A Summer Camp Job Can Set You Up for Success!

Camp's youngest Pioneer campers celebrate their "Whale Swim"

To prepare for your future, you should get a  job at summer camp. Your peers might be taking on unpaid internships with engineering companies, law firms, and science laboratories, or earning hard cash mowing lawns, working construction, waiting tables, or working a front desk somewhere, but you have an opportunity to truly prepare yourself for the future. 

Seth Godin, world renowned marketer and author, writes in his blog, What's High School For, about skill sets we should be teaching in high school but aren't.

Staff serve as positive role models for campers.

Many of these skills can be learned (and documented on your resume) as a camp staff member. Seth mentions, young adults should be able to lead groups of their peers, from within, without clear delegated authority. Camp staff are challenged daily to work collaboratively with their team to develop ideas and work together as a team, with little instruction or direction, to deliver creative camp curriculum to kids.

Seth notes a number of our young workers don't have the ability to manage projects, ideas, and people. In the course of a summer at camp, summer staff will work with kids and peers to manage carnivals, campfires, activities, and events, and enable staff to become extremely competent managing projects and events.

A staff member told me a story about meeting a future employer on an airplane, and by the end of her flight she had landed an entry level position for a national health and weight loss company. Her position was at the bottom of the ladder, helping contact clients and arrange nutritional plans for them; however, a few weeks into the position, our extremely outgoing former staff member was asked to lead a team-building event at a regional event for a group of folks including a few regional managers and vice presidents. When she called to tell me the story, she explained, "I jumped right into camp mode. I explained the activity and safety concerns, frontloaded the results we may be looking for and what the debrief may look like, and ran a fantastic activity and debrief with analogies as to how this activity will help us all be more successful with the work we do." This event was followed by a slew of phone calls and some inside negotiations to determine which of the vice presidents or regional team managers she'd go on to work for. She was promoted immediately after the event.

Camp staff brainstorm, manage and run creative activities.

Staff pick up customer service skills interacting with parents and campers during camp check-in and check-out days. They utilize their creativity, brainstorm with others, enhance their ability to problem solve and create a valuable network of postive peers on their way to other successful careers. Camp staff unplug from cel phones, social media and screen time, and connect with peers and kids through face to face interactions.
You could take the internship for the senator in DC or you could come and work at camp, I wouldn't consider many other options, if I were you.

A summer staff commented, "This is the hardest job you might ever have, but it's the most rewarding, too."

If you are interested in applying for a summer camp position in the Pacific Northwest, YMCA Camp Seymour has a variety of positions to meet your skills set. Contact the camp director, Scotty Jackson, at sjackson@ymcapkc.org or call 253-460-8883,  to learn more about applying for a position.

To apply on line or view position descriptions visit the YMCA Camp Seymour Summer Employement page, and learn more about each role. Don't miss this great opportunity to do something special.

Scotty and Allison will be at various schools in the PNW, throughout Feb. Swing by and say, "hi," or join us for a local pizza party. e-mail for details sjackson@ymcapkc.org.

Feb. 1-2 - University of Oregon (Eugene)
Feb 9 - Western Washington University
March 1 - Central Washington University
March 2 - University of Portland

Seth's blog, http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/05/whats-high-school-for.html.

A summer camp job can change your life, as well as the lives of some great kids.