Chantavone Nickell Spring term before graduation is an exciting time for all college students.

In addition to commencement preparation, the upcoming summer, and the idea of moving onto a brand new chapter in life; students are often faced with the intimidating idea of life outside of academia. While some students prepare for the continuation of their education in grad school, others are painstakingly deciding how they will progress past school and move into the working world. This is also a timeframe in which adolescents are entering adulthood and issues such as selfefficacy, social comparisons and an overall sense of self become pertinent as choices that will effect the remainder of adulthood are made. Personally, having worked for nearly ten years prior to enrolling in college enabled me to have a firm idea of the career path I planned to follow. College was to be an addition to my resume and my work experience throughout the years. With this in mind I had begun preliminary job searching months ago and still the idea of a job interview for a position that would be my first after completing my degree was frightening. I remember the day in class that I received a phone call from an unrecognized phone number, a number that unbeknownst to me was my employer of choice calling to introduce their company and present me with the opportunity to interview for a position I considered ideal. Knowing that I had been avidly searching for employment, I decided that it was in my best interest to refrain from immediately answering the call as I knew it may be a potential employer. Though hiring managers tend to suggest answering these calls whenever possible, I was thankful that my class gave me allotted me the opportunity to reflect upon who exactly I was going to be when I returned the call. I asked myself, How do I want to portray myself, how do I go about effective self-presentation? It wasnt until that moment that I realized how vitally important my self-concept was. As expected, I received a voicemail from recruiting manager, John Hernandez for a position with The Walt Disney Company. The position was a coveted position within the organizations Human Resources Department. I returned Mr. Hernandezs call and spoke with his assistant who informed me that the next course of action would be the first interview which would be conducted via telephone. I scheduled the appointment and began reflecting upon the way I wanted to depict myself and began considering the various aspects of life, the different situations we incur and how differently one can stage themselves accordingly. The Walt Disney Company advertised the organization as one of the most innovative and globally extensive companies today. Because the Human Resource Department was positioned at the center of this extremely diverse group, there was a critical need and stringent expectation for an individuals to have a well developed and balanced hierarchy of identity salience. This would allow them to adapt to the changing interactions with a wide array of individual people and personalities.The position itself was a Human Resources Coordinator, which was a desirable position within the Human Resources field because of the diversity of the position. The Corporate Human Resources Coordinator is given the opportunity to provide HR support on a variety of levels ranging from; supporting the Human Resources Generalist, providing service to unique client groups in The Disney Corporation and engaging in special projects that support a broad array of HR efforts in order to attract, retain, and develop the talent that enables The Walt Disney Company thrive. The Human Resources Coordinator was expected to act as a consultant to different organizations and to be understanding of how business dynamics function. Reporting directly to the Manager of Human Resources required the person in this position to also serve at

enforcing and supporting HR practices, initiatives and processes that create and foster an effective organization. This was a great position to root a professional career in Human Resources, and I wanted it. John Hernandez promptly called me the next day. After briefly explaining the majors aspects of the job duties established for the Human Resources Coordinator he explained that the initial interview was a fairly simple procedure. Mr. Hernandez clarified that this phone call was to ask a few questions to determine if I may be a match for The Walt Disney Company. The first question was one in which every interviewee dreads, Why do you want this job? I explained that I found the diversity of The Walt Disney Company amazing. Knowing that the job description featured this concept, I could entirely feel myself enacting the process of dramaturgy. With every sentence I began to express my desire to experience new cultures and how keen I was to meeting new people. As I continued on I realized that my presentation of self had veered away from the reasons I was interested in the job itself, and I quickly pivoted my response. In in effort to limit my level of coherence and sound more sincere, I began to discuss my skill set. I incorporated the desire to acquire new experience in Human Resources and ventured to say that The Walt Disney Company was an optimal place to do so. John Hernandez appeared to accept my transition in conversation or may simply have been showing a high level of tact. Secondly, I was asked why I was an ideal candidate for the position. Knowing this type of question would arise, I had contemplated it beforehand. I listed skill after skill, highlighting accomplishments while downplaying shortcomings. As I continued citing the reasons that a company would be lucky to have me I realize that employers, hiring managers particularly, do all but directly ask interviewees to engages in the process of dramatic realization. Essentially, Mr. Hernandez was asking me to convince him as to why he should have a positive and memorable impression of me. As the conversation was ending, Mr. Hernandez asked me if I had any questions before our call ended and he began the reevaluation process. Generally speaking people can be very short with this answer simply saying no, everything has been answered. But given the nature of the questions I was asked I was curious, so I asked him what exactly was The Walt Disney Companys stance on nurturing the individual in their corporate climate? The interviewer seemed a bit stunned and asked me if that was a major concern. I responded simply stating that I felt it was important to retain your sense of sense, even in a professional environment. The interview er seemed please and stated that while cast members at amusement parks seem uniform, the corporation as a whole finds innovation and forward thinking highly desirable. The call ended in a very pleasant tone as I was invited to a second interview.