Pre-screen interviews!

YES. SCORE.

After review of your CV the Yummy Jobs Team is delighted to invite you to the next stage of recruitment for the Cultural Representative Program.

This next stage will be a pre-selection event where the Yummy Jobs Team will conduct a full program presentation and group interviews.

We found out a couple of days ago (by 'we', I mean all of us in our lovely Facebook group) that instead of phone interviews Yummy Jobs would be holding regional pre-screen events. I've no idea why they've decided to do it this way, and I'm not sure whether it's a good or a bad thing! All I know at the moment is that it's different to last year, which puts me feeling very much out of my depth! They've not done interviews this way for the CRP before (as far as I'm aware) so all those blogs and video blogs I've read and reread and watched and rewatched about the phone interview are suddenly useless! Well, no, I imagine the questions we'll get asked will be quite similar but the scenario? Totally different. I've never been to a group interview before! I've no idea what to expect!

Still, I'm so excited and glad to have got through. I had this horrible feeling of 'what if I got that far last time, but this year I'm just rejected straight away?' This is a good start! Really gutted for the people who didn't get through, though. I just kind of assumed that everyone in the FB group had the kind of enthusiasm that would show through in their application and that we'd all at least get through to the first interview stage.

I'm also excited by how much more quickly this year's applications are going than last year's! The applications only closed 2 days ago, and we've already found out the results! The next round is the 25th/26th, with the F2F interviews in mid February. So much quicker! I approve of this. Let's hope this bodes well for me, shall we?

Starting again.

Just received this email:

After reviewing the possibility of additional positions arising, I do regret to say that today we have been informed that they do not anticipate further positions to arise at Walt Disney World before September 2012 that you may be considered for.

Not all that surprising, really - I didn't expect them to suddenly find a bunch of places for us remaining Opportunity List-ers. But it still hurt to see that. You always try to hold out hope, don't you? (well, I do).

I've already reapplied - I did it last week, after emailing Yummy Jobs about the applications reopening earlier than expected - so I suppose it's time to focus on that. The email that I got after applying says that:

We will be contacting you in mid January 2012 with more information regarding your application and the next step of the application process.

So hopefully this whole process will go a little more quickly than the last one. And maybe - just maybe - this time I can go the whole way, rather than falling at the final hurdle.

Uh, what?

So, um, this has happened:

UK Applicants: Applications are now open with an anticipated deadline of January 10th, 2012 at 3pm GMT

Yes, that's right, the applications have opened early! Instead of opening on January 4th, as Yummy Jobs told us they would a while back, they're now closing on January 10th! Which is fine, groovy, great. Except ...

Except that I'm still on the Opportunity List. And haven't been contacted by Yummy Jobs to let me know what's going on. Obviously I've just emailed them, since we were told that if we hadn't been given a place by the time the applications reopened (this was when the applications were to open January 4th) we'd be released to reapply. As it is, I'm not sure what's going to happen now. Part of me hopes this means they have at least a vague idea of dates and that we (I say 'we', as far as I'm aware it's just me and another girl who are still waiting!) will be given one - or at least assurance that we'll be given one - without having to go through the application process again. Actually, a lot of me hopes that. But somehow I feel that's a little optimistic!

Oh well, nothing I can do about it at the moment. Que sera sera etc. It's just so frustrating still not knowing what's going on when it's been almost a year since I applied :(

One month down, three to go.

Just thought I'd post an update, since a month has gone by ... even though, to be honest, there's nothing to update. Nobody has heard anything. Which, I suppose, is sort of good. At this point I want all of us that are left to get dates, or none of us. Is that selfish? Quite possibly! But I just know that I don't want to end up being the only one without a date, and I don't want that for anyone else who's left waiting either. We've gone through all of this together, I want us to come out of it together as well!

It's just a little bit depressing because one of the girls who I applied with is already out there, with another girl leaving in a month. Having all of these people on Facebook makes my heart ache a little because I don't know if I'm ever going to be able posting statuses and photos like they are :(

I'm currently working as a 'Food & Beverage Assistant' at a hotel, so I'm hoping that'll help my reapplication in January; I mean, I got this far without that, so maybe, just maybe that could give me the extra push? Or at least make sure I get that far next time, and then be even better at the interview.

Oh well, only another 3 months and 3 days until I can apply again ...

'Opportunity List Update'

The end of August came, and it was getting to the point where we were beginning to think that we'd been forgotten about, until we received an email at ten to 8 in the evening. I'm so glad I was busy yesterday, otherwise I'd probably have been going crazy refreshing my inbox every 10 2 minutes!

The email said, basically, that we have to keep waiting.

And as it is now the end of August we did want to send an update regarding the Opportunity List, and just keep you informed that currently your status is still the same where you are being considered for future roles that may arise at Walt Disney World. These roles can be a variety of reasons, and we will keep you informed of them.

Obviously we all emailed back and asked for a bit more information, and were told that they're going to hold onto our details until January 5th, when the applications reopen. I don't want to have to go through the whole application process again (though believe me, I will if I have to!), so I really really hope that I get given a date in the next 4 months.

I admit, I'm upset. Nick's email in June made it sound as if they were waiting for Disney to give them a whole other batch of dates that would be given to all of us waiting, but that doesn't seem to have happened. When others from the waitlist have been given dates, they've been in dribs and drabs, not all at once as I'd always imagined it to be. So I kept believing (or trying to believe) that the rest of us would all receive dates at the end of August. Turns out, there's more waiting for us to go through. Which, as I mentioned in my previous post, I expected to happen. I did. But that didn't stop it being any less gut-wrenching when I read that email.

The email tells us not to put our life on hold, but how can I help but do that? I can't plan more than a couple of months into the future in case I get given a date.

Less than a week of waiting left (for now).

By this time next week, I'll have finally heard from Yummy Jobs. And as positive as I'm trying to be, and usually am, I'm not feeling great about this. In the time that we've all been waiting for the end of August, so many fellow waitlistees have been given positions, and there's very few of us left (or so it seems) in the Facebook group that are actually still waiting. Admittedly most of the dates that have been given are before mid April 2012 (which was when I said I was available from), but a couple have been after, and I can't help but wonder 'why not me? Was I not good enough?'
Obviously I'm thrilled for everyone who's been given dates - there's a couple leaving within the next couple of months, which is so exciting! There's just slowly becoming less and less of us in the situation that we all started out in.

At this point, I don't think we'll be declined. But I do think that there's a strong chance that we'll be waitlisted. I checked over the emails we were sent by Yummy when they gave out the first 'wave' (as they called it) of offers, and in one Nick states:

At this time Disney has made a number of offers for positions that they have available for 2011 and 2012.

Currently Disney does not have the full number of open positions for 2012 available. We anticipate receiving details of these additional positions by the end of August 2011 at the latest.

Those words 'at the latest' gave me hope at the time - hooray, we could hear sooner! And some many people have. But there's now only 3 working days left until the end of August and it seems less and less likely that we'll be assigned the additional positions by the end of August and more and more likely that we'll be waitlisted until yet another date far in the future.

I want this so much, but I feel as if my life has been on hold - in a way - since I first applied way back in January. Eight months is a long time for life to be on hold. I don't mind if I've given a date that means I won't be going for over a year (since it looks as if they're yet to assign anyone any dates in October, November or December 2012), I just would like to KNOW if I'm actually going. Not knowing is slowly driving me crazy.

6 done, 5 to go.

It's been six weeks since I was put onto the not-quite-waitlist. There's five weeks until the end of August, which is when we've been told we'll hear by, so at least we're over the half way point.

Most days I manage to only think about it briefly (but yes, I do think about it every day. How can I not?), but last night I dreamt* that Yummy Jobs emailed us with our dates, in one big long document with everyone's names and dates in, so that I had to Ctrl+F to find my name (yes, I used Ctrl+F in my dream. I am so cool). And instead of feeling excited, I felt a bit deflated, because I'd waited so long just to be lumped in with everyone else, and didn't even get a personalised email. I've been imagining the moment when I get the email - having my heart jump into my mouth when I see the subject line, holding my breath as I read the email, then going crazy with joy when I read my date - and because it didn't make me feel like doing that, I didn't even tell anyone. Yeah, I don't know, I have really vivid dreams. I just hope that it doesn't actually happen like that.

I couldn't resist checking my email with a feeling of hope this morning, but of course, there was no email. Oh well, a girl can dream.

*Chrome's spell check is implying 'dreamt' isn't a real word. What rubbish.

Not quite waiting.

A couple of days after my last post, Yummy Jobs clarified to all of the people in the same boat as me that we're not actually waitlisted - since they're recruiting for the whole of 2012, they simply don't know all of the dates that they'll need people to go out there yet. They've only assigned 40-50% of the places for the year at the moment, so there's still plenty of dates that we could be assigned. Which is excellent news!

Even better news (although maybe notsomuch for those who were hoping to apply in the summer round of applications) is that the next round of applications don't open until January next year. With only 40-50% of the places for 2012 assigned, and no new applicants being taken on until next year, it means that all of us in not-quite-waitlist-limbo stand a damn good chance of being given a start date for sometime in 2012.

With all my finishing university and moving from Brighton and moving to Southampton and looking for a job, I've got plenty going on at the moment to take my mind off things. Let's hope it continues that way and August will be upon me before I know it!

Waitlisted.

The results of the F2F interviews were sent out today and I've been waitlisted :(

I know this means I have a place (at least, it did for all previous waitlisters), but having to wait until the end of August to find out when I'm going is so frustrating! Especially when there are other people who have been given dates. It just makes me wonder what I did that wasn't quite good enough.

But! I'm trying to be optimistic. It can't be a case of some people being better than others, and therefore being given dates first, because really, if us waitlisters weren't good enough, why would they have waitlisted us at all? Surely they'd have just said no? I'm choosing to believe that there weren't many places and that it was just luck of the draw who was given a place straight away and who was waitlisted.

I've already been waiting 6 months since the application date, what's another 10 weeks? I'll just have to find lots of fun things to do to take my mind off it all!

So, how did it go?

The F2F was on Friday and .. I think it went pretty well! At the moment at least, I'm fairly confident.

All of the people from our Facebook group (who had found each other through the WDWIP forums) met at Costa Coffee in the morning so we could head to Disney HQ together. We went there at about quarter to 9, but were told we were in the wrong entrance so had to go around the other side of the building. We were all pretty excited just to be in HQ!

We checked in and then stood around chatting for a while - someone said they were making notes on us, so I'm definitely glad for our group that meant we already knew people! It just made it a little bit easier!
Everyone arrived on time so we were taken into the theatre to watch a presentation. It was ridiculously cheesy but we all clearly loved it, haha. Jill and Jeff - the Disney representatives - talked around the videos in the presentation, and then asked us some quiz questions. I was determined to win one of the prizes, and I did! I knew the answer to all of the questions (they were pretty simple - name the 4 theme parks, name the cruise line ships, name a Disney owned channel, name a Disney owned TV show), and I won a prize (a screen wipe, which I have no intention of taking out of the packaging!) for naming all 3 Disney cruise line ships. And then I got right the answer of when the next ship was coming, and even its name, which definitely earned me some dork points!

Then they put up our interview times, and we all left the theatre. We went to sit in the Disney cafe to wait for Craig, who had his interview first. He came back and told us it was really informal, and that he was only asked a few questions. We kept pressing him for more, but he didn't have much to tell us!
We then decided to go to Wetherspoons, since most of us didn't have interviews for a couple of hours (mine was at 14.50). People were coming and going to their interviews from there, and the rest of us sat around chatting.
I headed back around 14.20, and they were already calling my name to sort out my paperwork when I got there! Luckily I wasn't actually late, so it was okay. Nick then took a few of us up to a kind of conference room where we waited for our interviewer. They were basically just taking anybody in the room in pairs - they weren't even taking people from the same time slot together!

I had Jeff as an interviewer, and was with a guy called Geraint. Jeff was really lovely and kept us completely at ease. I honestly didn't feel nervous at all, which was the complete opposite of how I was expecting to feel. Geraint was clearly really nervous - his hands were shaking a lot! - but he answered the questions really well, so it didn't matter.
The interview was as informal as everyone was saying. We were asked specific questions, but it was clear that it was the way we answered them just as much as what we answered that was important. We were asked why we wanted to work for Disney, to tell him about our hometown and 3 words or terms our friends would use to describe us. I feel like there was another question too, but I don't remember what it was!
At the end I told Jeff that they should give out the Disney International Program pen that he was using as a prize instead of the screen wipe, so he gave me his pen! I didn't expect that at all, but it was really cool so obviously I took it! And then he found something for Geraint too, which was super nice of him.

And then we went back to the foyer-y area. I thanked Chloe (one of the lovely Yummy Jobs people) and headed off.

We're supposed to hear BY June 15th - eek! Luckily I have some friends staying with me so that definitely helps to take my mind off things!