Hey Everyonee!
Okay so yesterday was the big Face to Face Interview for the Disney Cultural Rep Program.
I'm going to try my best to stay positive while i explain it.. but i didn't leave feeling good.
My interview was in Vancouver, British Columbia.. i had to take Ferry over, which was really fun because i just LOVE bc ferries. I stayed at the Howard Johnson on Granville St with Kate which was really fun! We met up around 5ish after me getting completely lost in Downtown Vancouver. We checked in, dropped are luggage off, waited for Bree to get to the hotel and made are way to Red Robins for the dinner with all the other applicants. I don't want to say disappointed.. but i expected the dinner to be more lively. (compared to what i heard the one was when i last applied) Not a lot of people showed up, but there was six of us i think? Myself, Kate, Bree, Jodey, Rodi, and Shannon. They were all super nice. It was nice hearing their perspectives and such and learning about them. You never know right.. i mean we could all be best friends down there.. right? It was a lot of fun and we all made are way back to are hotels.
Kate and i went back to are room and spent hours chatting. Every time we thought about going to bed we'd say we would and then we'd starting chatting about something else. It was really nice staying with her and it eased my nerves quite a lot. I didn't sleep much if at all over night. I was really stressed about the interview and kept going over questions in my head.
We woke up the next morning.. got ready and took a cab with Bree over to The Sutton Place Hotel.. where the interview was being held. We gathered and sat down in the room for are 9am presentation.
This part was probably my favorite. Watching the video with perky Valerie was nice. Seeing the pavilion and just being surrounded by people that work for Disney and understand what it's like to be a Disney Cast Member.. i loved it. The two recruiters were Jeni and Shandon. Jeni was really nice, she was the official International Recruiter and Shandon was a Food & Beverage manager in the Norway Pavilion. I didn't get a chance to speak with him.. but seemed really nice and good manager. And of course Kristen from Yummy Jobs was there. It was nice to see her as well.. just another familiar face. Kristen called out are interview times and i was lucky enough to get the very last interview slot, which meant i had to wait until about 6 hours for my interview. After a bunch of us gathered in the lobby and proceeded to Starbucks. There was Me, Kate, Bree, Rodi, Jodey, Shannon, Tricia, and Danika. We were at Starbucks for what had to be at least 2 hours.. maybe not that long. But we got to know each other more and more. I found out Tricia is from Victoria. Well she's from Vancouver.. but lived in Victoria. It was nice to see another person from the island! :) Actually to be honest.. it was nice spending time with people that weren't from ONTARIO! lol.. i kept forgetting that most people were from Vancouver somewhere.
Rodi left for her interview.. and we all decided to go out for lunch at Joey's Burrard?? i think. It was a really nice restaurant.. and it just so happened Tommy Europe was eating there too. He's the personal trainer on Buldging Brides and the Last 10lbs. I've seen him a few times. It was nice seeing a celebrity again. haha.. Kate and Bree really wanted to talk to him and get a picture.. so finally as he was leaving Bree called him over and Kate got a picture with him.
After lunch we headed back to The Sutton Place Hotel and started mentally preparing for the interview. One by one everyone went.. until it was my turn. I was really nervous and spent lots of time preparing.
Finally i was called in.. i interviewed with Jeni. It started out well. We chatted a bit before.. i asked her about her doing the recruiting and which countries she did it for and how long, etc.. kind of to break the ice. Then she confirmed/assumed i had been before (done the program) and she began asking questions. I'm going to try and remember them all now.
First one she asked was why i wanted to go back to Disney, she asked me about my record card and how it looked, she asked me about a time that there was an upset/unhappy guest and how i used exceptional guest service to compensate or turn the situation around. She really liked my answer which is really good. And she started asking a question about me working at Le Cellier and she was saying something like ohh and you were a server.. and had to tell her i wasn't and why i choose to not go into service. She asked me what signature dining meant to me and how i could work in it.. like how i thought i could make a difference in service under signature dining. She also asked why i would i be a better choice on top of someone who's never down the program before. I stressed a lot through out it that i wanted to go into service, but i loved podium so much and that's why i stayed. I also stressed that i wanted to go into service this time.. and how much i loved Disney.
I don't know..so that was it. I left feeling really bad about it.. and today i feel a little better. I'm not sure on what will happen, and we'll have to wait 3-4 weeks to find out. I feel like i might be held back because i didn't serve and from my understanding.. they're looking for strong servers for Le Cellier.. so we shall see. I know i have the potential to be a great server because i have that drive and passion.. but did i show it is the questions. haha
Over all.. going to Vancouver was a blast.. and it was just nice seeing a few familiar faces.. like Kate, Kim and Courtney. The next weeks will go by soo slowly!! Just got to stay positive and hope for the best.
Alright i guess that is it.
As soon as i hear i will post on here. :) Everyone cross your fingers for me to get a phone call!!
p.s- Kate (cause i know you'll read this) Thanks for being there for me when i was in town and being such a great friend!! I don't know what i would have done with out you!!
Take Caree
Sam
