Finding a summer camp job can be a hard and daunting task, with lots of different ways to get a job and lots of summer camps to choose from.
There are many jobs available at summer camps, along with agencies, and organizations that help you along the way.
But there are also many simple mistakes that people make which cause them to not earn the amount of money they deserve. So here are some tips and tricks to look out for when finding a summer camp job.
1. Decide What Summer Camp Job Role You Want
At a summer camp, there are so many different jobs to choose from depending on your interests, your past experiences, and your qualifications. Some of the jobs available include the following:
- General Counsellors – They walk around with the younger children all-day, making sure they get from one activity to the next, and just generally looking after them.
- Kitchen Staff – All summer camps have a huge number of both staff and children to feed three meals and day every day for the camp duration, meaning they need plenty of kitchen staff from chefs to assistants and more.
- Cleaning Staff – The camps have lots of facilities, bathrooms, kitchens, bunks, and common areas that need to be cleaned multiple times per day, every day.
- Specialist Activity Counsellors – Depending on the camp, the activities the camp holds vary greatly. If the camp is specialised in one activity such as a science camp or gymnastics camp, they will need those specific counsellors. If the camp is a general camp they will need all kinds of different activity staff, depending on what activities they offer. These are great jobs if you enjoy a specific activity or have coaching or experience within that activity.
- Activity Heads – Each activity has a head or manager role to organise the activity and manage the activity staff.
2. Research, Research, Research
Research is key to finding the best summer camp job to suit your needs. There are so many different options for camps all offering different activities, in different locations around the United States.
An extensive Google search can narrow down camps by location and what activities they offer.
Finding the right camp for your needs is an important step, you will be spending a lot of time at the camp and it’s important you find the right camp for you.
Along with a Google search, a Facebook or social media search is a good idea. Once you have found the camp you like, search the camp on Instagram and other social networks. See if you can find other people who worked at the camp and reach out to find out what they enjoyed about the camp and their experiences.
3. What To Avoid
There are many companies and agencies (such as Camp America) that offer services to find you your perfect summer camp job. These agencies organise everything from visas, to matching your skills with the perfect camp and everything in between. Which is great if you want to take all the hassle out of the process.
But what these companies don’t tell you is that they take part of your payment from the camp for the service along with charging for the service.
Someone working at a summer camp through an agency may receive a payment of $700 (for example) for the camp duration and someone who applied directly to the camp could receive $1,500 for the same job. These agencies take a perfect of the payment and summer camps use these agencies to gain cheap employment.
Many people use these services because they believe it is the only way to gain a job – which is not true. Summer camp job is advertised on the individual camp’s website, along with an application form. Foreigners in addition to Americans can apply directly for camp jobs on the website.
If your application is successful you will talk directly with the camp directors and they will conduct video or phone call interviews and send over all the relevant information via email.
These camps also work with third-party visa companies to gain visa’s for foreigners and sometimes they will even pay for the visa process.
Where possible find a summer camp you like and apply directly to the camp to gain the maximum payment possible for all the hard work you are doing.
4. Complete Your Application
When filling in an application ensure you include any relevant experience you have working with children such as a nanny or childcare job, and customer service experience. If you are applying for an activity counsellor role ensure you include any experience you have coaching or within that activity.
5. Collect Your Visa Documentation
When working a summer camp job your camp will organise all the official documentation required for your visa, and they will give you a list of information you need for your application. To work at a summer camp you will need to apply for a J-1 visa which will authorise your employment at the camp for a specific period of time along with time to travel after camp.
Some of the information required is the following:
- A Medical Exam
- Employment Contract
- Completed Forms
All this information will need to be completed and sent back to the company in the US.
6. Embassy Interview
Once you have completed and received all the required documents you will have to make an appointment at the US embassy.
The appointment is an in-person appointment and will require a trip to your closest embassy. At the embassy, they will take your fingerprints, and review all your paperwork. Once completed they will review and if they decide to give you the visa they will take your visa and place the visa within it and send it back to you.
7. Book Your Flight
Once you have your visa and passport returned it’s time to book your flights.
The camp will have a specific start date and they will require you to arrive earlier than the camp start date for orientation. Sometimes this is a week or more before the start of the camp.
The camp will specify the start date, they will also advise on an arrival airport. Often they will provide transportation from specific airports or locations to pick up staff and transport them to camp.
8. Adventure Awaits
Now it’s time for a great summer adventure to begin.
As you can see there are many different ways to find your dream summer camp job, whether you want to find a summer camp job on your own or use an agency, you will find your dream job.
Have you ever got a summer camp job or worked in a summer camp? If you have any questions or want to share your experiences and tips, please leave a comment below with your story.
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