Name: Mellisa Low

Company: The Walt Disney Company

Position: Customer Information Management Intern

Industry: Entertainment

Graduate Degree/Year/Concentration: MBA’21/ Entertainment and Media Management

What excites you about this opportunity?

I am thrilled for this opportunity because Disney was one of the main reasons why I decided to pursue a career in Media and Entertainment. During my undergraduate degree, I participated in the Disney College Program where I worked directly with guests in Disneyland and learned about the company culture and how Disney operates overall. I loved the positive impact I was able to make with guests working in Entertainment. Therefore, I am excited to return back to the company and work more in my line of work and will now be making magic internally.

How did you strategize landing this internship?

Applying: I went directly through the company career website and applied to positions that I was qualified for and had an interest in. For each application, I made sure that I had a referral from my network listed depending on which area of the company I was applying for. After applying for the position, I would ALWAYS email my referral to let them know which roles I applied for, so they could keep an eye out for me because you never know who knows who.

Interview Prep: I utilize LinkedIn to research the role and my interviewers because it gave me a better idea of what was expected from the role and the type of people interviewing me. I practiced by doing mock interviews with the Career Center staff and my networks. I also thought carefully about the questions I was going to ask at the end of my interviews because I think it is one of the most important parts that helped me stand out as a candidate.

Post-Interview: Lastly, I made sure to create custom thank you notes for each interviewer. I think it’s important for them to know that you are appreciative of their time, and I saw it as my chance to express what I found to be insightful and interesting in the interviews.

What advice do you have for anyone looking for an internship or job in this market?

1) LinkedIn is your best friend! It is filled with career resources to help you find your next opportunity such as seminars, networks, and tips to succeed in your career field. You just have to know how to tailor it. This is the best way I would recommend using LinkedIn.

  • Follow the companies that interest you and pages that give you helpful resources or tips in your career field
  • Follow people who are in the career path that you want (you don’t have to be connected with them to do this)
  • Connect with peers and students who are pursuing a similar or same career path as you

So, what’s going to happen is that your LinkedIn feed will be tailored to your career field or interests. And opportunities will be brought to you on your feed, such as job postings, seminars, connecting with more people in the industry, or even just learning more about your career field.

2) Networking is important, especially in the entertainment industry! It is definitely a skill that takes time to build. I would start by reaching out to Chapman Alumni within your career path through LinkedIn and requesting an informational interview (or coffee chat). You would be surprised with how welcoming the Alumni network is. I would recommend reaching out to at least two to three alumni each week to schedule coffee chats with them. And then as you keep networking, you will start getting into the rhythm to where it feels like second nature for you. What I’ve learned from networking is that not only can they be helpful with referrals, but it also gets you used to talking to people within your industry segment. So, when it comes time to start interviewing for positions, you will already have prepped for them because of all the networking. The informational interviews will train you to be more relaxed and genuine in job interviews because, in the end, they are not only interviewing you, but you are also interviewing them.

3) Don’t take rejections too hard! I know what it is like when you feel you haven’t made any progress in your career search. However, keep in mind that the rejections probably meant that those jobs were not the right match for you. What I like to think is every rejection is a redirection to a bigger and better opportunity that is the best fit for you! Therefore, keep persevering and don’t give up!