For those of you who don’t already know, there is a process that goes along with potentially having the opportunity to do the Disney College Program (DCP). The application process starts with filling out an online application. If they pick up your application, then they’ll ask you to do a web-based interview (WBI). If you pass that, you have a phone interview and then you’ll finally find out if you have been chosen to be a participant in the DCP. As someone who is currently going through this process, here are some of the stages that I have been going through while waiting to hear if I’m accepted.
1. There are so many great roles!
How am I supposed to only pick three? If you look through all of the roles that you could choose to do for the DCP, you will realize that there are very few that wouldn’t be enjoyable. I honestly would be happy with just about any of the roles that Disney offers. However, you’re supposed to pick your top three, which is very difficult if you like a bunch of them.
2. Aren't the applications out yet?
I swear that I was doing research and finding as much information as I could before the applications came out. I knew that I wanted to do the DCP long before the applications came out, so the wait even for that seemed like an eternity.
3. I just applied. This is the first step to making my dreams come true!
After you actually submit your application, reality starts to set in. It’s my dream to work at Disney World and submitting that application was my first step to making my dream a reality.
4. I hope that I’m not in submission for long.
Right after you submit your application, your application will go into a status. If you’re not qualified to do the DCP, then your status on your application will say “No longer in consideration” (NLIC). This means that you will not move on in the hiring process. Your application status could also say “submission,” which just means that they have accepted your application, but they have not decided if you will move on to the next step of the interviewing process. Some people are stuck in submission for a long time, some get out of submission quickly, and some never get out of submission.
5. I have to research everything that there is to know about the Disney Company before I take my WBI.
This is what I thought that I had to do because I wanted to make sure that I would be prepared for any question that I may get asked during the WBI. You will soon find out that it’s just about impossible to figure out everything that there is to know about Disney because there’s so much.
6. I passed the WBI! This is real!
After you take the WBI, you find out immediately if you passed and can move on to the next step. If you passed, then you get to schedule your phone interview, which is the last step before your acceptance into the DCP.
7. What if my phone blocks the recruiter’s call?
I've heard stories about phones not letting “unknown” or “restricted” phone numbers come through. When the recruiter calls, it will not show the number. If the call doesn’t come through, then the recruiter will just assume that you are no longer interested. I made sure that my phone would accept the call by looking through my settings and testing it with my friends.
8. Am I sure that the roles that I picked are really my favorites?
I switched around my top three roles quite a few times because everything sounded so good. I spent hours trying to make sure that the roles that I picked were the best fit for me.
9. What questions are the recruiters going to ask me?
Another thing that I spent hours of my time doing was researching possible questions that the Disney recruiters might ask during my phone interview and preparing answers for all of those questions. Just an FYI, you won’t be able to come up with all of the possible questions because recruiters switch some of their questions up from time to time. There were two questions that I wasn’t prepared for during my phone interview.
10. I’m just going to lock myself away from the world for three hours to make sure that I have enough time set aside for this phone interview.
You don’t really need to set aside that much time. The amount of time that I set aside was excessive because I wanted everything to be absolutely perfect. You only really need to set aside about an hour of your time. Then, I started worrying about what would happen if they called early or late. It was a huge ordeal or, at least, I made it into one.
11. I should have answered these questions differently.
After your phone interview, you’re going to think of all of the different ways that you could have answered the questions that the recruiter asked you. Then you’ll get paranoid about it. That’s what I did, anyway.
12. How much longer is there until acceptance comes out?
You could be waiting for months after your phone interview to find out if you got accepted into the DCP. I had my phone interview two weeks ago and I’ve been dying internally while waiting. There’s a chance that I may not even find out until April 15. I need to cool it, but I can’t. I’m too anxious.
The next stages are to come. I’m hoping that my next stage will be excitement from an acceptance letter, but who knows? There are a few other small stages that you go through that I didn’t include (like figuring out where you want to live, who you want to live with, deciding what to do at the parks if you get accepted, etc.). If you’re going through these stages with me, then good luck! You’re not alone!
