Good afternoon! I figured I would go through how I got to the point I'm at right now in this whole process. It has been a long one but I'll give you the highlights of what I went through.
Application
I applied on the first day applications were open, from what I can tell this doesn't help or hurt you in the grand scheme of things but for me, I like to get things done as soon as possible so I was sitting on my laptop at midnight hitting refresh, waiting for the positions I wanted to apply to appear. And when they did I jumped on it! I applied for 3 different types of positions. Management Internship in both Retail and Theme Park Operations, as well as Alumni Only Guest Relations Professional Internship.
The application itself is pretty straight forward, nothing you haven't done before. If you are applying for more than one position (which I assume most of you reading this are) you still have to click through the application for that particular job, but the information will be stored from your first application. This is something I think they improve on because it doesn't seem like a very efficient (see what I did there?) way of doing this.
Now some people will tell you that submitting a cover letter is a must. I am here to tell you that I got my management internship without a cover letter. Now this may be because of the backing from my old managers from my CP days, but when I was in talks with them they never told me to upload one so it really is up to you.
Thats it, super easy right? Ohhh its just beginning!
Phone Screen
After about a week or so I got an email saying that I needed to set up a phone interview with Disney. This was super easy to do and all of the information was on the dashboard. The worst part about the whole experience is the minutes leading up to the phone call. I remember I was sitting on my cough with all my notes spread out on my coffee table with the print outs of the positions for which I applied.
The phone call finally came 10 minutes after the time I had set up. This is normal, there is a disclaimer when you sign up saying that they can call you up to 15 minutes before or after your scheduled time. It doesn't make the waiting any less nerve-wracking though. It was relatively straight forward, I dont remember specifics of the call because it was 5 months ago but I remember feeling that it was much easier than what I was expecting.
Waiting Game
Hurry up and wait. Thats the best way I can describe the part that comes after that phone screen. Unlike the college program that is relatively quick with sending out offers, professional and management internships are much more competitive so more time is needed to sort through the candidates.
To put it in perspective, I just found out two days ago, May 29th 2014, that I was selected for a management internship. Over 5 months after I originally applied. So its a process, and a long one. But patients is a virtue and if you have it you will be well suited during this time.
This is the hardest part of the whole process if you ask me. So be prepared to wait.
Panel Interview
If you make it through the phone screen and dont get "no longer in consideration" (NLIC) on your dashboard then you will get a phone call or email about setting up a panel interview. I got a phone call on March 9th around 11am. And I set it up for March 13th at 9am. They ask you if you would like another phone interview or a video interview (Skype interview). I opted for the phone interview because...well i'm not sure really, it was the first thing that popped out of my mouth. lol
More waiting
Guess what, you have to wait again! This time it really is going to seem like FOREVER! Because now your part is done in the process. Everything is now in the hands of the people who will be making the decision if you will get a spot or not. So that brought me some comfort, knowing that my part was done. But at school I was a wreck, waiting, waiting, waiting. Every time my phone vibrated or rang I jumped up hoping it was a 407 area code. It wasn't, until it was.
Offer #1
My particular story is different than some peoples. I got an email from Disney asking me to set up a phone call about my Guest Relations application. This in my case was my first offer! I was offered a Guest Relations Internship at the Magic Kingdom, MY HOME PARK! I was ecstatic, so of course i accepted it. I accepted it under to condition that I would still be in consideration for the MIs I applied to. And if I got it, I would be taken out of this GR offer. But that deadline came and went for the MIs and I was put into the dreaded NLIC spot on my dashboard. So there it was I was all set to be a Guest Relations Professional Intern at the Magic Kingdom.
Offer #2
I dont know how this happened. And to be honest I'm still in shock, but about a week after I moved down to Florida, got into my apartment, set it all up, I was in the middle of getting my tv mounted to my wall when I got another call from a 407 area code. It was totally unexpected.
It was a lady by the name of Kerri MacPearson (spelling?) and she said that she wanted to talk to me about my MI application. I figured it was feedback about my panel interview because in the Facebook groups people would talk about how getting feedback for positions you didn't get was a good idea. But little did I know that she was going to offer me the MI in Retail! This was my top choice when first applied wayy back in January! Of course I accepted the role and I am now a Management Intern in Retail.
I won't be in a park this time, I was told I will be in a resort but she didn't know which one as of yet. So i'm anxious to see life outside of the parks. I'm pretty sure my hours will be better. Which is a good thing!
Conclusion
Sorry about the length of this post! I wanted to keep it short but It is a long process! I hope this helps someone out there who is thinking about applying to a PI, MI, or even the College Program. This was my journey, and like Disney likes to say, every story has a beginning.
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