Professionally Speaking...

First off...I'M BACK! I apologize for not updating almost 2 months after I said I was going to start updating more. School has been an experience, especially since I'm graduating in a little over 2 months! But that's neither here nor there. You didn't come here to listen to me ramble about my life. Lets get to something Disney!


I finally took a breather from life and sat down this fall break weekend to update my resume and apply for a few Disney Professional Internships! Now please don't yell at me...I know I'm a little late in the game - after all the deadline is 2 weeks from now on October 23, but I wanted to make sure I had everything in order before applying (i.e. graduation, credits etc.) instead of just applying for the sake of applying. But now that everything is all set, I took the time to try to further my career with the company I love.

NOTE: The person in the photo to the right is not me (hopefully you would know that), but rather it is the person I soon hope to be. To be specific, there are two types of internships I applied for: College Program Alumni Specific - meaning these internships are reserved solely for alumni of the college program. Non Alumni Specific: those internships open to anyone. Here are the list of internships I applied for:

College Program Alumni Specific:

• Cast Special Events
  - Providing programs, activities and event planning services for Cast, Crew and Imagineers
  
• College & International Operations - Event Planning
  - Planning, marketing and executing all events for the Disney College & International Program participants (i.e. Night of Stars, Volunteer Activities, Speaker Series, Networking Events etc.)
  
• College Recruiting
  - Maintaining student files, special projects, communicating with recruiters, students, faculty, campus representatives, etc.
  
• College & International Coordinatinator - Magic Kingdom Park
  - Assisting DCP Specialist at Magic Kingdom Park to ensure that program participants working at the park have a successful 'Earning' experience.
  
• Guest Relations

Non-College Program Alumni Specific:

• Social Media & Marketing Internship (Weddings/Youth Marketing)
  - A member of the marketing team focus on new/emerging social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and others) supporting two lines of business (Weddings & Youth Group Programs) from a social media & marketing perspective.
  
• Public Relations Internship
  -PR Outreach supporting WDW Group and Convention business and the Disney Institute

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So that right there is a good 7 internships I applied for. From past experience as a campus representative, they've usually told students not to apply for more than three (or else it looks like you're not interested in something specific but rather an internship period). But the good thing about the CP Alumni Specific Internships is they work just like a role-checklist. To those who have done the college program before or at least applied, you'll know a role checklist is simply a list of roles that you would be considered in performing. During your interview you're asked about which one sparks your interest most.

Speaking of interviews...I have to call on Monday (tomorrow) and set up an interview for the CP Alumni Specific and hear back for the other ones if the feel my qualifications apply. If I'm accepted, I'm really excited about this opportunity for two reasons.

1. It gives me a chance to further my career with the company that I love.
2. I'll get to move back to Orlando not 4 months after leaving - and permanently for that matter.

To those who wish to do the same and apply for a professional internship, you should know this wasn't an easy process for me. I wasn't able to just sit down and apply and then go eat some pizza to celebrate.

The process is for the dedicated. You must create a work profile at http://www.disneyjobs.com/ with your personal and contact information. Then you must upload your resume and any documents pertaining to your internship. After doing so, this next step is optional.

I haven't written a cover letter in quite some time (2008 I last believe), and writing one for the internship that could make or break my future wasn't an easy task. It took me an entire weekend to make sure my cover letter was reflecting the desired qualifications and role description listen in the Internship Profile.

After completing my cover letters and submitting them to my profile, I applied for the internships, filled out an online application and took an assessment for each internship. IT was a lot of steps to go through but most definitely worth it. I can't wait to see what opportunities await me in the future with this company.

While I'm still considering the option of applying for the College Program, I'm going to wait and see which road the Professional Internships lie for me. I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me per say and apply for both and get none. Unfortunately I'm putting all of my eggs in one basket with this decision - but its a risk I'm willing to take for the company I love. Here's to hoping I upgrade my graduation ears to a more corporate pair!

How about you guys? Has anyone else already applied for or plan on applying for Professional Internships for this upcoming season? If so leave your experiences or tips in the comments!

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In other news:

• I'm uploading my vlogs I've made in the meantime so that you can catch up on my Campus Representative life and what I've been doing since completing my Summer Alumni Program so look out for those.
• I'm looking daily for good Disney News on my twitter feed ...I've missed out on a lot but it's no use to put them here now being old news. When I hear an interesting story or something I feel you guys would enjoy I'll update it. It helps now that Disney Parks has a blog so keep posted.
• I'm also looking for someone to redesign my blog. If you or someone you know is interested shoot me an email at will.alphasig@gmail.com

See ya real soon!