experience and personal growth I would gain from the program will benefit me in my future goals and career choices. I reflect the high standards set by the Walt Disney Company and wish to undertake a placement working within a role and with individuals who have the same values as myself. My previous experience has given me valuable skills within the hospitality industry such as a constant high standard of customer service, excellent communication skills, a healthy work ethic and a pro-active response to meeting targets, attributes which can further be enhanced and developed by the Walt Disney Company. Additionally my personal feelings and enjoyment of all things Disney makes the International College Program a perfect opportunity for me to acquire new skills and learn valuable lessons while making somebody's dreams come true.

Remember to not copy mine, they do have plagiarism scanners. I am including it though so you can have an idea as to the kinda thing they are looking for. My CV had the typical layout, skills, school history, job history, hobbies, just make sure its not over 2 pages long and explain/include examples of your skills. I put key things in bold just in case they did skim, they could pick up the gist. I’ve included a snippet of my CV for you to take a look at! (I changed second year to third year when I went to my interviews)

disney icp cv example

So that’s abit of a run down of my application! Remember this is an actual JOB you’re applying for, don’t treat is any different. Feel free to include your enjoyment of Disney, but don’t bang on about it.

I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions feel free to email me on janewaringphoto(at)hotmail(dot)co(dot)uk.

xox

Saturday 3 November 2012

Quick Service Food & Beverage: Role Outline & Potential Placements!

WDW-Pizza-wApples79478003

So, my role in the show will be Quick Service Food & Beverage! I have to say I am a little disappointed with that as its the last thing I wanted to do, but at least I’m going right? I can’t be too selfish and complain about that when a lot of other people didn't get the job. Abit worried about having to handle meat, being a vegetarian, it would probably knock me sick! I thought I would do a little post about what the role would entail and my top choice for where I would like to be placed.

  • Selling food and beverages at outdoor carts and/or indoor restaurants
  • Taking and filling orders, multi-tasking
  • Preparing and assembling food items in a kitchen area, including the use of a fryer, grill, broiler, and other industrial cooking equipment
  • Cash handling - both manual and using computerized registers
  • Bussing tables, washing dishes, cleaning kitchen equipment, and emptying trash cans
  • Dispensing and selling alcoholic beverages
  • Setting and stocking tables, outdoor carts, and restaurants
  • Heavy lifting, pushing heavy carts
  • Working with cleaning chemicals
  • Working independently or as part of a large team
  • Standing for extended periods, working outdoors

That’s quite a massive list of things I could be required to do, but it’s all experience right? I’m really looking forward to making friends and interacting with guests. I think I'd most like to work in a cute little cafe/ice cream parlour in fantasy land, fingers crossed!

mrs_potts_cupboard

Mrs. Potts' Cupboard: Soft-serve ice cream. Fantasyland.
Enchanted Grove: Swirls, slushes, orange juice. Fantasyland.
Main Street Bakery: Bagels, pastry, yogurt, parfaits, quiche. Main Street U.S.A.

They’re just some of the places I would absolutely love to work, especially Mrs. Potts’ Cupboard. Of course I could be placed anywhere, and to be honest I’m just happy to be going! It’s gonna be a perfect end to my university life and a great start to perusing my teaching degree and joining the “real world”.

xox

Friday 2 November 2012

Disney International College Program Summer 2013!

email

So, as the above email states, I’M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD! Firstly, I should probably introduce myself if you’re a random who has stumbled upon my corner of the internet. Herro! I’m Jane, and twenty one year old photography student from near Liverpool UK who is currently studying in Southampton! I’ve been a Disney fanatic for as long as I remember, and this summer my dreams are actually coming true by making it onto the International College Program.

Over the next year I'm going to document the process leading up to the adventure, and of course being there itself! Kinda for my friends and family so they know what I'm up to but also for myself, so i can look back and remember my time. Also I hope to offer help to anyone looking to apply for this program in future years.

Thanks for reading <3

xox