You are a superhero. Don’t sell yourself short!
Welcome to episode 7 of First Class Counsellors!
This episode is dedicated to all you humble counsellors out there. To the ones who put their heads down and work without asking for anything in return. You don’t want the credit, a camper’s smile is enough.
It’s dedicated to you, because you suck at selling yourself.
Okay. That was harsh but for a lot of young camp staff, we’re not THAT wrong.
Whether your are looking for an off-season job or looking to move on after your time at camp, it’s critical that you understand how to communicate the true value of your experiences at camp to a potential employer. If the employer or recruiter is like millions of adults who never worked at camp, they might look at “Camp xyz” on your resume and they WON’T GET IT.
They won’t know about the long nights looking after a camper who is missing home, being able to improvise a last-minute rain plan, caring for the physical, mental and emotional needs of multiple kids for weeks at a time and the 10,000 other things you do in the summer that makes this the hardest (and best) jobs in the world.
This episode is for you to be able to (metaphorically) reach across the interview table and give the interviewer a (metaphorical) shake and (metaphorically) say to them, “I CHANGE LIVES, EVERY. DAMN. DAY.”
Our hosts Matt and Oliver are joined by the fantastic Kim Aycock to help give you the tools to use camp to rock your next interview. Kim has worked extremely hard with her team and the American Camp Association on Project Real Job, who’s entire goal is to assist with communicating the career-enhancing benefits of working at camp to prospective employees and their parents as well as employers.
We’re so grateful to have Kim join us. Tune in to hear more about:
Kim’s camp origin story
Her involvement with Project Real Job and some of their significant findings
How you can overcome some of the common stereotypes of a camp counsellor
Advice on how to take your camp experience and translate that to your resume and into the interview room
What counsellors can do to start building their resume for next summer at camp.
As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro
Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills
Oliver: I jokingly told many of my co-workers that it is reading season because it is a bit calmer now at camp and I can spend time reading. So I ordered a bunch of books and have been reading up on all the camp things I can.
Matt: Work on your “why” with a camp friend, then share it with someone who you’ve never talked to about camp before
Kim:
For veteran staff: Reflect on the recent summer and jot down your stories...what was challenging, what you rocked, what you learned, how you grew. Then, think about where you want to go, what you want to work on, and the new things you want to try. Also think about what you are learning now or developing that could help you in the role you aspire to have at camp.For new staff: bring a notebook and pen so that you can capture all the cool stuff you learn and practice while at camp!
Host Links
Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell
Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility
Kim Aycock, Camp Trainer, Speaker, Consultant and more! - KimAycock.com
Bonus Resource - Thanks for reading the show notes!
Kim’s STARE tips for interviews:
Kim: STAR(RE) - structure to share your camp stories
S - (Describe the) Situation or
T - Task
A - What action did you take
R - What was the result
R - Repeatability
E - Emotion that gets attached to the situation
Project Real Job Resources
Project Real Job Resources on ACA website
Project Real Job Resources on Pinterest
How to reach Kim: