My Pre-Screen Interview Experience

*** Prepare for a long post I struggled to keep this brief. Sorry!! ***

The Pre-Screen Interview is an event held by Yummy Jobs which in my application cycle took place at a French Restaurant on the South Bank; Brasserie Blanc on Sunday 5th October 2014. There were two time slots one at 9am and one at 2pm.

Mine was at 9am. I decided as it was a Sunday and there was only one train that I could get that would ensure I'd arrive in plenty of time, I didn't want to risk it with the train and have the stress. So very fortunately I have a friend called Nathalie who has moved to London and I asked her if I could stay the night so I could just tube it over to Waterloo in the morning with no stress. Thank you Nathalie!

Thought I would insert a photo here of the preparation I made for this interview, having been successful at last to make it to the Pre-Screen interview I made sure I did my research by reading many people's blogs about the interview so I was as prepared as I could be. I even made myself a little booklet, because yes I am that sad :/.

Pre-Screen Interview Prep

The Night Before The Pre-Screen Interview
As with most things nowadays there was a Facebook group already set up for those going to the Pre-Screen Interviews for the different time slots. In my 9am Facebook group a girl called Holly had organised a meet up the evening before for those staying the night on the Saturday to have dinner at Pizza Express (which is located right next to the restaurant we would have our interviews in the following day - Perfect!). Not only was it nice to meet up before hand to calm the nerves with people who were all feeling the same, but it was just so nice to instantly have that bond over Disney. There were no awkward silences just free flowing conversation, obviously mainly around Disney ;). I cannot tell you just how nice it is to talk about your passion with like-minded individuals who share the same enthusiasm as you do. Priceless!

Pre-Screen Interview Day!

Oh boy! Interview day arrived. I felt like how I normally feel the morning of an exam, butterflies in my stomach, not wanting to eat, mind racing, frantically re-reading notes I had made and triple checking I had everything I needed and reading good luck texts from my very lovely supportive friends and family (thank you all, it meant a lot!).

On my tube journey to Waterloo I got talking to a guy on my carriage who could see I was reading over notes, probably looking a little flustered to say the least and in business attire. Now at 8am on a Sunday, the tube was practically void of people so I definitely stood out! He was such a friendly guy asking me where I was heading and wished me all the best with my interview. He really helped to calm my nerves! Having arrived at Waterloo I bumped into Holly who I had met the night before (perfect timing!) and we headed over to Brasserie Blanc to be there nice and early. It was nice to be able to walk over to the place with someone. We sat with everyone in the waiting area for a bit and it was so nice to meet new people, find out where everyone was from and discover who had the longest journey or earliest wake up time haha!

The Presentation
Louise from Yummy Jobs then called everyone over to register/sign in and to take a seat in the presentation area. After brief introductions from the Yummy Jobs team introducing themselves they started with a quiz. Now some of the questions were straightforward but one question had the whole room guessing, which was; what does the latin message under the Rose & Crown sign say? (Talk about a toughy hey!) For those interested: The latin phrase reads 'Otium cum Dignitate' which is latin for 'leisure with dignity'. Prizes were handed out to those that got picked to answer the questions and got them correct. 

After the quiz, Louise and Katie from Yummy Jobs took it in turns to talk through the details of the program such as what the role entails, what are some of the benefits you get to experience/be a part of, and what opportunities are available should you get accepted. In amongst the talk some footage is shown which is simply magical showing you what you could experience all in the best Disney way imaginable. Top marks to the person who created the videos you managed to make the whole room super excited even more than they already were (myself included haha)!

After the presentation, interview groups and times were read out and of course with it being a Disney job interview each of the groups were given a Disney themed name, my group was 'Team Elsa' and it is ridiculous how happy this made me haha!! Yay for Frozen <3!!!

The Interview
My Interview group was scheduled for 10minutes after the presentation = no time to prep/panic/think but I believe this was a blessing in disguise. You get interviewed in groups of 6/7 and the seats were layed out in a semi-circle facing the interviewers, my group had Nick and Katie other groups had Louise. They asked us to in pairs or threes find out the other person/s name, their age, where they lived and then an interesting fact. This was a great way to find out who everyone was and interesting to see how far some people had travelled too! 

They then had to ask some 'Disney Look' related questions such as Do you have any tattoos? Any Piercings? and if you don't have your natural hair colour you'll be reminded that if accepted you'll need to dye it back to it's natural colour. Then questions were asked to the group but everyone was given the opportunity to answer so there were no concerns about anyone dominating the group and not getting an opportunity to speak, they were very fair in who they asked and so was my group in letting people have their time to answer (My group really were lovely it has to be said).

Jane Austen's House

Each of us were asked to bring in an item which we felt authentically represented our hometowns or the United Kingdom. I chose to bring the book Mansfield Park because; 1) Mansfield Park was celebrating it's bicentenary and was one of the first books to be written entirely at her home in Alton, Hampshire not too far from where I live. 2) Jane Austen is one of the best well known 19th Century English Novelist who was born and raised in Hampshire. 3) Where she lived in Alton represents quintessential England, with its vast open green spaces and typical English Pubs and houses built with wooden beams being the feature.

Our interview group were also asked to think of an attraction which could go in the United Kingdom Pavilion. We were divided into small groups and this really helped Yummy Jobs to see how well we worked as a team and our communication skills as we were asked to present our ideas to the rest of the group.

At the end of the interview we were asked to stand up one by one and give a 1 minute sales pitch as to why we thought we were the best person for the program. I have never been so nervous, my head was racing as I desperately tried to remember the key points I wanted to make. Upon speaking to other people who were interviewed we seem to be the only interview group who were asked to do this. Each interview group it became apparent had been asked a few different questions or asked to do different things such as sell an item from the Rose and Crown Menu or sell an item from the UK.

To be honest the whole interview felt like it lasted 10 minutes if that, but I was so surprised to discover we had actually over run by about 15 minutes! (I think the interview lasted an hour when it should have been 45minutes? - not actually sure how long the interviews are meant to be). It all was such a blur and I came out thinking I had blown it. I was so sure I came across as a scrambled mess and they wouldn't put me through to the next stage. I came home and literally burst into tears. I thought my dream was over! (dramatic I know but it was at this point I realised just how much this opportunity meant to me and I didn't want to see it pass me by).