Preparing for the Interview

After you book your interview and fill out the Role Checklist, you can start preparing for your interview and presentation.  This is a good waiting period because you actually have something practical you can do while you’re waiting!  There are several things I would recommend doing for your own piece of mind:

1. Make a Plan

Work out where your presentation and interview is and how you are going to get there.  If it’s at your school you might be able to go suss out the locations beforehand.  Work out transportation – if you’re driving you might need to think about parking, public transport – check with bus/train/tram you need to catch.  If you’re coming in from out of town/interstate, you will need to organise flights and possibly accommodation etc.  However you are getting there, make sure you work out how much time you will need to get there.  I would suggest doing this all as far in advance as possible so that it’s all sorted and you don’t have any last minute rushes. 

You might also like to organise to meet up with some other applicants.  I met up before the presentation with some people I’d met on the facebook group and it helped calm my nerves so much.  If you have a friend interviewing on the same day, why not organise to go together?

2. Choose an Outfit

So you might think this is a bit odd, but it’s really important that you dress to impress and you don’t want to be racing around the night before your interview trying to find appropriate pants.  As the day involves a formal interview, you should be wearing business attire.  That generally means trousers and a collared shirt for guys (a tie isn’t necessary but feel free to go all out) and a dress or trousers/skirt with a nice shirt or blouse for the ladies.  Under no circumstances should you wear anything made from denim.  It’s just a universal no-no that in a business environment, denim is not welcome.

It is not vital that you dress according to the ‘Disney Look’, however I would recommend that you do.  It sets a good impression right from the start and shows that you understand what Disney’s values and expectations are from their cast members.  If you’re not sure about the Disney Look, You can check out my guide to it HERE including pictures :D

3. Research

I will probably say this at just about every step, but I can’t say enough how important researching is.  Look into your top roles, because you will probably be asked about them.  Find out some information about housing and other programs Disney offer.  Watch vlogs and read blog posts about other people’s interviews – some people in America even record theif phone interviews and share them on YouTube!  This will all help you to feel confident in your interview but might also help you come up with some questions you would like to ask.  In your interview you will be given a chance to ask questions and if you have something to ask that is unique and insightful, it can make a great impression.

4. Study for your Interview

Ok, so I know this sounds a little bit odd, but bear with me here.  There are a huge range of questions you could be asked in your interview and it really helps to think about them beforehand.  Even if you don’t get asked most of these questions, it can really help to organise your thoughts.  My friend Lily and I put together a huge list of potential interview questions before our interviews that you can access HERE.  Also, if you want to have a look at the questions I was asked in my interview, you can check out my blog post about my interview HERE.

Another way to study is to actually practise your interview.  You can ask someone to help you or you can just test yourself and practise answering the questions out loud.  Try to keep your answers natural because you don’t want to sound like you’ve rehearsed it.  Also work on smiling, keeping eye contact and not speaking too quickly.

That’s about it for preparation!  Make sure you check everything the night before and set your alarm so you get up early enough to get there on time!  In my next post I will go through what to expect at The Presentation or you can return to the Masterlist.