The Phone Interview

After I “passed” the Web-Based Interview, I got an e-mail within the hour telling me to schedule my phone interview! This is probably the most important part of the “interviewing” process for the DCP!

You get to pick what date and time your interview is, but know that you should pick a time and date as soon as possible. I chose mine for September 17^th at 8:30 am so I could go to work at 10 am without any problems; plus, I wanted to get it over with at the start of my day when I’m most full of energy. Keep in mind that your Disney recruiter will most likely call right on time. Mine technically called at 8:31 am, but still…everyone says that they are always punctual. Don’t freak out if they don’t call right on time. They may call up to 15 min. early or late, so just be ready!

Below are all the questions I came across in my online scavenging for DCP interview questions, so I prepared an answer for all these questions! I suggest you do the same! It helps SO much to be prepared!

The red questions are ones you just have to know and practice answering to do well in this interview. The underlined questions are the questions I was asked during my phone interview.  

• Disney World or Disneyland?
• Indoors or outdoors?
• Are you familiar with the Disney Look?
• Which park is your favorite?
• What is your favorite attraction?
• Who is your favorite character? Why?
•  Why do you want to do the DCP?
• What are your top 3 roles? Why did you pick them? (Be able to REALLY talk up your past jobs – leadership, responsibilities, skills, etc.)
• Would you like to change your roles?
• Are you willing to do any other roles?
• Which park would you want to work in?
• Why do I want to do the DCP at this point in my life?
• Why do I want to work for Disney?
• What would I look for in a DCP applicant?
• List three positive qualities about yourself.
• List three negative things about yourself.
• Do you have experience working with cash/credit cards?
• When’s the last time you received excellent service? How did it make you feel?
• Was there every a time I went above and beyond what was expected of me?
• Have I ever been in charge during an emergency situation?
• Have you ever lived with roommates?
• What problems do you think would arise with your roommates? Why? How would you handle those problems?
• What is an example of good customer service?
• Do you mind being interrupted?
• If someone were to ask you, “Why doesn’t the character talk?” – What would you say?
• Is there anything else we should know about you?
• How do you feel about rooming/working with people from all around the world?
• What would you say to a child who is too short for a ride?
• What have you done to make someone’s day?
• How would you define good customer service?
• If you’re working merchandise and a guest wants something you don’t have or are out of, what would you do?
• How would your co-workers describe you in three words?
• Describe a situation when you had a conflict in a professional setting – How did you handle it?
• How do you feel about moving away to Florida, and leaving your friends and family?
• If a character attendant, what would you tell guests when you close a line? How would you handle a guest getting rough with a character?
• Are you planning to bring a car with you?

General Advice

• Listen to Disney music beforehand! I was so nervous, so do something that makes you happy and relaxed before your phone interview.
• SLOW DOWN. Don’t talk too fast or say “um” and “like” a lot. This was something I had to make sure I did, because I struggle with it in general.
• SMILE. It really does help you sound more cheerful!
• TAKE NOTES during the interview. Sometimes questions pop up in your head and you want to be able to ask them later!
• ASK QUESTIONS at the end. This gives you a chance to show your interviewer you did some research about the DCP and really care. If you have no idea what to ask, ask questions about what classes they recommend you taking and when you can register and stuff. And ask questions about what kind of professional connections you could make while doing the program. You can even ask (like I did) who their favorite character is!
• WRITE DOWN your interviewer’s name. Use their name every once in a while. This shows them you made sure to know their name and makes them feel like you WANT to talk to them! Mine’s name was Trisha, and she was so sweet and helpful answering my questions!
• WRITE DOWN information or answers to the questions you have – you don’t want to ask them and then forget!
• Keep a WATER bottle handy-it sure helped me!
• If you’re a Disney nerd-tell them! Be enthusiastic! 
• Possibly have a calculator if they ask money questions? They didn’t ask me any of those kinds of questions, but it can’t hurt to have one nearby I guess, right?

I hope I don’t make the phone interview sound very scary and stressful. My interviewer was very nice. She told me several times how obvious it was that I had prepared and thanked me for that! It made me look very good! Knowing this stuff helped me get through the phone interview, so I hope it helps you too. Have a magical day!