Spring 2017 Professional Internship Applications

So I've been behind on this semester, but we are in yet another round of Disney Professional Internship applications. Many of the applications have closed, but there are still some out there for those interested in applying and I bet they'll be additional ones posted here and there. I've been following along on the Facebook pages and this year does seem to be working a bit differently than in the past. I'm not going to pretend to know how the process works, but I will let you know some of my observations from this time around.

1. Phone Screenings: In the past you generally only had one phone screening that counted for all of your applications. Occasionally, someone would get called up to ask a few separate questions, but for the most part you generally only had one screening whether it be for PIs in different departments or for Management Internships as well. This time around people are reporting getting more specific phone screenings and one for different positions. I remember for my second PI I applied to a wide variety of positions, including analytical ones, animal ones, and MIs and had one phone screening that I was told would be used by all.

2. Animal Programs: In the past Animal Programs PIs skipped the phone screen completely (so if you only applied to these positions you never had a phone screen) and move straight to the Animal Programs team who requested the applicant fill out a questionnaire. This year it looks like Animal Programs is acting more like other PIs in having phone screens and skipping the questionnaire. There is still the familiar outreach from the hiring team, but instead of a questionnaire it just wants to ensure people are still interested in being considered. Then people are getting the typical leader interviews for the positions. The questionnaire/phone screen swap is an interesting change, but perhaps will make it more streamlined.

3. Timeline: Overall it looks like they are changing it up to perhaps get the timeline moving faster than the past. Then again every semester everyone thinks it is going faster than previous years, and it normally works out to be the same time (or in some cases later) to hear back for positions. This year does seem to have more of a drastic shift in how the process is running, but people have been told to hear back as early as the first week of October to early December (some of these people being in the same department!). I guess only time will tell how the changes earlier in the process will influence things down the line.

As always, the current semester's Facebook page is one of the best sources of information and to unite with other applicants going through the process. Disney Professional Internship | Spring 2017

If you applied for this round, good luck and if you have any questions always feel free to comment on a post or reach out to the Facebook group as the people on the pages are great resources.

Drop Downs

So drop downs cause a lot of excitement for everyone on the Facebook pages. The biggest thing that they are separate positions that come on the Dashboard drop down menu. 

Specific Position Drop Downs
These "drop downs" usually are specific jobs that come from a general posting. Two of the biggest categories that have drop downs are the Alumni Only positions and the General Marketing positions. For example, if you apply to the Alumni Only job posting you check off from a list of about 20 internships that you want to be considered for. Then after your screening interview and your application has been moved on, if you are considered a strong final candidate you will be given a separate position under the drop down menu. This is really exciting, since it means that you have been narrowed down and are on the short list of candidates for that position. It is by no means a guarantee that you have the job, but it is definitely a good sign!

Interview Drop Downs Another drop down you might get is for a specific interview. I didn't apply to any of the general applications that normally receive a drop down, but I did end up getting 2 drop downs throughout my interview process. The first one was for my montage interview for animal programs. I don't know of a lot of other positions that got these drop downs besides Animal Program Montage Interviews.

The second drop down is a REALLY good one! Everyone who gets an offer gets this one! This drop down was for my callback offer! If you get one of these there is a pretty good chance you are getting an offer. It isn't guaranteed, but ALMOST everyone who gets this drop down gets an offer.  

Second Interview

Other News First
Went to Hope College (my alma mater!) today to meet up with one of my professors about the work I have been doing for the Chem Department from home. I thought I would be done, but I still have a few more hours of work I'll have to do on Thursday. It was really hard to say goodbye to a bunch of my professors. This is the first time in 4 years that I don't know the next time I will be in Holland. While there were times that I really didn't want to be there, I had a lot of good times on campus. I will really miss it. I am really sad I didn't get to see the professor I did research for since he is moving to Spokane, WA in 2-3 weeks. It is really hard since it is one of the first times that I feel like I possibly won't ever see someone again. I keep telling myself my family used to live in Spokane and since that is were I was born there is a chance that I could be back there someday. I am still glad I got to back, but for the first time in forever (cue Frozen music) I am I looking forward to the next time I can go back.


Onto the Purpose of this Post...Second Interviews!
So I already mentioned the screening interview that most of the Professional Internships have to do with one of the Disney Recruiters. After your screening interview (or right after you have submitted your application) the recruiters will pass on applications that they think could be a good fit to the managers in the Line of Business for your position. This is often where the waiting comes into play. These managers are often have a full time job to complete before they can even look at intern applications. 

Possible Next Steps After Screening Interview After the managers look at your application, there are a few different things that can happen: you can get a supplemental application, you can get a second interview, or you could potentially not hear anything. Don't fret! Not hearing anything isn't necessarily bad. Some positions, especially Alumni Only ones, don't even have a second interview. However, positions like MIs (Management Internships), pretty much have a set number of interviews from year to year. MIs often have two or three interviews (including the screening one) so if you don't hear about a second interview and other people are getting thirds, it might be a sign that you not get the position. However, until your position goes NLIC you don't have to lose all hope. 

Types of Second Interviews A lot of positions have phone interviews for second interviews and some do an internet video interview. Very, very few will even give you the option to interview in person, but MIs are the only ones that I know of that typically do have the option to do an in person second interview (but you don't have to!). Second interviews vary a ton between positions; a lot last about 20-40min, but it isn't unheard of for some people to have ones that are HOURS long. If you ask me, if you get an interview a couple of hours long, I think there is generally a pretty good change you will get the position because I don't foresee many people having a lot of time to do more than a handful of interviews of that length.

If you want to know about a specific position, feel free to ask, but a good place to go is to join past Professional Internships group pages on Facebook and search to see if there is anything about it. Since I did a Montage Interview, I can post about my experience with that next.

Screening Interview

One thing that is pretty common across Professional Internships is a screening interview. However, since I only applied to Science Positions (Animals, Science and Environment and EPCOT Agricultural Science) I did not have to undergo a screening interview. As far as I know, pretty much everyone besides people only applying to Animal Programs or Agriculture internships undergo the screening interview. I think that pretty much everyone that isn't automatically NLIC gets a screening interview.

From my understanding it is a lot like the College Program Interviews. They ask things like why are you applying to do a Professional Internship, make sure you are eligible, which are your top choices, your experience, and various other situational and position specific questions. If you are applying to Management Internships they will ask you leadership type questions, as well. Like I said, since I didn't do one of these interviews, I am not the direct source of this information, but this is what I have come across on other blogs and Facebook. I might apply for some other non-Animal Programs internships for next spring and if I do I will have to have a screening interview for that. 

The Waiting Game: No news is good news

One thing that you will quickly figure out when applying to Professional Internships is that the process involves A LOT of waiting. Some people talk about not liking to wait for College Program acceptances to come out, but PIs are MUCH WORSE. CPs are supposed to hear something back within 3 weeks of their phone interview. Many times they hear back sooner than that, and they are told if they are accepted, no longer in consideration (NLIC), or if they are pended. Those that are pended have to endure waiting, but PIs really trust your ability to be patient. 

There is a common saying on the past few cycles PI Facebook groups: No news is good news. 

This is generally pretty true. Since there are so many different Professional/Management Internships, it is really hard to predict timelines compared to the College Program Application Process. However, I am going to put this as a warning: if you have other opportunities and other people have gotten responses long ago for your position, don't hold your breath. It isn't uncommon for people to never go NLIC for some positions. I think that generally they are good about changing people over on the dashboard, but since applications go between so many departments, I think some positions get looked over. On that note, it isn't uncommon for people to be accepted after the date they say everyone will hear by, and it isn't unheard of for people to get accepted after others have for the same position or even after already going NLIC. This isn't very common, so once again, don't hold your breath, but it does happen. I think people aren't always NLIC right away after others are accepted or after going NLIC is that some people drop out after accepting the position and so they will contact people who where the other top choices.

The PI process involves a TON of waiting, so it can be helpful to join the Facebook groups to connect with others (misery loves company, right?) and to see how the positions you applied to are progressing. Just remember, no news is good news!