How to Put Summer Camp Jobs on Your CV/Resumé
You’ve had the best summer imaginable - made memories to last a lifetime - and now you’re sitting at home, wondering how on Earth you’re going to describe everything you’ve done for the last few months on your CV/Resumé. You’re not alone.
Trying to summarise an entire summer at camp in only a few short sentences isn’t easy.
There is the misconception that summer camp roles don’t qualify as ‘real jobs’ and so potential employers are likely to see ‘summer camp experience’ as a wasted summer - we cannot disagree more.
The issue comes when people aren’t describing their summer camp experience in a professional manner.
In our experience, every job interview we have ever had has centred around our summers at camp. More often than not, employers will want to talk more about your summer camp role than all of your other roles combined.
Selling summer camp on your CV/Resumé is vitally important, which is why we have created this guide to how to successfully put summer camp jobs on your CV/Resumé.
Lose the ‘Summer Camp’ Tag in your resume
The first thing you need to do is lose the ‘Summer Camp’ tag.
Instead of describing your job as ‘Summer Camp Counselor’, how about changing it to something like ‘General Counselor at a traditional, co-educational, American, sleep-away camp’.
This tip may sound futile but as we said earlier, there is a misconception that summer camp job is not a ‘real job’ despite it showing that you can easily work in any team environment and are certainly not shy about working long hours.
Describe your Role as a counselor on your CV
This is where it begins to get a little trickier. ‘Looked after the kids all day’ doesn’t scream professionalism.
If your role was a general counselor perhaps you could describe your role as being ‘Responsible for ensuring that the safety, welfare and happiness of children was maintained at all times’
If you had a more specific role, as a specialist counselor, then perhaps your role description should start with something along the lines of ‘Co-ordinated the safe and effective running of…’.
Highlight your Training on your resume
Lots of roles at summer camp require specific training before starting out, and it’s vital you don’t miss this off your CV/Resumé.
If you worked as a High Ropes Counselor, don’t forget to mention the fact that you received skills training on how to safely assemble the ropes course, how to belay correctly and how to implement a cutaway rescue off the ground.
If you were a Swim Teacher at camp, mention that you are lifeguard certified. All of these skills enhance your CV/Resumé.
Use Buzzwords on your summer camp CV
Try to avoid using words like ‘helped’ and ‘looked after’. Your prospective employer won’t be looking for those kinds of words.
Instead, try to replace them with key buzzwords. ‘Helped’ could become ‘facilitated’. ‘Looked after’ is replaced by ‘supervised’.
See the difference when you use buzzwords on your CV/Resumé. Which of these examples would you want to hear as a prospective employer?
‘As a general counselor I helped get kids out of bed in the morning and made sure they brushed their teeth before breakfast’.
or
‘My role as a general counselor consisted of assisting children with their daily living activities, ensuring that punctuality and cleanliness was met at all times’.
It’s important that on your CV/Resumé, you translate the ordinary, mundane activities at summer camp into skills that can be easily transferred to a professional setting. There are a lot of professional CV/Resumé templates available online to help you get started.
Great Buzzwords to use on your CV/Resumé:
Planned
Executed
Coordinated
Facilitated
Assisted
Encouraged
Supported
Promoted
Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills
We will start with ‘Hard Skills’ first. These are the physical skills and practices you’ve been taught at camp, in order to fulfil your role successfully. Things like first aid courses and lifeguard certifications fall into this category.
Hard Skills look great to a prospective employer, but it’s important to remember that, with the right training, anybody can have the same set of hard skills as you.
That’s why it is crucial to sell the ‘Soft Skills’ that summer camp has taught you. These are the intangible skills that will set you apart from all the other competitors vying for the same role.
Soft Skills are the ways in which you are able to interact with other people, with children.
Empathy is an example of a soft skill that is inherently used at summer camp. You yourself may be having the time of your life at camp, but when an 8-year old boy starts crying in front of you because he misses his parents, you must use empathy in order to recognise how he feels, and comfort him accordingly.
Soft Skills learned at camp to Include in your CV/Resumé
Empathy
Resilience
Leadership
Patience
Self-awareness
Tolerance
Example of a great summer camp Resume
Underneath is an example of how to describe the General Counselor role on a CV/Resumé.
June - August (2018-2022)
*Summer Camp Name* in *State of Summer Camp*
General Counselor: Traditional co-educational, American, sleep-away camp with two six-week sessions
Responsible for ensuring safety, welfare and happiness of the children was maintained at all times
Successfully co-ordinated camp-outs, camp fires, sporting activities and team-building exercises for children aged 5 -15.
Managed the daily operations of a group of 30+ children
Assisted children with their daily living activities, promoting cleanliness and punctuality
Successfully liaised with a team of 10 other counselors to provide a safe, enjoyable atmosphere for the children
Demonstrated resilience and empathy when tending to the pastoral, personal and social needs of the children
Professional Highlight: the look of delight on one child’s face when I successfully taught him how to solve a Rubik’s cube for the first time.
Remember, keep it professional, but not boring.
Keep up-to-date with our blog for more Summer Camp resources, tips and information.
