Serve This Summer In Four Steps

*Note this is only applicable for new youth

Application

APPLY HERE TO BE A SUMMER COOLINE CAMP CREW MEMBER!

The application is short and sweet! A few reminders, 

1. Be honest. It is much better that we know the truth about your skillset so we can help you grow.

2. Convey why you care about service learning and leadership, saying you just want a summer job is not good enough, dig deep in your heart and share why caring for children is something you truly want to do.

3. Diversity is needed and respected. Bring your whole self into the application and let us know who YOU are!

4. Dot your i's and cross your T's. Make sure to use complete sentences, capitalizations, and correct spelling. Show us you really care about this service opportunity. 

Call With Our Leadership Team 

This interview is the time when our leadership team determines if you'll be a good candidate for our work at CoolineKids; it is in this step that they are looking for your passion, drive, and love for service. If our leaders can see that, you'll be moved on to the next step!

1. Be real with us. We wants to get to know you on a personal level and feel your love for service. You'll gain the respect of leaders by showing up as your whole, authentic self!

2. Be prepared to talk about yourself. This is a conversation, not an interview. Even prepare some of your own questions to get to know the CoolineKids team.

3. P.S. - If you move on, you have a 95% chance and landing this service opportunity with CoolineKids

WHAT TO EXPECT ASKED

When you have an interview at CoolineKids, you can expect to be asked questions about your experience, as well as your motivation for serving with us. To put it short, we will just be looking to see if you have the skills and attitudes necessary to be a positive and worthwhile member of the CoolineKids family. 

Here are some common questions you might be asked:

• Describe your experience working with children.

  • Working and interacting with children is the primary role for any staff member and we want to know what your experience is. For many of you, this may be your first time and your experience working with children may be limited to babysitting your younger cousins or neighbors. If that is the case, that is ok! Camps are not looking for counselors who are getting their Doctorate in Child Development, we know that for many of you, this is your first time working with kids in a professional setting. We just want a general idea of what your experience is, how you interacted with those children, and if you have any relative experience working with children that fill our camp's camper demographic.

• Why do you want to serve at CoolineKids this summer?

  • Hopefully, you have done your research on us, and if you haven't, stop what you are doing right now. Go to our website, look them up on their social media, and make sure that their values match up with yours. Yes, camp is a fun way to serve and a great way to spend your summer vacation, but we will be looking for a little more context. Why are you drawn to our particular mission or programs?

• Scenario Questions

  • You will be asked what you would do in a variety of situations. For CoolineKids, we ask questions about how you would help campers resolve conflict, how you would help a camper who is missing their parents, how you would navigate campers in your cabin saying unkind things, to how you would react to a camper telling you they have a secret to tell you. Think back to your experience working with children.

  • How did you navigate those situations with them? If you have never been through one of those scenarios as a caregiver, did you experience it as a child? How did the adult in charge manage those situations? Do you wish they had done anything differently? 

• Off-the-Wall Questions

  • We probably will ask you what I consider to be off-the-wall questions. These are questions that seem to have nothing to do with the service opportunity. If they are, take a deep breath, laugh at your situation a little, and give the best answer you can.

WHAT TO ASK

An interview is not just about answering questions asked by someone else. You should be prepared to ask your own questions, too. Here are some questions that you can ask your interviewer to get a better idea of what the job will entail

• What does a day, a week, and a summer look like?

  • Other related questions are:

    • When are you expected to show up to camp?

    • Does this camp run through the 4th of July?

    • When are you officially done working? 

• What does the Service Learning Scholarships structure look like?

  • What is a service learning scholarship and why is that a better alternative than general pay?

• What does time off look like? 

  • Do you get a break during the day? Are you allowed to leave camp during that time? Do you get time off between sessions? If you have a doctor's appointment or freshman orientation, can you get time off to attend those? If there is a family emergency, can you get time off to be with family for that?

• What does training look like?

  • Most camps offer a week-long staff training for everyone but have extra training for running specific activities. This question also gives you an idea of the resources that will be available to you as a new staff member.

• What does the staff structure look like?

  • Who do you go to if you have a challenging camper? Is it the person you are talking to during the interview? Is there other support? Is there someone on staff hired to support staff mental health?

• Dietary Needs

  • If you have any special dietary needs, can the camp accommodate them?