So as you can see from the title, today Iām going to go into a bit more detail about the final process in applying for the CEP ā the final interview with Disney themselves!
So like I said, once you have passed the pre-screen stage, you will be sent an email asking you to choose the date you wish your interview to take place on, and also what time slot you want. Disney carry out these final interviews over the course of about a week, so hopefully one of the days will suit you! You also get asked to fill out a few things on Disneyās DOC website which are:
Some basic contact details
Another thing you are required to do is fill out the Proof of Student Status form. This involves getting someone at your university to complete a section on the form too (I just went to see my personal tutor). There was a lot of confusion about whether we had to upload this onto DOCs ourselves, but we got told that Yummy Jobs do this, as we have to take our Proof of Student Status Form to the final interview, where they all get collected in. Donāt worry if you get there and something is filled out slightly wrong (like with me!). They just tell you to go back and correct it, then email them the scan of the new form, which they will then upload to DOCs for you.
In terms of what to take to the interview, you will need to take your passport, as they scan this, as well as the Proof of Student Status Form. I also brought along my CV as there was talk about us needing it, but they never asked to see one. My thoughts was that it was better to err on the side of caution and bring all my documents (e.g. acceptance for the interviewā¦) than end up stuck because I didnāt have anything! Donāt worry though, everything you need to bring will be outlined in an email you get sent about your final interview.
The dress code for the final interview was smarter than for the Yummy Jobs interview (they wanted smart business as opposed to business casual) but as what I wore to the pre-screen interview was quite smart anyway, I just wore the same thing. Donāt worry too much about it though, as long as you look smart and presentable and within the āDisney Lookā, you will be fine!
As I said before, the final interview takes place at Disneyās UK Headquarters in Hammersmith, London. As I was at university waaaaaay down in Plymouth at the time, I got a coach up to London the day before my interview. Otherwise I wouldāve had to do a 6 hours journey the day of the interview! Luckily I had an old friend who was at university in London, so I was able to stay with her, but I know a lot of people booked hotels for the night before the interview.
The day of the interview it was just a case of waking up, making myself look as presentable as I could, then hopping on the tube to Hammersmith! I met up with a couple of people in a coffee shop near the headquarters while we waited for the time that we were supposed to arrive at. This was really nice as it meant I got to meet some other people who were as nervous as I was! We all left together to go find the offices (which were tucked away behind Hammersmith Bus Station) and when we got there we were issued guest passes and taken to an upstairs room, where our passports were scanned.
One thing I should mention is that, if you get the chance, definitely take a picture in front of the big Mickey statue they have in their lobby! Itās so cute! The whole lobby and upstairs was just filled with amazing Disney artwork and really is worth taking a look around!
Once they had got us upstairs, we got led into a cinema room for a presentation from the two recruiters. This year we had two women, Sue and Lisa, who had come over from the States to do the recruitment for Disney. They were both super nice and really made you feel comfortable and at ease. You get shown some more videos and information about the program, and like the pre-screen, there is also a chance to win some prizes!
After the presentation we were told to leave the offices and come back during out scheduled time slot. Mine was 3-4pm, so I had plenty of time to do some exploring round London! Me and some others ended up going to the Disney Store on Oxford Street (which had a big Cinderella Pumpkin Carriage at the time!) and having a look round there, and then spent the rest of the time in Starbucks!
I made sure I got back to Disney Headquarters about 20 minutes before my interview to make sure I arrived in enough time ā I can never trust Londonās Underground to get me anywhere on time! I was told to wait in the lobby with some others as we waited for 3 oāclock, and then we were taken back upstairs to wait for our interviews. There was about 5 or 6 people per time slot, and they were running a bit behind so I didnāt end up having my interview until about 3:30pm. While you are waiting to be interviewed, this is the time where your Proof of Student Status Forms are collected in. Eventually it was time for my interview! I had Lisa and she was super lovely. She made me feel really relaxed, and the interview was much more of a sort of structured chat than an interview. I was asked some questions that were quite similar to what I had been asked before (e.g. why do you want to do the program/what are you hoping to get out of this?), but also more in depth questions about what roles I wanted and what experience I had. Then it was done! The whole thing probably lasted no longer than about 5-10 minutes! After the interview I made my way straight to the coach station to make my looooong journey back down to Plymouth.
The day after my interview I had a mini heart attack as I saw an email from Disney Recruitment, but those sneaky people had just sent emails out to thank us for interviewing! I promise you now, any email you get between having your final interview and finding out if you made it or not, will literally make your heart skip a beat, especially the longer it gets!
We were told that we would hear between mid-December at the earliest and the end of January at the latest. Obviously we were all hoping for sooner rather than later! And, we got lucky! On the 22nd December, whilst sat at my desk at work I got an email saying that I had been accepted onto the program! Literally the best Christmas present ever!
This email contained some information about having to confirm my acceptance, pay the program fee and upload some documents, but you have 30 days to do all this so no rush :)
After this, itās just a case of booking flights, getting some medical insurance and the VISA documents. Oh. And the wait until you go? Yeah it will feel like forever. When I found out, I had over 170 to wait, and I still have over 100 to go! Time is going so slow! I just want to be there already!
When I next have the time, Iāll talk a bit more about what happens after you get accepted and stuff (and I promise my posts will get shorter!), but until thenā¦