Ready to jumpstart your future?
Career Development
We know that camp counselors are superheroes
…but how do you share these skills with potential employers?
As you move to the next stage of long-term career development, we’ve compiled some resources to help you better market yourself, connect with mentors in our alumni network or Discord server, find job openings, and continue building on your strong skill sets.
Scroll down to get started with the 4 things you need to jumpstart your future.
1) The Resume
Being a camp counselor gives you opportunities for personal growth that are hard to replicate anywhere else, not to mention the incredible relationships and networking opportunities a camp position provides. However, the hard part is often communicating these benefits to parents, professors, and future employers.
How do you translate your hard work over the summer onto your resume?
Scroll down for more camp-focused resume resources to make sure you express your skills in a way that will be meaningful to future employers.
Camp on Your Resume
2) Your Network
When it comes to hiring, you might hear “it’s all about who you know.” Luckily, The Falling Creek community spans generations and has people located all over the country and the world! Connected by shared values and similar camp memories, our alumni are always looking to hire great camp counselors as additions to their team!
Scroll down for links to our different groups to stay connected, meet mentors in your desired career field, and network with alumni around the world.
Alumni & Staff LinkedIn Group
3) Job Opportunities
Looking for a job after the summer? Want to work for someone who shares your values and understands the skills that camp counselors posess? Our alumni are hiring!
Check back here soon for updates on our new job board, with career opportunities from Falling Creek Alumni.
Are you an alumni or friend looking to hire from the Falling Creek community? Stay tuned for our new Job Posting board, or share your job opening in the Alumni & Staff LinkedIn Group
Alumni, share your job openings here
4) Continued Learning
Looking to enhance your skills even further? Certifications can help grow your skills, give you more credibility, introduce you to other professionals in a field, and set you apart from other applicants.
Scroll down to see resources for certifications and continued learning.
Working at camp is just the first step! Turn your summer job into a paid internship.
Being a staff member at Falling Creek is more than just a summer job - it’s an investment in your future!
Did you know that we can work with you to have your camp experience count towards internship credit for your degree?
Check out this video to learn how an internship at camp can grow your personal and professional development!
Jumpstart Your Career
Hear from John Chidsey, former Falling Creek counselor and current Subway CEO, about why he believes working at camp will set you up for future success.
You can read the full video transcript with John Chidsey here.
Resume Tips & Resources
Looking for ways to include your camp experience on your resume, but aren’t sure how to word it?
When describing your experience as a counselor, the American Camp Association recommends the following: “Using active language, amplify the job title with descriptive terms that detail your duties, as well as the nature of time commitment you dedicated to your summer camp employer and the results you achieve.” Active language means using words like, “manage,” “collaborate,” “facilitate,” and “train,” to enhance the core qualifications you possess.
Check out this blog post for tips and examples.
Here are more resources to help with resume writing:
- Don’t have a resume yet and not sure where to start? Check out this guide from Indeed to starting a resume and writing a simple resume
- Dr. Chris Thurber has a free guide to writing about your camp responsibilities, skills, and accomplishments on your resume.
- The American Camp Association (ACA) posted this PDF with helpful terms to include in you resume, and these ten reasons why working at camp is a real job with real benefits.
- this PDF has examples of camp counselor skills on a resume from Lewis & Clark University
- Gold Arrow Camp made a whole video workshop on how to write about the skills you gained at camp on your resume.
Growing Your Network
To stay connected, meet mentors in your desired career field, and network with alumni around the world, join our Alumni & Staff Networking LinkedIn Group.
While knowing older mentors in a career field is helpful, we don’t discount the value of peer-to-peer networking. For connecting with fellow counselors and younger alumni, for the link to join our staff-only Falling Creek Discord Channel.
Finally, if you like reminiscing about camp, digging up old photos, or hearing stories about camp life in previous decades, request to join our Alumni Association Facebook Group.
Continued Learning
Certifications can help grow your skills, give you more credibility, introduce you to other professionals in a field, and set you apart from other applicants.
At Falling Creek, we certify counselors in Wilderness First Aid, and as Wilderness First Responders. Having a first aid certification is great for many different industries, and can help prepare you for unexpected emergencies in your personal life too.
Other certifications we have offered our staff include Swiftwater Rescue Certifications, Riding Instructor Certifications, Sailing Certifications, and Food Handling Certifications If you’re interested in more information on how to obtain any of these certifications, or other courses like these to enhance your skills, please .
Looking to stay in camping and build your career as a summer camp professional? The American Camp Association has professional development resources and courses.
Networking Opportunities
No matter what your intended career path is, working as a counselor at Falling Creek will give you unrivaled networking benefits, jumpstarting your professional and personal development.