More than Just a Summer Job

Being a counselor at a summer camp can strengthen your resume beyond “babysitter”. While counselors are investing in children’s lives and ensuring their safety and fun, they are also gaining the opportunity to fine-tune their critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills – skills that the Partnership for 21st Century Skills has defined as “Learning and Innovation Skills” requirements for job-seekers in the 21st century.

Here’s how these skills can be applied in the summer camp setting:

• Critical thinking: When beginning an activity, check the equipment and weather conditions to ensure it’s safe for the campers to play the game. Assess hikes and make sure you take a route that will get your campers to lunch on time. Be thinking ahead.
• Communication: On the first day of camp, greet parents with a firm handshake and a smile while looking them in the eyes. Kindly answer their questions to put their minds at ease. With campers, listen to their questions and concerns; clarify your expectations for the camper’s behavior during the week.
• Collaboration: Work as a group to come up with the ‘We Wills’ for your cabin. Team up with your co-counselor to correct a group issue.
• Creativity: Help your coordinator come up with rainy-day activities. Help the campers come up with fun skits that make sense. Plan ways to keep every activity energized and fun!

As a camp counselor, you can take the initiative to develop these skills. Be actively searching for ways to step out and improve camp without having to be told what to do.

By rongriffin