Camp America 2016

Hi, trying to complete my application form as I would love to do Camp America this summer, but struggling to find referees, can someone you babysit for be a referee? I'm also struggling on the experience in 3 areas section as I have taken part in many sports and school teams, is this enough for general experience? The sport I have played the most is netball could I put this as an "other" skill? Thanks so much

Hey! Your referee will need to be someone you have formal experience with; could you use a different employer or perhaps a tutor from your school? You can always ring up 0207 581 7373 and we can pass you along to the reference department! Yes you can put Netball as your 'Exceptional Other' skill - sports is great experience to have! - Sophie

Reply 21

bg9876

3

Original post by Camp America

Hey! Your referee will need to be someone you have formal experience with; could you use a different employer or perhaps a tutor from your school? You can always ring up 0207 581 7373 and we can pass you along to the reference department! Yes you can put Netball as your 'Exceptional Other' skill - sports is great experience to have! - Sophie

Brilliant, thanks so much for your help

Reply 22

shanjo4

1

Hi, Im going through my application with camp America and have been waiting for a reply from an interviewer to set up a date for over a week now 😕 In the meantime I was thinking of going to the Manchester Recruitment Fair and I was wondering if you could possibly give me some advice.Before I go to the fair do I already have had to had an interview by yourself and passed it. (In that case, The fair is on the 21st of Jan.. I don't think that gives me enough time to set one up... Especially as my interviewer isn't replying). Do I have to have paid my £69 Application Fee by this point and have registered with Online Disclosers. Also what sort of stuff goes on at the fair, what do I need to bring etc.. I really don't know what goes on there 😕Sorry if I'm waffling I'm just trying to gage my best options for being placed, (and most specifically in an arts role which I know are competitive and I'm worried I'm running out of time).

Original post by bg9876

Brilliant, thanks so much for your help

No problem at all!

Original post by shanjo4

Hi, Im going through my application with camp America and have been waiting for a reply from an interviewer to set up a date for over a week now 😕 In the meantime I was thinking of going to the Manchester Recruitment Fair and I was wondering if you could possibly give me some advice.Before I go to the fair do I already have had to had an interview by yourself and passed it. (In that case, The fair is on the 21st of Jan.. I don't think that gives me enough time to set one up... Especially as my interviewer isn't replying). Do I have to have paid my £69 Application Fee by this point and have registered with Online Disclosers. Also what sort of stuff goes on at the fair, what do I need to bring etc.. I really don't know what goes on there 😕Sorry if I'm waffling I'm just trying to gage my best options for being placed, (and most specifically in an arts role which I know are competitive and I'm worried I'm running out of time).

Hey! I believe I have just sent you an email regarding this query! Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be more than happy to help you out! - Sophie

Reply 25

Nahkiwells

I really want to go to camp america and do football coaching but I've not got any qualifications, I've consistently played at a high level and play for my university now, would that be sufficient on an application in your opinion? Thanks :smile:

Reply 26

fasteddy

10

I would just exaggerate your experience and also don't just limit yourself to football, most camps hire general sports staff so just focus your application on your love of sports. If you haven't applied yet check out this sports instructor summer camp jobs with Camp Leaders - highly recommended!

Good luck!

Original post by Nahkiwells

I really want to go to camp america and do football coaching but I've not got any qualifications, I've consistently played at a high level and play for my university now, would that be sufficient on an application in your opinion? Thanks :smile:

It's ok - you don't need qualifications to apply for our programme! Playing for your University is awesome! Just include all that in detail on your application along with any other skills you want to add! - Sophie

Reply 28

MJK21

I was planning on applying to work in a US summer camp along with my girlfriend (we're both UK based), but there are a couple things I'd like some advice on if possible!

Firstly, is it at all likely that I could get placed in the same camp as my girlfriend, or is this sort of thing frowned upon? Since we plan to travel together afterwards it would be ideal for us to be together, as well as the fact that we think it would be a really fun experience for us both if we were placed in the same camp. The second thing i'm interested to know more about is the age requirements and preferences. My girlfriend is 20, so well within the normal age I see people applying to these positions, but I'm 25 and was worried that this would be a disadvantage to me applying since the vast majority of first time applicants that I've come across are obviously much younger.

Thanks for reading :smile:

Reply 29

Photographer406

1

Hi,

I'm in the middle of organising my interview with Camp America. I'm really excited as I've been thinking about this for ages but I just want to check that I'm not too late since I know applications don't close until March/April but in terms of how many more places there are? Also, am I able to put Snowboarding as my Exceptional Skills Other? I know it's obviously not an option at summer camp but it's the sport I'm best at so didn't know if it's worth putting on there.

Thanks :smile:

Reply 30

The Milk Thief

13

Ah, starting to worry a little! I've been contacted by several camps regarding a specific equine counselor role, and every time I ask to see if they could perhaps hire me as a more general counselor, they tell me they're not interested and halt all contact! I'm worried that I won't get placed at all if I don't accept something like this, but it's really not what I want to be spending my summer doing.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Reply 31

GoldenOne

1

Am I at a disadvantage if I go to a smaller recruitment fair? I live in Glasgow, so I expect I'll end up only going to the Edinburgh one, but scanning the list of camps at all the events makes it clear that this will be the lesser attended event of the three. Could you provide me with approximate numbers of camps attending each event? I don't want to cut myself short by going to Edinburgh if the London recruitment fair is double the size.

Also, I'm having the same issue as the Milk Thief! I'm a horse rider, and all the contact I've had has been regarding equine counselor positions. The minute you ask if you can be a general counselor, they cut contact! It's all terribly rude! I'm starting to wonder if my skills are hindering me more than helping me in terms of being placed, any advice?

Reply 32

Photographer406

1

Original post by The Milk Thief

Ah, starting to worry a little! I've been contacted by several camps regarding a specific equine counselor role, and every time I ask to see if they could perhaps hire me as a more general counselor, they tell me they're not interested and halt all contact! I'm worried that I won't get placed at all if I don't accept something like this, but it's really not what I want to be spending my summer doing.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have no experience of this but from reading about your situation, if you don't want to teach with horses for the whole summer then it's not worth accepting the placement. You're spending a lot of money to do something you really want to do and if you can't see yourself doing it then stick with your guns and go with what you really want to spend your summer doing :smile:

Reply 33

Mojojojo

19

I know Camp America is the most famous organisation, but people should take a look at others too.
I had a friend who went with CA, was told to get their visa etc, didn't get placed and had a tough time being refunded the extra costs. The next year she had a much smoother experience and got placed with Americamp.

I personally went with Americamp and got placed at a really good camp which unfortunately was transitioning a lot and didn't support staff that well. But I still look back on the experience fondly and would do it again in a few years at a different camp (maybe by contacting camps I like directly, instead of through an agency, unless it were to simply sponsor my visa).

Original post by MJK21

I was planning on applying to work in a US summer camp along with my girlfriend (we're both UK based), but there are a couple things I'd like some advice on if possible!

Firstly, is it at all likely that I could get placed in the same camp as my girlfriend, or is this sort of thing frowned upon? Since we plan to travel together afterwards it would be ideal for us to be together, as well as the fact that we think it would be a really fun experience for us both if we were placed in the same camp. The second thing i'm interested to know more about is the age requirements and preferences. My girlfriend is 20, so well within the normal age I see people applying to these positions, but I'm 25 and was worried that this would be a disadvantage to me applying since the vast majority of first time applicants that I've come across are obviously much younger.

Thanks for reading :smile:

Hello! It isn't too likely you'll be placed with your girlfriend as Camp America doesn't accept joint applications, so your option would be to head to one of our Recruitment Fairs and go over to the same camp to try and get hired, but obviously we cannot guarantee you will both get placed by them! The only age requirement is that you are 18 by 1st June 2016! Don't worry at all about your age, we have lots of applicants who go at 25! - Sophie

Original post by GoldenOne

Am I at a disadvantage if I go to a smaller recruitment fair? I live in Glasgow, so I expect I'll end up only going to the Edinburgh one, but scanning the list of camps at all the events makes it clear that this will be the lesser attended event of the three. Could you provide me with approximate numbers of camps attending each event? I don't want to cut myself short by going to Edinburgh if the London recruitment fair is double the size.

Also, I'm having the same issue as the Milk Thief! I'm a horse rider, and all the contact I've had has been regarding equine counselor positions. The minute you ask if you can be a general counselor, they cut contact! It's all terribly rude! I'm starting to wonder if my skills are hindering me more than helping me in terms of being placed, any advice?

Hey! You aren't at a disadvantage at all if you head to a smaller fair! We haven't released all the camps attending the event yet, but in the next week or so these will all be up on the website for you to view! One camp can hire for a large number of positions so the number of camps there doesn't matter - we promise there's tonnes of camps at the Edinburgh fair!

Horse riders are very in demand for our summer camps as it is a high demand skill, so this is why you'll be approached by them often! Is there a particular reason you wouldn't like to teach horse-riding at camp? If your application has a lot on horse riding, you will be contacted for that skill on top of contacted for other skills on your application - it just so happens you've been contacted for this first (well done, too!) My best advice is to head to a fair and head to any camps looking for general counselor positions, or a horse-riding instructor that suits your preferences. Being an activity counselor is an awesome job on camp, and you still have the opportunity to get involved in other activities throughout your time at camp/take part in general counselor duties too. I would suggest skyping any camps that contact you, and ask them to talk you through a day in the life at their camp so you can get a better sense of it all - Sophie

Original post by The Milk Thief

Ah, starting to worry a little! I've been contacted by several camps regarding a specific equine counselor role, and every time I ask to see if they could perhaps hire me as a more general counselor, they tell me they're not interested and halt all contact! I'm worried that I won't get placed at all if I don't accept something like this, but it's really not what I want to be spending my summer doing.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Hey! The reason is most likely because they'd like to hire you as a horse riding instructor, so they may not have any general counselor positions available/or perhaps not hiring for these yet! Don't worry, it's still early on in the hiring season and I'd advise heading to a fair so you can go over to camps looking for general counselor positions! If you have a lot on your application for horse-riding it is likely you will be contacted as it is a very high demand skill, so you could always skype the camp and ask them more about the role/find out if that position takes on general counselor duties throughout the summer too! Hopefully you will be contacted for other positions on your application too, but well done for being approached by several camps already! - Sophie

Original post by Photographer406

Hi,

I'm in the middle of organising my interview with Camp America. I'm really excited as I've been thinking about this for ages but I just want to check that I'm not too late since I know applications don't close until March/April but in terms of how many more places there are? Also, am I able to put Snowboarding as my Exceptional Skills Other? I know it's obviously not an option at summer camp but it's the sport I'm best at so didn't know if it's worth putting on there.

Thanks :smile:

Hello! It's definitely not too late to apply and we'll be hiring people all the way up until June so you have tonnes of time! Yeah definitely - go ahead and put it on there as it will be great for them to learn about another great skill you have! - Sophie

Reply 38

Photographer406

1

Original post by Camp America

Hello! It's definitely not too late to apply and we'll be hiring people all the way up until June so you have tonnes of time! Yeah definitely - go ahead and put it on there as it will be great for them to learn about another great skill you have! - Sophie