workcamping with my job experence

TheHughes731 · December 30, 2015

Hello,

My husband and I want to hit the road within 2016.

We plan to workcamp to make money and for FHU. We don't need to worry about always getting paid with cash due to a settlement I get fairly regularly that should help us cover the gaps.

We are wondering how hard it is to get a job workcamping. I have looked into some of the jobs out there right now and I noticed a lot of them want you to have experience workcamping or running a campground. We do not. However between the two of us we have been in management positions, housekeeping, small maintenance, administration and retail. Is that a good start to a workcamping resume?

missourijan · December 30, 2015

It is not hard at all to get a workamping job. Most campgrounds don't care what you've done in your "old" life, they just want to you to be able to perform the duties they want done. In my opinion, it would be helpful to join Workamper News for at least 1 year. There is so much info and help there, not only job listings but they have sample resumes. Your resume should briefly mention what you used to do but that your customer service skills are top notch, you are a team player and love meeting new people. Since you don't necessarily want to get paid you may want to start with state parks for some experience. Every state park system has a website with either a form for volunteers or someone to contact. We have volunteered a lot and usually choose the location we want to be then look for a job by calling and asking.

Kevin H · December 31, 2015

"between the two of us we have been in management positions, housekeeping, small maintenance, administration and retail."

You are more than qualified for every camp host position I've ever seen. In all of our volunteering and our summer paid positions, we dropped in on the campground or retail establishment and introduced ourselves. After visiting for a bit, we had a job.

Now is a great time to be looking for summer positions. We worked the past four seasons in Yellowstone. The three main concessionaires are Delaware North Corporation (12 General Stores), Xanterra (the rest of the hospitality in the park including campgrounds, resorts and restaurants) and Yellowstone Park Service Stations (the service stations and towing operations).

Google all of these and I am sure you will find something for this summer. Don't expect a bunch of money, but you will make some and have a ball.

TheHughes731 · December 31, 2015

Thank you guys so much! we will be applying once we get the the TT up and running. You guys are awesome! Thank you

Kirk W · January 1, 2016

The key to success is a good source of positions in order to find jobs that supply what you need in the locations that you want. A great place to start is with the Escapee job forums but you do need to join the Escapees to have access to it. Another good source would be to subscribe to the magazine Workamper News and it comes either in paper or electronic version. While a resume is important, it isn't vital.

There are also a wide range to approaches to the need for income on the road. Some folks spend most of their time in RV parks where they work either for only an RV site or for site plus wages. Another approach is to take a seasonal position that is very long hours but short in duration and so make enough in a short time to be able to travel without a job for months at a time. Such positions run from fireworks stands, pumpkin patches, See's candy or Hickory Farms mall kiosk work, sugar beet harvests and even Amazon Christmas rush. There are also many of us who do volunteer for site positions with federal, state, county, or city parks and historic sites where we get a full hookup site and do a few hours of work around the park for it. Some of us like the national wildlife refuges and parks for the wide variety of things we do and the new things that we can learn, yet receive a site with full hookups. Pam & I even ran a game check station for hunters for one season and another time volunteered at a grass airfield in return for our site & utilities.

docj · January 1, 2016

Although we aren't looking for paid workamping positions, I adapted our existing resumes to create new ones that are appropriate for the kinds of things we wish to do as volunteers. Both of us had professional careers and our resumes have been well received wherever we have sent them. IMO in the workamping world just the fact that you have a fairly polished resume makes for a good introduction to potential employers.

Jack Mayer · January 1, 2016

Although we aren't looking for paid workamping positions, I adapted our existing resumes to create new ones that are appropriate for the kinds of things we wish to do as volunteers. Both of us had professional careers and our resumes have been well received wherever we have sent them. IMO in the workamping world just the fact that you have a fairly polished resume makes for a good introduction to potential employers.

Agreed. But you also need to focus on things that are of interest to the particular job you want.

For example, I'd be looking for maintenance skills if you were filling a maintenance position.

docj · January 1, 2016

Agreed. But you also need to focus on things that are of interest to the particular job you want.

For example, I'd be looking for maintenance skills if you were filling a maintenance position.

Of course. In our case, we've focused on visitor center/retail management and our experience with developing and giving interpretive talks/presentations. That sort of stuff meshes well with our backgrounds.

ballpart · January 5, 2016

All of the above is good advice. Resumes are important and probably most smaller camp grounds are looking for people with broad backgrounds so you need to cover not only your work/professional career but volunteer work also. Our resume states that I grew up in construction and farming. I was an accountant for my professional life and I was an Adult Scouter (Boy Scouts of America) for about 17 years and that we owned, managed and maintained our own investment properties. Both my wife and I were Real Estate Agents for a major developer, investor, re-habber in St Louis, Mo and that we worked as the Camp Ground Host for Tiffin Motorhomes Service Center in Red Bay, AL for 2 1/2 years before going to babysit our new Granddaughters for a 1 1/2 years.

That said your own personalty will be the biggest factor in any interview. We once got a job as Camp Ground Host when we called to make a reservation for a site.

Do not be shy about asking the management at camp grounds if they need some help. One year we were at a camp ground in Oregon for a rally around the 4th of July and the resident manager wanted to take her family to the activities in town that afternoon and evening. We wound up babysitting the phones and taking messages so they could go. The next year we were there for a rally and the camp ground had another one going on so I went to the owner and asked if he had a string trimmer or mower that I could use to start prepping the other 1/2 of the camp ground for our rally that was starting in 2 days. He wound up letting us stay for a week after the rally which included 4th of July at no charge. He actually told us to spend the time driving around the area for several days sightseeing. All he asked was that we distribute flyers about the camp ground after we left as we traveled back to our home.