The Imaginary Interview

Last updated: Tagged in: interview, job, writing Categorised in: Blog

(Disclosure: As odd as it sounds, the week after the events in this article I got a call from a recruiter for Disney out of the blue. At the time of publication, I have a cubicle in Orlando where I worked on some apps. None of this represents their viewpoint, however, just mine. They also don’t pay me to write anything other than HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.)

As we were driving home from Disney World I thought to myself, “how could I land a job writing for Disney?” My wife and daughter were both zonked out as I drove into the late hours, and that gave me about four hours to think.

I knew that my chances of pulling it off the next day were approaching zero. But for some reason, I let myself play through the scenario in my head.

I don’t have a clue how interviews for writing jobs at Disney work. I would imagine that one of the questions they is “what is your favorite Disney movie or show?” The obvious follow-up question is, “how could you make that better?”

It’s a weighty question, isn’t it? How could you make this thing that you like even better? It’s even harder if you consider the show or movie more of a love than a like.

But it’s a helpful question at the same time. It forces you to step outside of being a fan and examine what’s going on both in respect to plot and character development.

I pushed myself to think through those questions and give an answer right there in the car. I didn’t have time to plan ahead, I just went with it. I mocked an interview and assessed my own answers.

But it’s amazing what your brain can do when you’re just thrown into that line of questions. You can’t expect award-winning responses, because crafting something that strong takes time and thought. But then, it also might surprise you how well you can do with it.