By Dawn Rosenberg McKay

Career Planning Expert

Career Planning at TheBalance.com

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Twitter @dawnrosenbrgmck

Life After College

Have you told someone—maybe a professor or advisor at your college or even your parents—you want to participate in the Disney College Program only to be met with the question, “what is that going to do for you?” At first glance, the DCP might seem a bit frivolous. Unlike other college internships that have you working in an area related to what you want to do in the future, the DCP places you in a job that often has no relationship with your college major or your career plans.  You may work in a park or resort in one of a myriad of roles including quick service food and beverage, merchandise, custodial, attractions, or housekeeping, for example, even when your career plans include accounting, photography, marketing, teaching, or archaeology.

It isn’t hard to see why some people might wonder how the DCP can be a beneficial experience to a college student or recent graduate. But, all it takes is a conversation with someone who has gone through the program to realize exactly how the program can prepare you for life after college and why some DCP alumni describe the experience as life-changing.

As a CP, you have the opportunity to acquire essential workplace know-how, regardless of your career path. Many college majors give you the technical skills to do a particular job, but the DCP will provide you with the soft skills that will allow you to excel in any occupation. You will come out of the Disney College Program knowing so much more than you did going into it. Here are just a few of the things you will bring with you to your future career.

Soft Skills Learned in DCP

• The Four Keys Basics: These core values—safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency—are the Disney Company’s guiding principles. During training, and throughout your program, you will learn about them and how they contribute to an excellent guest experience. First and foremost, all cast members must keep guests, themselves, their coworkers, and their environments safe. They must also be courteous when interacting with others. Whether on stage or backstage, your workspace must be neat, clean, and inviting. You must work efficiently. While your future employers probably won’t use the same terminology and may not even hold these values as dear as Disney does, you can apply these four keys basics to any workplace.
• Flexibility and Adaptability: There are four words every employer hates to hear—It’s Not My Job. You will quickly discover, as a CP, that there is no such thing. As a merchandise CP, you may find yourself picking up after a guest who has left trash behind or you may, when working as a custodial CP, have to calm down a lost child. The ability to think on your feet and the willingness to take on new challenges are invaluable qualities.
• Diplomacy: There are a lot of rules at Disney. Most of them revolve around keeping guests safe and happy. It is up to cast members, including CPs, to enforce them. That often means saying no to guests. An example would be an attractions CP having to tell a family a child doesn’t meet the height requirements to go on a ride or directing someone who doesn’t have a Fast Pass to the regular line. Guests are often unhappy to get the news and may take it out on the person delivering it. You will learn how to be diplomatic during all your interactions with guests even when they are anything but that. You will develop the ability to diffuse tense situations. Now that’s truly a skill that can help you in all aspects of life.
• Customer Service Skills: Few other companies are as attentive to customer service as Disney is. Your leaders, as the company’s managers are known, will make sure you know how to provide excellent service to guests. You will become adept at making small talk and politely answering questions.
• Communication Skills: Excellent communication skills go hand-in-hand with superb customer service. Whether serving guests their meals, managing a line for an attraction, or ringing up purchases in a shop, most roles involve speaking to and listening to guests. Your communication skills will also get a workout when it comes to receiving and correctly following your leaders’ instructions.
• Professionalism: Your conduct at work, known as professionalism, will matter as much to your future employer as your ability to do your job. In other words, you could be a brilliant accountant but if you show up to work late, gossip, don’t pitch in to help your coworkers, lie, or fight with your coworkers your boss will take notice, and it could be detrimental to your career advancement opportunities. Your leaders will have high expectations for your conduct during the program. The DCP will provide you with an excellent work ethic.

Use your time as a CP wisely. Take to heart all the valuable things you will learn during this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Listen to your leaders’ feedback and use it to improve your performance. The Disney College Program provides the opportunity to learn things outside of a classroom, and you will use those skills throughout your career.