3 Ways to Keep Your Summer Camp Staff Applicants from Ghosting

Ghosting is the digital age version of standing you up. We are sure you’ve read about ghosting in the staffing world. Everyone from Google and Amazon on down is currently fighting this phenomenon. Newspapers, network news and every online media outlet has reported about ghosting job interviews, internship offers and actual jobs.

The good news for camps, is that we’ve dealt with this for far longer than these other industries seem to have – noting how shocked they are when a hire doesn’t show up for the job. But what camp hasn’t had a no-show on the first day of staff training? Part of the reason CampStaff was built to fill these last minute drops.  Here’s a refresher for you vets and and a crash course for any newbies.

 

Simplify and speed up your hiring process

When you reach out to a potential applicant, be prepared to interview and hire on the spot. Before you say, it can’t be done…Why are camp directors comfortable committing to international staff on the spot at overseas job fairs but make American applicants jump through hoops?

You have an application in hand before your reach out. Whether it’s CampStaff’s universal application or the one the applicant filled out your own application at your website. If it’s worth calling them, texting them or emailing them, it’s worth an interview as soon as they are available.

Offer the job contingent on reference checks and submitted paperwork. You probably already have this wording in your contract. Assign someone to track down the reference checks.  We’ve seen camps use summer staff for this purpose.  Why not pay a few responsible staff to do this now? The bonus is it gives you the opportunity to strengthen relationships with key staff and improve their odds of sticking around a few more years.

 

Make a personal connection between the applicant and your camp

If your staffing team is good at this (and has time) then great. If not, remember you have an army of recruiters ready to sing the praises of your camp – current and former staff!  Use them. Find out how to turn your returning staff into recruiters.

Make sure the new hire is connected with your social media feeds.  Encourage your veteran staff to reach out to new staff online.

Stay organized and focus on top candidates or hard to fill positions first

This can be the most difficult part of the current hiring environment. We are all aware that staff hiring season is a slowly increasing trickle from September to January, then floods from Feb to April before slowly trickling off again until after summer. Because of the coming deluge of staff applicants over the next couple of months, camp directors tend to “grab” as many applicants as they can. The problem is that working 50 or so files at time means you probably aren’t working any the way you’d like. And in today’s job market, you’ll probably lose more then you end up hiring.

We suggest that you prioritize your needs and start with those. CampStaff searches can zero in on staff. Stay on top of them. The biggest complaint from camp directors this hiring season is “there are tons of applicants but they don’t respond to my email.” EMAIL, not plural. Ironically, some of these same camp directors will also tell us, “my email inbox is so filled than unless you write me a couple of times, I might not respond.” Hmmm…

Adam Grant, former keynote speaker at Tri-State Camp Conference wrote a great piece in the NY Times about responding to email.

We recently published a blog post written by our friend’s at Jotform chock full of their best recommendations for getting your camp organized.

When using CampStaff.com or CampStaffNurses.com, use the organizational tabs to help you

As a camp using a campstaff.com or campstaffnurses.com account, you have access to two tidy columns on top of your screen. The first, ‘recent applications’ shows you a list of all the job seekers who sent you an email directly through the CampStaff portal. The second, “seekers contacted” shows you a list of all the seekers you sent an email to through the CampStaff portal. These lists highlight the staff you want to follow up with, as you had originally marked them as someone worth considering for your camp.

Camp conference season is coming!

You probably already know that summer camp is a year-round process for your camp directors and full-time support staff. It takes ten full months to make those magical two months happen every summer. But what you may not know is that you can also get involved in the “off-season” starting with on-going training and networking at camp conferences across the country.

The American Camp Association (ACA), the gold standard of the summer camping industry, has a couple of really great offers for first time ACA members and full-time students – these memberships equal huge savings, offer amazing content to prepare you for camp and great opportunities at ACA Camp Conferences.

Free One-Year Membership ACA refers to this as a trial membership and is open to anyone who has never been an ACA member. 

Student membership (full-time students) with ACA is $35. If you’ve used up your free trail year, full-time students (with ID) can join for this highly reduced rate.

We are firm believers in ACA Camp Conferences! In our early years as camp professionals, the sessions, camp industry contacts and vendor relationships were key in our personal development. We had the opportunity to present/speak several times at 3 of the conferences below and chair a programming committee for one. After almost 25 years of conferences, we still learn valuable information each time and make invaluable contacts with others in the camping world.

If you are considering a career or at least a mid to long-term commitment to a camp job, conferences can be a great place to network and sample the different types of camp job opportunities. Don’t forget to include vendors in your networking. Vendors supplying camps also hire “camp people”!

Here’s a Complete list of upcoming ACA Conferences.

ACA 2019 National Conferences

February 19, 2019 to February 22, 2019

Nashville, TN

The National Conference rotates around the country each year to a new location city. Over 900 camps and well over 1,600 camp professionals will attend along with hundreds of vendors. This is the most regionally diverse of the ACA conferences. As the name suggests, camps from around the country attend.

ACA Student Members can attend this conference FREE

ACA, New York New Jersey Tri-State CAMP Conference 2019

March 12, 2019 to March 14, 2019

Atlantic City, NJ

The Tri-State conference is the largest gathering of camp professionals in the world. Over 3,000 camp staff will attend over 160 educational sessions and 300 vendors will be on hand. Like ACA National, this conference draws from across the country however, the northeast and mid-Atlantic states attend in the greatest numbers.

CAMP DIRECTORS – 1st time attending camps rate offered.

ACA, New England Camp Conference 2019

March 28, 2019 to March 30, 2019

Manchester, NH

The New England Camp Conference is one of our favorite conferences.  With a little over 900 attendees, there are plenty of opportunities for networking while still feeling like an intimate gathering of camp folks.

ACA Student members can attend for a deeply discounted rate of $50. This rate is not published on the website because a student ID is required but contact Kerry Salvo at ACA 781-541-6080 or kerry@acanewengland.org, and she’ll get you started

CAMP DIRECTORS – Early Bird deadline is Feb 15!

ACA Illinois, 2019 Mid States Camp Conference

April 1, 2019 to April 3, 2019

St Charles, IL

Mid States conference will have camps from 22 US state sand Canadian provinces and over 250 camps represented. Included with registration is a free Day Camp pre-conference. A great opportunity for any staff considering a day camp career track.

This is one of the most affordable conferences.  A group of 5 can attend for less than $100 each.

ACA, Spring Leadership Conference 2019

April 9, 2019 to April 12, 2019

Palm Springs, CA

ACA Southern California/Hawaii Leadership Conference is a bit smaller than the other conferences but don’t let that fool you. You’ll find many of the same top presenters and speakers from the larger conferences out here in Palm Springs this year. This conference was once known as strictly regional with Cali and Hawaii (yeah, we know both places seem like horrible places for camp staff – lol) dominating. In recent years however, attending camps have come from as far as New England, as well as throughout the West.

This conference offers special discounted rates for students and retirees.

CAMP DIRECTORS – Early Bird deadline is March 11.

Turn Your Returning Staff into Your Top Recruiters

Photo Credit Camp Ocean Pines

When I first started hiring staff for camp back in the 90’s, the process was in some ways much simpler. The internet was relatively new. Our camp didn’t even have a website by first year and even CampStaff was still a few years away.

Recruiting staff meant running a 3 sentence classified ad in a school newspaper or in the old American Camping Association publications. I’d wait for the 800 number to ring or get a postcard in the mail asking for more information. We would mail a VHS tape specially made for staff recruiting along with an application and camp brochure. Then we would wait. By the time a completed application was back in our office, both sides were well invested in the hiring process. Rarely did someone receiving a job offer not accept or even more rare, break their commitment by not showing up. Ghosting meant something totally different in the 90’s!

Even so, when opening day of camp got near, any unfilled positions could quickly be staffed from the bullpen of waiting international counselors at CampAmerica or Bunac or the other international staffing agencies. No problem, camp would open fully staffed.

Fast forward to now and camp staffing has changed drastically. It is much easier for potential staff to apply to multiple camps and even to other industries, making the competition for top staff the stiffest its ever been. Throw in the past changes to J-1 rules that eliminated stand-by international staff (much less any future changes to the program) and the importance of getting new staff to commit early and follow through with those commitments is more vital to summer camp opening than ever. 

Break through the noise

The two of biggest challenges we hear from camp staffing directors today are that potential staff are harder to maintain contact with and seem less likely to honor their commitments once hired.

We recently posted about ideas camps could copy from big colleges on NCAA signing day to help firm up commitments.  Another thing we noticed, camps can easily imitate how head coaches utilized their staff to 

1. Maintain contact with recruits throughout the process and 
2. Use the relationships developed with those staff to improve the chances the recruit remained committed.

Camp staff recruits, just like athletic recruits, are bombarded by not only you and the camps you are competing with, but also everyday electronic life.  The background noise of college life is pretty loud. When as a staffing director, you are trying to juggle staff inquiries, incoming applications, targeted searches on CampStaff and maintaining personal contacts with new hires, it can be overwhelming and down right impossible.

You are the head coach here, to break through and make sure your message is heard, we suggest assigning your new staff recruits a returning staff point of contact.

Here’s the scenario, you’ve offered a contract or had one accepted on the spot. Now you need to make sure that person follows through with the hiring process and shows up at camp. A personal connection with your retaining staff is a tried and true recruiting method. We always assume that everyone is a potential staff member until they actual show top for staff training and become a staff member!

1. Match each situation individually. Camps have the unique opportunity with a diverse staff to make personal connections. Use that! Pick your recruiter regionally, by common interest, by specialty skills- anything that can make the connection personal. 

2. Provide a contact schedule. First, this holds your recruiters accountable. Second, it takes the pressure off (and avoids too much pressure) from over contact. Back in the days of Manila file folders for applicants, I kept track of every contact date on the front of the folder. This helped remind me to touch base so no one got lost in the hiring flurry that is May.

Give your recruiters a sample schedule:

a. Day 1 – email a quick intro to the potential staff member. Include your social media handles and encourage the recruit to check out and pics you posted from last summer. Schedule a time to connect via phone. Cc camp on first email.

b. After call, follow recruits social feeds.

c. 2 days after 1st phone call, text a short, “hey, its xxx. Just checking in to see if you have any questions from our call”

d. Drop a text, email or comment on a social media post every week.

3. Pay your recruiters

Money is always best. Swag is second. Either way, show that you value your returning staff’s time and effort. If you or your board is having trouble justifying the added cost, compare the cost of a last minute international hire for that position through an agency and the time delay getting that person into camp when someone you hired in February ghosts you opening day.

If you still need further convincing…The bonus for your staff training week is that every new staff member will already have a connection when they roll into camp. We all know that those personal connections are what get staff to return the following season. 

3 Staff Recruiting Lessons from NCAA Signing Day

photo credit Camp Weequahik

If you think recruiting for your summer camp staff team is time consuming and sometimes frustrating, how would you like to have spent time and effort recruiting someone from 8th grade through 12th grade only to have them take a “better” offer at the last minute?

College coaches are facing a lot of the same challenges we see in summer camp. How can we cut through the noise and be seen by recruits? How can we retain our veteran staff? How can we insure that our new staff actually follow through and show up to camp? 

We took a good look at the processes college use to recruit and picked our 3 Best for summer camp staff recruiting.

Assign a designated recruiter

Good recruiting requires a major time commitment. Most of us spend a few months each spring in full pursuit of top staff recruits. Top college sports recruits are often pursued for years. The way colleges handle this daunting task, if to divide and conquer… literally. College sports head coaches assign their assistant coaches and coordinators to run point on individual recruits, giving each recruit a one-on-one connection with a knowledgeable, passionate member of the program.  247 sports even tracks the ranking of the top recruiters.

Ok, so camps aren’t working with multi-million dollar recruiting budgets (if you are, give CampStaff consulting a call, we might have an idea or two on how to spend it – lol) or identifying prospects in the 8th grade for jobs 4 years away, but you do have passionate, knowledgeable returning staff that can be involved in recruiting. Read how to turn your returning staff into your top recruiters.

Celebrate your returning staff with a press release

College coaches never forget that their veteran players have other options. Gone are the days of a recruit committing to a program for 4 full years. Particularly top rated players have the option to transfer to another program at anytime or for the very best, leave early for the pros. When a top rated player opts to stay another year, the press most often sees this a positive reflection on the quality of the program. Schools promote this heavily to future recruits by issuing press releases that basically say “this such a great place to be, that Player X decided to choose us over simple $”. Your staff may not be leaving you for a multimillion dollar contract but they do have the option for a pay raise at another camp or even just a better fit for their own goals. 

So when staff do opt to return to camp over the (really) countless other opportunities they have, make a BIG DEAL out it. It’s really easier than you may think.

One of the best we’ve seen is Camp Weequahic’s Staff Instagram feed. We’ve blogged about starting a staff specific instagram feed, and this is the perfect place to post a staff press release. A couple of things we really like about Weequahic’s format are: 

• Hometown – We think they get 2 powerful boosts.
  • 1. Camp is about making personal connections, potential staff from in this case, NE Texas have a pre-camp connection.
  • 2.  Here’s a Texan returning all the way to Pennsylvania for a job – pretty solid endorsement for camp!
• Why Weequahic – “I spoke with a returning counselor.” Says Weequahic is a welcoming place, concerned about the individual. Very powerful stuff, in a subtle delivery.

Another format we really liked is Camp North Star Maine’s (@cnsmaine) “Welcome Back Wednesday”.  

• One, we like the regularity of a weekly announcement. It keeps the camps returning staff in front of their Instagram followers and gives all staff something to look forward to.
• Two, we like the graphic with the ability to simply plug in pics of the week’s returning staff. It’s clear and easy to spot when we scroll through our daily feed and when we go to Camp North Star’s page. A simple write up on the 2 staff members in the post caption is all that’s needed, along with tagging the pic.

Hold a press conference for new staff hires

You’ve seen it on TV and online, a new signee wearing the logo’d gear of their new school answering a few questions from local media. Colleges make a big, public deal out of new commitments. One reason is to showcase who they’ve signed to other potential signees. Another reason is that its a little harder to back out once the whole extended school community starts embracing a recruit. We think camps should definitely use this concept. Do a little bragging PR about how great your new staff is and get your camp community onboard welcomes the new staff.  It may be a lot easier than you think. Here’s how we’d do it…

1. Mail your new hires a hat, t-shirt or sweatshirt song with their new hire packet.
2. Include an interview script. Include name, hometown, university. Have them answer your best icebreaker question. We LOVE asking, “What’s your super power?” (ie, I can identify a car model by its headlights at night or I can name every Super Bowl champion.) 
3. Ask your new staff member to video themselves wearing your camp gear, answering the questions and send you the file. Better yet, have them post on their own social and tag you.
4. Post on your social media feed and ask all your staff to like and share.

Not only do you have a chance to really welcome new staff into your camp community, your camp community has a chance to get to know each other before camp even opens.

Camps looking for summer staff? Camps can join CampStaff.com and search through thousands of staff applications. We’ve been connecting summer camps and summer camp staff since 1996.  Let CampStaff help you find the perfect summer camp staff.  Looking for nurses? Visit us at CampStaffNurses.com.

Staff looking for a summer camp job? Campstaff.com is a free, single application website connecting staff with thousands of summer camp jobs at hundreds of summer camps across the United States and Canada. 

RN’s, LPN’s, student nurses, and other medical professionals, CampStaffNurses.com has summer camp nursing jobs across the United States at some of the most beautiful summer camp locations.  Spend your summer working with great co-workers. Many camps offer the option to bring your family to camp. Apply today for free with a single application at CampStaffNurses.com.

2 Useful Facts if You are Considering Being a Camp Nurse

Thinking about being a camp nurse this summer, but not sure if it will work for you? Here’s two facts about working as a nurse at camp that may help you with your decision. You can also read our blog post on the truth about being a camp nurse if you’d like to find out more about camp nursing.

 

Fact #1: You may work as a nurse in a state other than the state where you currently hold your license.

Great news for nurses out there considering working at summer camp this year!
If you thought you were bound by the confines of your state boundary, this will come as great news to you. With just a little bit of effort, you can be enjoying your summer working in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado or the beaches of California (or the state of your choice!) while earning an income.

If you are licensed in a nurse licensure compact (NLC) state, you can practice in other NLC states without having to obtain an additional license. To check if your state is a NLC state, check out the easy to read map at NCSBN.org

If your state, or the state you wish to work in, is not a NLC state, don’t be dismayed – you may still easily apply for a license of reciprocity in which you are able to become licensed in time to work at summer camp. 

So, how do you go about finding a camp job now that you know all this good information about licensing?

1. Register at CampStaffNurses.com (it’s free!) to gain access to hundreds of summer camp nurse jobs available for this summer. 
2. Once you find the camp of your dreams, talk to the camp about how best to go about your licensing. If there is payment due, many camps will pick up the cost of this as part of your compensation 

Start now. It may take a few months to get your employment taken care of in addition to any licensing paperwork. 

Fact #2: Many summer camps will hire nurses for part of the summer if you are not able to commit your entire summer to camp.

Ideally, you work at a camp and can make the start date somewhere in early-June and stay all through the summer until the end date, sometime in mid-August. However, if you cannot commit to the full summer because your job at home mandates that you are home, still consider working at camp this summer. Many camps are flexible about the dates for nurses to work and will consider 2-4 week stints for their health care staff. Again, find the camps you are interested in and contact them with your questions in mind. Camps may be willing to work with your schedule!

Questions? Email us at staff@campstaff.com

photo credit Camp Towanda

 

Like to Win Free Camp Stuff?

How would you like a chance to win this sweet camp mug filled with fun camp stuff? To get everyone in the spirit of summer camp – and to kick off the un-official start of the camp staffing season – CampStaff and CampStaffNurses are giving away a gift packs from our holiday gift ideas lists to our social media followers. All you need to do is complete the 2 Steps below:

STEP ONE:

“Like” @CampStaff or @CampStaffNurses pages on Facebook.

OR

“Follow” @SummerCampStaff or @CampStaffNurses on Instagram

OR

“Follow” @CampStaff or @CampStaffNurses on Twitter.

STEP TWO:

Comment on or share a post from one of the feeds each week. Every week that you comment or share a post, you are in the contest!

What are you waiting for?  This week’s prizes are below and will be awarded Monday!

Every Monday beginning January 21, 2019 we’ll announce a winner!  Everyone can participate with all of your social accounts – use your camps official feed and your personal to be double entered!  We’ll be giving away fun camp related merchandise all staffing season long!

 

Camps looking for summer staff? Camps can join CampStaff.com and search through thousands of staff applications. We’ve been connecting summer camps and summer camp staff since 1996.  Let CampStaff help you find the perfect summer camp staff.  Looking for nurses? Visit us at CampStaffNurses.com.

Staff looking for a summer camp job? Campstaff.com is a free, single application website connecting staff with thousands of summer camp jobs at hundreds of summer camps across the United States and Canada. 

RN’s, LPN’s, student nurses, and other medical professionals, CampStaffNurses.com has summer camp nursing jobs across the United States at some of the most beautiful summer camp locations.  Spend your summer working with great co-workers. Many camps offer the option to bring your family to camp. Apply today for free with a single application at CampStaffNurses.com

Up Your Social Media Game to Up Your Staff Return Rate

What’s the main reason your staff return to camp each summer? We know it’s not the reasons “real world” HR believe in… 4-day work weeks, high pay, flex schedules, telecommuting, in house barista, etc, etc. In the summer camping world, we know that the #1 reason staff return to camp is for the relationships created the previous summers. 

With contracts out to staff invited back for another summer, now is the perfect time to remind them about these great relationships. A solid social media strategy that pulls on emotional heart strings, might just be the trick to pulling a few more great staff back to camp.

We’ve blogged a few times about creating a staff specific instagram feed.  If you haven’t done so, start with that.  Reason: 61% of Instagrams almost 1 billion monthly active users are 18-34 year olds – isn’t that your camp’s staffing sweet spot?

Staying in front of your staff with relevant content might be the thing that tips an on the fence staff member your way or even better helps them to recruit a friend to come along with them to work at camp. Here’s a link to our blog post on getting started with Instagram; Instant Staff Recruiting Upgrade with Instagram.

Use your new (or current) staff feed as a reason to touch base with staff 

Email your staff a link to your new staff Instagram feed and ask them to follow you and share their favorite camp photos from the summer.  This will only take a few minutes assuming you have good staff contact software. Read our blog post How to select the RIGHT summer camp management software  for guidance on your camp software. You can send this to staff from previous years also, but we HIGHLY recommend only reaching out to staff asked back.

Sharing photos in Instagram is simple. Just open the picture in your own feed, click the paper airplane icon and select who to send the pic to. Best part of this is you get to curate which shots make the feed and avoid any inappropriate shots, like those boozy days at the beach shots, if you want. 

Spice it up and hold a staff photo contest. Offer some cool camp swag for prizes, awarded based on who collects the most “likes” and comments. 

Be sure to include a link to the staff social media feeds within the staffing section of your website. You definitely want potential staff to find this feed. If one of your staff or camper families say, “check out our camp, its a great place to work” you can bet that your website is the first place they will go. They will then click your social media icons (don’t believe us, ask you web master for the click analytics). If you only have the highly curated camper pictures, that’s all they will see about your camp. While smiling, happy, safe kids can be a huge selling point to camper families, it may not be enough for a 20 year old college student looking for an experience in the mountains. Show staff what your staff is really like. 

Have your summer social media staff keep this feed active during camp. Parents of staff members love to see what’s going on with their kids. We all know that parents are very involved in this generation of college students life and have input on how they spend their summers. Reference our blog post 5 Reasons you should get a summer camp job (and get your parents support!) to get an idea of what parents are seeking in a summer job for their kids. You have a great opportunity to “sell” to the current staff families and build content for the next group.

The bottomline is that everyone in camping needs to be promoting summer camp as a great place to work. We spend a lot of effort as an industry promoting the benefits of camping experience for kids via social media. With just a little more effort we can all make a huge impact on promoting the wonderful benefits and opportunities that camp staff jobs offer also.

Photo Credit Tripp Lake Camp, Maine

How We Make Summer Camp Work for Our Family and You Can, Too

Winter break is here – hooray! Schools are out and even college students will be home for a few weeks. We are sure you’ll be busy with parties and presents but its not too soon to be thinking about summer!

Sure, this fall you researched camps for your younger kids and probably even dropped a few hints that the older (college) ones could really get a lot out of a summer job at camp. But have you considered a real FAMILY summer at camp? 

Well, our family does a version of this.  We’ll share with you…

CampStaff is our year round job but summer camp itself is what we live for. Each summer, Lynn and our three daughters head up to the White Mountains for a full summer at camp. Lynn is a Junior Camp Area Director responsible for around 70 kids at a time and 30 or so staff. From home, Bunkie keeps CampStaff operating and runs our camp consulting business.  He spends about 10 days at camp each summer, trading-off whatever odd jobs a former camp director is capable of handling for unlimited chicken patty sandwiches and all you can drink camp coffee.

In all seriousness, camp is a huge part of our child rearing plan. We live in a rural community and enjoy the many benefits of that lifestyle. The camp we choose for our kids, exposes them to campers from the major cities and suburbs of the northeast and with staff from around the globe. Our kids have had playdates on Park Avenue, have taken camp friends to harvest sugar cane and had high tea with counselors in London, among hundreds of other experiences. Camp has really opened up amazing opportunities for our family.

We made our camp choice with purpose

The individual and family success we’ve had at camp did not happen by chance. We carefully selected the right camp for our family before committing to work there. We knew we wanted a beautiful New England location, with a strong outdoor program and “nice” kids – luckily the camp we started at before becoming camp professionals, fit the bill and was in need of senior staff. When choosing a camp for your family, be sure the summer camp meets all your criteria up front. There are hundreds of options out there, there is no reason to try to shoe horn yourself into a not perfect fit. CampStaff or other summer camp job sites can help you match your needs with those of summer camps.

Meet the camp directors and camp alumni

We mentioned the camp we choose was one we had a history with so we knew the directors well and still had relationships with former campers and staff. For you choosing a camp from scratch, start with the camps website. Does it convey the values you are looking for? Next check out the camp’s social media feeds. (You can find the links on the camp’s website.) See what the camp chooses to share and what type of comments campers, parents and alumni leave. If you want to really stalk the camp (our kids’ term!), check out who follows the camp and what they post. You can get a strong sense of a camp’s values by seeing their community. Reach out to the directors personally.  Assuming the camp has listed a job opening in your skill set (like on CampStaff.com), set up a personal call with the directors. The directors may actually appreciate this since a huge part of their job is making sure campers are good fit with their camp.  Taking the initiative shows you understand a great camp is more than random luck. Ask all the questions you would ask if you were paying to send you kids to camp and would not be there all summer.

Balancing family life

The biggest challenge for a staff member with kids at camp is allowing the separation that makes camp work so greta for kids. A great camp will walk you through this process and have guidelines in place to help you deal with the separation (aka camp sickness). A few tips we’ve picked up; even if your whole family is at camp, everyone still likes getting mail and mail call. Write letters, even if you see each other a few minutes every day. Schedule phone calls with someone. Campers love phone call times and depending on the camp’s policies, it may even be a scheduled activity. Make sure your kid has someone to call – grandparents love to fill this role! Visiting day can be challenging because as staff, you will have responsibilities. Again, a grandparent visit might fit the bill. Or ask the camp (again the best camps will have a plan already) to block out a little time for you and your kids.

Make camp last all year

The best part of our family participating in camp together is shared experiences and shared friendships. We love sharing social media posts from camp people who we all know. When we travel, camp always has a connection either from someone in that area or a camp story. Camp really can be a huge part of your life if you want it to be!

Looking for Summer Camp Staff? Camps can join CampStaff.com and search through thousands of staff applications. We’ve been connecting summer camps and summer camp staff since 1996.  Let CampStaff help you find the perfect summer camp staff.  Looking for nurses? Visit us at CampStaffNurses.com.

Looking for a summer camp job? Campstaff.com is a free, single application website connecting staff with thousands of summer camp jobs at hundreds of summer camps across the United States and Canada. 

RN’s, LPN’s, student nurses, and other medical professionals, CampStaffNurses.com has summer camp nursing jobs across the United States at some of the most beautiful summer camp locations.  Spend your summer working with great co-workers. Many camps offer the option to bring your family to camp. Apply today for free with a single application at CampStaffNurses.com

3 Super Perks for Summer Camp Nurses

Nurses are in high demand EVERYWHERE so why not try a few weeks

SOMEWHERE new?  Summer camps throughout the US and Canada are hiring summer nurses.  Here are 3 reasons you should give camp nursing a try!

1. Travel – When we said everywhere, we mean everywhere. Camps from the New England coastline to the California beaches are hiring nurses. Contracts can vary from one week to 12 weeks depending on the camps schedule. If you’ve ever though of spending a summer hiking and boating in the mountains, here’s your chance. If you wondered what a major city is really like, camps are located within easy drink distance of every major US city.  With free room and board and very good salaries, camps are the perfect bases for exploring a region you may be considering relocating to.  The bonus perk is that because summer camps attract staff from around the world, you will certainly make friends worth visiting around the globe!

 

2. Bring your family with you – You can read more about picking a camp and bringing your family with you in our other blog posts.  For nurses, this is an almost given – work at summer camp and you kids attend FREE. You kids will be placed in a cabin group at sleep away camp or day camp just like the full paying campers. Your kids will have all the benefits of summer camp life. You get the special privilege of being able to see them run happily by with their new friends, while you spend a summer in the best nursing job you’ve ever had.

3. Free in-state licensing. Your new camp will pay for and will help you with the process of getting the appropriate licensing. So don’t limit your nursing search to states you are current in, pick a new one. They do this every year and will know the best way to make it happen. You can focus on packing up for the summer of you life!

CampStaffNurses has current nursing needs for some the best summer camps. Register for free and let camps come to you. Follow our social media feeds @campstaffnurses for daily updates.

Photo Credit Camp Bryn Mawr

Looking for Summer Camp Staff? Camps can join CampStaff.com and search through thousands of staff applications. We’ve been connecting summer camps and summer camp staff since 1996.  Let CampStaff help you find the perfect summer camp staff.  Looking for nurses? Visit us at CampStaffNurses.com.

Looking for a summer camp job? Campstaff.com is a free, single application website connecting staff with thousands of summer camp jobs at hundreds of summer camps across the United States and Canada. 

RN’s, LPN’s, student nurses, and other medical professionals, CampStaffNurses.com has summer camp nursing jobs across the United States at some of the most beautiful summer camp locations.  Spend your summer working with great co-workers. Many camps offer the option to bring your family to camp. Apply today for free with a single application at CampStaffNurses.com

How to send your kids to summer camp for FREE and get paid to do so

Did you know that summer camps offer free or steeply reduced tuition for the children of staff? So, yes there is a bit of a catch to the FREE part but for those of you with the time and the right skills this is an amazing opportunity.

How does it work?

Summer camps need experienced professionals for support roles, such as chefs and nurses, and for leadership positions and heads of programs, typically filled by teachers and coaches. In many cases, this means hiring staff who are already raising families of their own. If a camp hires you to fill a valuable role, in most cases your kids will be able to attend while you are working for free or reduced tuition. With some camps charging over $10,000 for the summer, the added value can be significant. 

STEPS TO TAKE

1.Register with CampStaff.com to see which camps are seeking staff with your skill set. You can plug through the individual websites looking for jobs but you’ll see below, you may want to save that for later in the process.

2. Narrow your list down by whatever criteria you choose – remember your a picking a job for you AND a camp for the kids – those aren’t always automatic fits.

3. Visit the websites of the camps you’ve narrowed down to and with your kids make sure it looks like a place you’d like. This is VERY important. The camp needs to be a place that you child(children) will be successful or else, your summer will not be. Later in the process, the camp directors will want to discuss your kids in depth to determine bunk placement, etc., it’s best if a bad match is caught earlier rather than at this late point. 

4. Contact the camps either with your CampStaff profile or directly – making sure you are upfront about having camp aged children (or needing a nanny for younger ones). In most cases, it will not be problem however, it does occasionally happen that a bunk age group is completely filled and there would be no opening for staff kids. Again, get this taken care of up front so your kids aren’t disappointed later.

5. Interview with the camps that meet your criteria!

6. If hired, be sure to clarify what is included for your kids and what are extras. (Add on trips and spending money accounts are typically not included with free staff tuition.)

Looking for Summer Camp Staff? Camps can join CampStaff.com and search through thousands of staff applications. We’ve been connecting summer camps and summer camp staff since 1996.  Let CampStaff help you find the perfect summer camp staff.  Looking for nurses? Visit us at CampStaffNurses.com.

Looking for a summer camp job? Campstaff.com is a free, single application website connecting staff with thousands of summer camp jobs at hundreds of summer camps across the United States and Canada. 

RN’s, LPN’s, student nurses, and other medical professionals, CampStaffNurses.com has summer camp nursing jobs across the United States at some of the most beautiful summer camp locations.  Spend your summer working with great co-workers. Many camps offer the option to bring your family to camp. Apply today for free with a single application at CampStaffNurses.com