ACCEPTANCE!

You guys, I got accepted!
Yesterday 9/19/12 I officially was offered and accepted to participate in the Disney College Program. This is unreal. I am beyond excited. I have new friends, new experiences, free college classes, and TONS of things to do. I was accepted into Merchandise for Spring 2013 at Walt Disney World. My friend Lizzy also made it, she is Quick Service Food & Beverage (QSFB). We are officially checking in on January 28th, 2013. I am pretty sure we are going for Vista since it seems to be the closest to EVERYTHING.
I am beyond excited. The fees we each had to pay were $304.50 total with the processing fee. Not TOO bad, but not great.

If you have any questions about the process or me in general please feel free to comment as I try to check this regularly as I document my journey through the College program.

Good luck to all you Penders and those still in progress. Hopefully I will be meeting you in Disneyworld!

Also, you can follow my more update journey on instagram :) @carissalee90

DCP Interview Process Complete

Hey guys!

SO.. I have finished my interview process for the Disney College Program. WHAT A RELIEF! I can't describe to you the weight lifted off my shoulder. A lot of people have been asking how the Phone Interview (PI) went, so I thought I would share.

Here goes, to the best I can remember

My call was like 12 minutes late
My interviewer name was John, he was great. Much nicer than the last time I applied and he even chuckled a couple times when I answered. Definitely a good sign (Last time my interviewer had no apparent interest in me or what I did)
The questions he asked were:
Why do I want to work for Disney?
Am I receptive to covering my tattoos with stage makeup or long sleeves?
Do I have a valid driver's license and unrestricted work access in the US?
How do I feel about working inside/outside? How do I feel about the extreme weather conditions?
How do I deal with interruptions?
Do I prefer to work alone or with a group?
 How do I feel about speaking in front of large groups and reciting memorized information?
 Have I ever lived with roommates?
How did I feel about living with roommates?
What were my top role choices?
Would I be interested in working Custodial and Quick Service Food & Beverage (QSFB)?
 If I were the first person someone were to be greeted by in the park what would I do to make them feel special?
Which park location did I prefer (Florida/California)?
Was I fully available to work (7 days a week, including holidays and weekends?
Asked if I was okay with the pay amount (minimum wage up to $10 something)?
What was my previous work experience?
What made me qualified for the positions I wanted?
Was I clear on the Disney guidelines and able to adhere to them?
How do I prioritize my work?

There may have been a little more, but I can't remember at the moment. Most of our conversation was me speaking about previous work experience and how I deal with things now.

My interview lasted 22 minutes and I actually felt good about it when I got off the phone whereas last time (when I was not accepted) I felt that I had so much more to say and no time or place to say it.
I strongly feel that you need to TAKE the opportunity to bring up your strong areas with examples when they ask about work experience because they are not going to ask about it necessarily.

I had a whole page of notes and my good/bad qualities and things like that.... They didnt ask a single question that I had on that paper. I definitely think it is in your best interest to OVERprepare for this so you feel confident with an "I can do this!" attitude. It will make all the difference for you.

If you have any questions please feel free to comment and ask! Also, good luck to you all!

Thanks!

DCP Applications came out today!

AND..

I just applied. Well, this morning rather. BUT I did good since I was asked to take the Web Based Interview (WBI)... But I am waiting to take this until my lunch hour. Last time I applied I went through this whole process and got to the phone interview and then was pended. My heart is definitely racing and my phone is BLOWING up with Facebook notifications from everyone else who has applied and is just excited if not MORE excited than I am about this. Many people have already signed up for their phone interview times. I am literally SO FREAKING EXCITED...and nervous? Yes... now I am nervous too. Crap.

BUT I have been doing nothing but prepare for this moment since I was NLIC's in April. Life goes on and I am feeling pretty good about getting in this time.

Wish me luck! (as well as good luck to anyone else who is applying!)

I will post again once I complete my WBI :)

Facebook

Can I just start off by saying that there are amazing Facebook groups out there for us to join. There are people on these groups who are applying for the program, in the program, didnt make it in the program, and then the few who just like Disney and meeting new people.
These groups are GREAT ways to network with people before you get there. You can try and select roomies, make friends, and even plan trips. I know that we have done a number of Oovoo chats.. these are usually extremely unpproductive, but once in a while we sit and actually chat about the program and pre interview questions so that we are better prepared for the phone interview and Web Based Interview (WBI). A lot of people really dislike the WBI, but I didn't think it was so bad. They are basically trying to find out if you are a good fit and what your morals and habits are like. They will try and trick you with teh same questions worded differently, so be careful. Most people will tell you to lie for this interview, but that is only going to make things harder for you. I was honest for mine and found out within a few minutes that I had passed. You wouldn't want to lie now and have the company find out later and possibly face consequences.

Anyways, I definitely recommend joining one of these groups if you are applying for the program or even just thinking about it. The people on there will keep your spirits up and support you a long way.

OH and before I forget... if you are obsessing with the program like I have been lately its kind of fun to search up the DCP tag on Tumblr and Instagram. People post all sorts of things about the program and it could be pretty interesting for you :)

Hope all is well! Thanks for reading.

Anticipation

The anticipation is killing me!

I can't stop thinking about applying and getting the interview process over with. Last time I applied the waiting game was BY FAR the worst part of everything. Constantly checking to see if you got any sort of email or refreshing your dashboard over and over again. It's a problem for many people who apply, myself included.

For the past few days I have not been able to stop looking at DCP tags on tumblr, reading everything on the facebook groups, and trying to find out about all the different questions that I could be asked in the phone interview. I probably do this for HOURS each day when I get home from work, its not exactly productive for school... but I only have one more week left :) Last time I did not prepare for the phone interview, this time I will have all my answers down! No more studdering or trying to think of answers that properly display what I am trying to say in a way that they like.

I am hoping that these blogs will become more interesting when I get into the program and am able to talk about what I do each day, what the interview process is like and any other questions that people have for me.

Also, wanted to share this with you, this is probably the best T Shirt ever, my mom showed it to me, some of you all may also enjoy it :)

First Blog Ever.

So, as the title says...This is my first ever blog. Honestly I am starting this for three reasons; boredom, it is part of a school project, and I really think I will get into the Disney College Program this time around. This blog is my way of avoiding Vlogs... just in case I dont make it into the program; I dont want to embarass myself if I don't get in and have it on video lol.
    
I have a feeling that this blog will be a lot of ramblings that don't really make sense so please forgive me in advance for that.

Basically I am applying for Spring 2013 Disney College Program. I applied for Fall 2012 for the Disneyland resort(DLR) program. But this time I will apply for both Walt Disney World (WDW) and DLR. I will also apply almost right away when applications open up rather than wait two months. I think that is what killed me last time. I didn't get declined... I got no longer in consideration (NLIC). It sucked, but it's not really a bad thing. They basically ran out of room for me, not that I wasn't a good fit.

Hopefully this blog will get more interesting as time goes on :)

Enjoy!