Thursday, January 17, 2008

Wanted: Chief Magic Official

You've heard of Chief Knowledge Officer, Chief Fun Officer, and even Chief Evangelist.

But Chief Magic Official?

One guess as to who would be filling that job title.

If you guessed Disney, go to the head of the class.

Yes, Disney is out to hire it's first "CMO" who will appear periodically to grant "dreams" to guests at Disney Parks in Anaheim and Orlando this year. Disney's put together a great recruiting website that includes:

- A Magic Aptitude Test (M.A.T.) that you can take to see if you qualify--you have to take a look at it just to see the pencil you'll be using for the test (by the way, I passed and am apparently similar to Mickey Mouse)

- A great job preview video

- A creative job description and statement of qualifications

In a new twist, applications must include a video resume that will be voted on online. The top three vote getters will be invited (along with three guests) to Walt Disney World resort for further vetting.

So will this work? Probably. It is Disney, after all, who doesn't usually have too much trouble attracting candidates. And some research indicates applicants are more attracted to creative job titles.

But whatever happens, you gotta admire their creativity!

2 comments:

Chris Young said...

Aaah, Disney, the place where dreams come true!

I like their approach with the Chief Magic Officer. In my experience consulting with a number of companies to improve performance and customer service I have found that job titles matter more than many might think.

Quite simply, we live up to our job title. Describe a team member as a receptionist or office greeter and they will live up to their title with little enthusiasm or empowerment. After all, their job is to greet people, not much more, not much less.

Describe the same team member as the Director of First Impressions and guess what... they'll live up to the expectations set by their job title. They will feel empowered not only to take phone calls and greet customers but to make a powerful first impression of their organization.

Disney's approach is much the same... This position is not a wish granter, but a maker of magic, and in that there is a big difference.

Kudos to Disney

Chris Young
The Rainmaker Group

Productivity Guy said...

Interesting! I guess I better go and start working on my video resume...