#dcp spring

I have Traditions Saturday and after that I’ll be able to explore the park Sunday all day which is I think when it will feel like an actual thing.

So - you’ve decided the Disney College Program may be for you. Now - how do you apply?

1) Decide which program/season fits your schedule.

The DCP is offered both in the fall and in the spring. Application timelines will change based on which program you want to do. There is a general guideline, but the best way to stay informed is to join the Facebook Groups for the season you’re interested in (you can find them with a quick search like “DCP Spring 2019″) or to follow the recruiters on twitter (@ChristyRecruit and @StefanieDCP are great ones to start with). Here’s a quick graph of the timeline: 

The other big consideration for season choice, in addition to your school schedule, is what events you’d like to be there for. Fall certainly has bigger events such as the Food and Wine Festival, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, and the Very Merry Christmas Party. Disney is certainly at its best during the holidays - so it’s amazing to experience! But, you also have a lot more peak season crowds - so you’ll likely be working more and it will be harder to ask off. By celebrating the holidays with the Mouse, you miss spending them with your family. Spring is comparison is more laidback. The biggest peak time will be spring break in March, and then late spring when the tour groups come in (which is a beast of its own). There are still some amazing events though, such as the Flower and Garden Festival!

I personally knew Spring would be the season for me. I’m attending dental school so I didn’t have time to take a semester off. So instead, I took extra classes during the intersession periods and was able to graduate early! This is another awesome option because then you don’t have to worry about how your school/scholarship/loans react to the program. You also have up to 12 months to apply after graduation, so you have two chances to apply - the spring and the fall. 

2) Applications have dropped - now what? 

There is some debate on when the best time to apply is. The way applications processed my season was in batches. So say they take the top 500 qualified applicants - they will send them the link for a web-based interview, and then follow through with the phone interviews for those who pass. Once everyone has completed that, they will address the next 500 qualified, etc. So - by applying right when applications drop, you can get put through the process quickly. However, I’ve heard of some people feeling like their app got “lost” in the chaos of the first day. I personally applied the third-day apps were open, and I was in the third or fourth wave of interviews. 

The application itself is similar to a basic job application. It asks for your past employment/volunteer history. Then, asks for descriptions of your duties. It’s generally recommended to include Disney keywords such as “efficiency, safety, courtesy, service, etc.” There will always be alum who will be in the FB groups offering to look over your application.  I would say - use these with caution. Just because they got in, doesn’t mean they understand the system. I’d say, they can offer a good opinion, but more professional sources like your college’s career center would be a better option. The best part of the application is selecting the role you’d like - I have a more detailed post on that here. 

3) The Web-Based Interview

I heard so many people talking about how the WBI was stressful, and getting NLIC’d (no longer in consideration) during it. When my time finally came along, I was so worried. But honestly - it wasn’t that hard. The questions consisted of statements that you’d mark if it strongly resembles you, somewhat resembles, n/a, somewhat doesn’t resemble you, and strongly doesn’t resemble you. Sample statements would be “I am a harder worker than my coworkers.” The reason the WBI is challenging is that it will rephrase a question later on and you need to keep answers consistent. So another question may appear later saying “I am first to take the initiative.” Whenever you take it, just be consistent and honest. Each question is timed (like 15-30 seconds allotted) and so you need to just go with your gut answer. Also - don’t be freaked out if you didn’t answer one or two questions. There was one I debated on “I like to party” and ended up just running out of time, but I still passed! Once you finish - it will immediately tell you if you’re moving on, or if that’s the end of your application. If you are - congrats! You will get a screen prompting you to schedule your phone interview. It will look like this:

4) The Phone Interview (dun-dun-duhhhhh)

The phone interview (PI) is definietly the make-it-or-break-it moment in your application. It is usually a 10-25 minute phone call with a Disney recruiter, where they ask you a series of questions. I recommend doing research about the PI before you even reach this point. While waiting for your WBI or before your scheduled PI time, look up questions asked in the PI. There are lots of lists of questions online, but don’t take these as gospel. The questions I were asked were basically all situational and I didn’t find them online anywhere beforehand prior. This is a good list to get started with. I recommend writing down/brainstorming answers to the questions that apply to the roles you selected. This is another great time to utilize your school’s career center, many offer mock interviews. 

When you are prompted to schedule your PI after the WBI, there is usually a two-week span of time to schedule it. I would suggest scheduling it as soon as you feel comfortable with. Be sure to pick a time you will be able to set aside at least an hour for. They may call you earlier or later than your scheduled time, I believe they say to be ready at least 20 minutes in advance.

Now my biggest advice for the phone interview - don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone in the FB group would talk about how they and their recruiter became best friends over the phone and they didn’t even get really asked hard questions and it lasted for 45 minutes. Don’t listen to this. The PI is an interview, and it will be treated as such by Disney. I was freaked out when my PI felt like an interview, with a formal tone and not a lot of chit-chat. This is completely normal and does not mean you had a bad interview. I’ve heard of people who had these awesome interviews get in, and I’ve heard about a lot who did not. So don’t judge yourself against others. You can watch successful and unsuccessful PI’s on Youtube, and if you do - I recommend thinking about how you would have answered, pros and cons of their response, and how you can improve upon it. 

General interview advice - don’t ramble, keep your answers succinct. Utilize the STAR technique for questions about past experiences. Smile during the interview - they will hear it in your voice. 

I personally filmed my PI, not for Youtube or anything, but because that experience is usually adrenaline-filled and I wanted to be able to go back an analyze myself. If you do this though, I’d recommend only rewatching it one or two times, and don’t stew over it. All you’ll do is stress yourself out (believe me, I know)! 

5) The Waiting Game

After your PI, now all you have to do is wait. This can be very stressful, but try to not let it get to you! I personally coped by keeping myself busy. The recruiters will sometimes tweet about when acceptance waves will be going out. The first few times, I would stress myself out refreshing my email all day. How luck would have it, the time I didn’t pay attention at all was the wave I was accepted in! I personally noticed that there seemed to be a pattern in the roles offered during the waves. The first was a huge variety, but from then on- it appeared as if high-volume and high-need roles (custodial, QSFB, attractions, etc) were the main roles given out during those waves.  More low-number roles were given out in the later waves, my role included! So don’t get stressed if you are waiting for the email, it doesn’t mean you didn’t get in!

Finally - the day will come when you either get an offer, or are NLIC’d. If you are NLIC, don’t beat yourself up over it. Instead-  use that to fuel your passion into developing a strong application and working on interview skills to help improve your chances. If you are accepted- CONGRATULATIONS!!! Get ready for a crazy adventure :) 

My boss hosted a going away dinner at his house. It was really sweet and I am so happy to be able to have an amazing job and boss to come back to.

Their daughters are adorable too and were two sweet. The two youngest gave me lots of hugs and the other one played a 2 rounds of “What do you meme?” with all of us.

It’s finally feeling real as my room starts to empty out. At least my bed is still comfy.

Hello!

I honestly don’t know why I started this but I figured it would be a fun way to remember everything. I leave in 4 days to start my program.

I have only been to Florida once so I’m excited to get there and get to explore everything!

Today we recieved our itineraries, and I was placed in Animal Kingdom in outdoor foods. I wish I knew what that meant.

I can’t wait to spend 5 months at the happiest place on Earth.