When you work in a seasonal industry, often people ask the question “what do you do the rest of the year?” Summer camp directors are no exception and the answer is – a LOT. For example, around now, summer camps are starting the process of interviewing and hiring staff for the coming season. Many counselors and staff will be returning from last year (or for the fifth or tenth time!), but as counselors grow up and move on, new people always need to be added. So while there is some snow on the ground and warm weather feels very far away … it’s closer than you think.
For people interested in a 2016 summer camp position, now’s the time to apply! All our Maine Camp Experience member camps go through a rigorous vetting process when hiring their staff, and an extensive training process once selected. While there are numerous benefits to attending summer camp, there are also just as many benefits to working at one. Whether or not you are a former camper, there are some major advantages to having summer camp experience under your belt. We loved Levo’s 13 Reasons Every Career-Driven Millennial Should Work At Camp For A Summer, so here are our own Five Reasons Summer Camp Is An Amazing Place To Work:
- Working with kids is a transformative experience
Kids, and especially kids in a summer camp setting, are brimming with positive energy and potential. When you have the chance to work with campers, you have the chance to make an actual difference in the lives of young people. Campers look up to their counselors, learn from them, and will be forever marked by their time together. Likewise, counselors learn just as much from the kids they oversee, and come back from the summer refreshed and recharged.
- You get to be outside
This is a big deal. Instead of spending the summer in an office building, or on the floor of a retailer, you get to be outside. A lot. And not just outside – inside too! Camp staffers have a lot of variety in their day – inside for meals and certain activities, outside for water sports, hikes, camp fires and trips … it is the best of both worlds, and it is most certainly never boring or monotonous.
- You will learn new things, in a new context
Working in the world of summer camp offers so many opportunities to learn new skills. Whether it’s how to manage a bunk full of rowdy kids, how to communicate with a homesick camper, or how to waterski with your charges – there is no end to the possibilities for personal growth. Alongside their campers, counselors and staff push themselves and grow in ways they had never even expected.
- Future Career Benefits
When a future employer looks at your resume and sees summer camp experience – it tells them something. Just like teachers love to have campers as their students, employers know that working at a summer camp produces hard-working, resilient, caring employees. They know they’re looking at someone who isn’t afraid of a challenge, someone who is interesting, interested in others, motivated, and strong. You have to be all these things to work in a summer camp with young people for weeks at a time. And your future employer knows that.
- It’s FUN
Maybe this should go first? Because even though it is a big responsibility and a lot of work, it is also really, really fun. A summer working at a Maine camp is an experience that will stay with you forever.
If you or someone you know is interested in contacting one of our Maine Camp Experience member camps this summer about employment, here’s how. Choose from our list of camps, and you’ll find a link to the camp email address in the top right column of each camp’s dedicated page. Every camp will have their own requirements, application process, and timeframe, so it’s best to check in with them. Start now!
Additional Summer Camp Staffing Resources:
CIEE – Council on International Educational Exchange
Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools
Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child? Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks). It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates. Then you can research these camps in more depth.
Next, be sure to contact our Maine Campcierge™ to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.
You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.
Talk to Laurie, our Maine Campcierge®, about choosing the right camp for your child and what to do in Maine.
Call 877-92-MAINE
