I’m Turning Down The Interview

I was at the ultimate fork in the road, except it felt was an eight-lane highway, and I was in the middle lane with an express lane flying past to my left and an off-ramp fast approaching that actually splits into two different opposite directions on my right and the road is full of traffic. So many options and opportunities at my fingertips and yet they felt so far away and difficult to access. I eventually made my way back to Arizona and continued my job search. Unemployment was incredibly enjoyable in contrast to the 70 hour work weeks I was doing on the ship for 18 weeks but I was slowly starting to dip into the savings I had just put away. Responses from some of the places I applied to were few and far between but more often than not, they were MLM scams or they wanted an in-person interview out of state, which at this point I couldn’t afford. There was one week I had three interviews planned, two local in-person interviews and a phone interview with Disney. I ended up getting offers for both in person jobs pretty much on the same day and heard nothing from Disney. I wasn’t crazy about staying in Arizona but at this point didn’t have much choice.

I ended up accepting a position at GoDaddy and I was overly enthusiastic about starting my first real full-time job. Even though it’s literally on the other side of town for me, I was very grateful for the opportunity. Not only did the company culture entice me, but the pay was more than I had ever made before, plus the health benefits were perfect for a newly founded adult who can no longer be on her parent’s insurance. Fast forward four months, I’ve completed my 6 weeks of training, I’m now working up at my own desk and I get a follow-up email requesting I choose a date for an interview for full-time Entertainment Technician at Walt Disney World. At first, I was excited. This was a job I had dreamed of for years. No doubt my experience on the ship as a broadcast editor helped me make the cut and I felt like I had earned the interview. Originally, I did pick a date a few weeks ahead because the only available times were while I was supposed to be working. So I chose the earliest possible time and I wanted to feel out how taking time off work would be. I reached out to a few friends of mine who are currently techs in the various parks and got some insight into the position.

As the date drew closer, the weight of the decision weighed on me more and more. At first, I told myself this was a great opportunity, something I was working towards the entire time I was on the ship was finally paying off and right at my feet. The more I thought about it, my explanation went from, I could take this job and be happy at Disney again to taking the interview would be harmless and good practice for future situations. While that is true, looking at the big picture, the cost of moving to Florida just didn’t add up. Not to mention, it was just the ‘safe’ option for me. Every single job that I’ve applied to at Disney was deeply rooted in the fact that I was running from something in my personal life and I needed a distraction from that thing. This new job was stressful and difficult and the prospect of going back to my big Disney comfort blanket was the ‘fix’. I knew the job, I’m familiar with the company and what living in Florida would be like for me.

It only took me 6 years, but I finally stopped giving up on things when it becomes overwhelming or something I couldn’t perfect on my first attempt. To be honest, when I received my follow up email, I skimmed through it and read the section on parking instructions, which lead me to believe this was not a phone interview but an in-person one. So that was that. Obviously, I wasn’t going to fly to Florida in two days to have an interview for a job I knew I shouldn’t take. Turns out, it was an option of either or but I still canceled the interview. 

I hate living my life with ‘what if’s’ but there will always be a part of me, no matter how confident in my choice not to return to theme park life is, that will wonder how different my life would have been had I chosen that path.