Rawr! I'm the scary Web Interview!

I know a lot of people are nervous about the web interview and I can totally understand why. The fact that such an impersonal thing as a web interview can stop your dreams in its tract is definitely a scary thing. But I am here to say that the web interview is nothing to be afraid of.

To begin with you have to have either attended a presentation or watched the e-presentation, completed the application, and then after that you take the web-based interview. When picking a place to do the interview, definitely choose someplace where you won't get distracted. Every individual is different in the level of noise and stuff they can take and still concentrate. Know yourself and pick someplace you can take the interview and not fear being distracted. Also I would suggest taking it alone. By that I mean, don't let your mom, dad, sister, brother, roommate, best friend, whatever, etc. hang over your shoulder and give you suggestions on answers. You know yourself (or at least I would hope you do) and having someone else around might make you second guess yourself. That might result in inconsistent answers, which is not something you want.

On to the interview itself! The best way to describe it is as a kind of personality test with a work focus. You are asked a question and then are given a sliding scale on which to choose an anwser that you feel best fits. You can answer: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree. You get asked questions that gauge your personality (are you self-motivated), how you interact with others (I work well with others, I'm a team player), what is your work ethic like (I'm always on time). You will also be asked things multiple times to check for consistency. So you will be given the statement "I'm always on time." Then a bit later you may be asked "I'm rarely late." Then later still you will be asked "I'm often late." They are going to look to see if you answer similarly to all of the questions. So if you are a type of person that makes sure your on time you would agree or strongly agree to the first and disagree or strongly disagree to the last.

The fact that you are asked similar questions can possibly trip you up, especially if you don't take the time to read all of the question/statement. I gave three examples above but the question could be "I'm always on time" and "I'm always late." Those are two COMPLETELY different statements that carry two totally separate connotations but they are exactly the same except for one word. Make sure to READ the questions so one little word won't trip you up.

I know that many people say to only answer strongly agree or strongly disagree. I don't know what types of "points" you get for doing this. I'm not sure how it effects the numerical score you get which allows you to pass or not. However I can give my reasoning as to why it makes some sense to answer mostly stronglys. Mind you I did just say mostly. I don't think it is bad to have some agrees/disagrees or even one or two neutrals. My opinion on why strongly agree/disagree is the way to go is as follows. Disney wants you to be confident in your opinions on yourself. To me that means answer strongly to things! Strongly equates to Hell Ya thats me! I'm most definitely always on time! I love working with other people! Its not bad to sometimes answer just an agree/disagree. And occasionally you may really not have an opinion. In that case I would even say its ok to answer neutral, just don't do it a whole lot.

It is true that some of the questions are timed. Don't let this freak you out! Read the questions and go with your gut reaction. Don't take the time to second guess yourself. You know you! Your gut reaction is the right one. I am of the opinion that you shouldn't try to answer the way you think Disney wants you to but in an honest way. By being honest and true to yourself it is going to be much easier to answer consistently because it is the way you really feel.

I hope that this post is helpful. I know that the web interview can be scary, but it doesn't need to be. Knowledge is power. I think that statement is true for most things in life and especially in this application process. I highly recommend the disboards and particularly the college board. There is lots of good information there about the whole application process as well as the move in process. Its also a great place to talk to other Disney minded people who are just as excited at the prospect of working for Disney as you are.

Please please please let me know if this was helpful! I would love some reactions.

-M