For camp counselors only: how to describe your job skills to future employers.

Lisa Hallberg balanced herself on the cushioned seat of the Master-Craft speedboat and lassoed the water-ski rope three times above her head before releasing it into the waters of Long Lake. After her second month as a counselor at Camp Walden in northern Michigan, Hallberg's rope throwing had evolved into an elaborate art form.

It was the summer before her senior year in college and the camp counselor immersed herself in the activities she enjoyed most at Camp Walden: hiking through the woods, spending hours with campers at the pottery wheel, and joining in the evening campfire sing on the shores of Long Lake. She knew that camp counseling granted her tremendous personal gains; however, she had serious concerns about her future in the job market.

"While other college students were gaining work experience in a professional setting, I was tossing the water-ski rope to campers every day," says Hallberg, who graduated last spring from the University of Vermont with a major in pre-med.

In this day where college students lobby for internships and field experience, the professional values of camp counseling seem to take a back seat. In truth, camp counseling is a position which fosters many professional skills, such as responsibility, patience and flexibility. It is also a position in which one is responsible for children's lives - what could be more important than that?

The challenge for camp counselors is finding the right way to communicate the skills they've gained to future employers. Fortunately, with some thinking and planning, this challenge can be met.

Veteran counselor Laurie Porter agrees. "The experience of camp counseling is invaluable not only for its personal benefits, but also for the boost it can give your resume," says Porter, who now serves as boating safety coordinator for the American Camping Association.

Identifying Personal

and Professional Skills

In a professional market, employers are looking for characteristics which the hard-working camp counselor has gained through summer- time experience. While tossing that water-ski rope over a dozen times a day, Ms. Hallberg was solving conflicts, adapting to the needs of various campers and enhancing her ability to work with others. Identifying these skills and translating them onto a resume is the first step toward a career in any field.

The ability to interact and work well with people is a skill inherent in the camp counselor's experience. Frank Lupton, former Western Illinois University leisure studies director, explains the counseling experience this way: "You become a better person when you interact with all walks of life as camp counselors do."

Working with people is a crucial capacity in any profession. While knowledge of technical skills involving the basics of canoeing or archery remains important in the camp setting, the ability to work as a team player and build a sense of community will give counselors an edge in the professional world.

At camp, the counselor witnesses the workings of a community on a small scale. This environment, much like the set-up of a small business, compels the counselor to take initiative and become a self-starter. While working with others, counselors are able to see the results of their initiatives and receive praise for the measures they have taken.

Spending nearly every minute of every day with a group of people certainly enhances skills in working with others. Edie Klein, former president of the American Camping Association, agrees camp counselors have a strong advantage in the job market. "You can train people to do certain jobs, but you can't train them to work well with other people," says Klein.

While these working relationships are established, other traits are also being fostered in the camp setting. Patience, tenacity, the ability to stick with a job consistently day in and day out and being a dedicated employee - these are a few of the attributes that director of Camp Olympia, Tommy Ferguson, speculates would aid a camp counselor in the professional market.

Today's employers are stressing the importance of multi-faceted workers. Major companies undergoing down-sizing are in need of workers who can handle a variety of professional responsibilities. As Ferguson points out, camp counselors are well-prepared for such positions. At camp, a counselor plays all kinds of roles from coordinating programs to promoting the camp. This shows true flexibility," says Ferguson.

Displaying flexibility ensures an employer that a worker is a leader as well as a team player. Leadership is conveyed at camp in many situations. The camp counselor is not only a leader herself, but has the ability to instill leadership, participation and cooperation in campers and other staff members. Inspiring others to action shows an employer that a worker cares about the productivity and general operation of an organization.

"Being a camp counselor shows that you're willing to throw your heart into a job and that you care about people," says veteran counselor Cameron Smith. Smith, a college senior, is currently working on her job search. She feels that her counseling experience will help her in the professional market. "You have to be flexible and prepared every day with a class plan and a back-up plan if it rains or a child won't go near the water," says Smith, who teaches swimming at Camp Clearwater in Wisconsin.

For many counselors like Smith and Hallberg, the true meaning of the camp experience is found in the impact they have had on children. Such constant influence on children in the camp setting requires the upholding of high moral standards and consistent behavior as a role model. These, too, are saleable skills.

At camp you never get a second chance to make a first impression," says Ferguson. "Counselors know how to represent themselves and that would make them ideal at representing a company."

Selling Skills to an Employer

Translating one's skills to an employer can be as difficult as getting campers to go to bed at night. Career counselors suggest the key is to identify skills and illustrate them accurately and specifically in the resume, cover letter and job interview.

DePauw University Career Counselor Becky Ranney says job seekers should emphasize the versatility of skills they have gained. "A person needs to show that the skills they've gained are transferable," Ranney says.

Ranney, who is a former camp counselor, notes that counseling is a common summer job among college students and one which enlightens young adults in many aspects. "Camp counseling teaches a person to work in a team and employers look for that skill of being able to contribute to a group," says Ranney.

The first step in communicating these skills is to construct a strong resume. "Presentation is the key to success on a resume," says Carol Allen, a career consultant for Career Agenda in New York. She encourages avoiding artistic approaches in most cases, but emphasizes the importance of strong wording.

The use of effective language on a resume will attract the attention of an employer. Action verbs and phrases such as "organized events for all ages," or "developed swimming lesson program," explain a counselor's role in the camp structure. Listing accomplishments and achievements on the resume is also fundamental in demonstrating the results produced in the counselors position.

Nella Barkley, career counselor and author of How to Help Your Child Land the Right Job (without being a pain in the neck), recommends defining skills specifically on a resume rather than using bland phrases.

"Early job-seekers make the mistake of being too broad," says Barkley. "The more specific and accurate you are in defining your skills, the more the employer will know about you." Barkley is executive director of the Crystal-Barkley Corporation, a career management center based in New York. To accurately pinpoint skills learned in camp counseling, Barkley suggests keeping a journal at camp which describes specific tasks and how they were accomplished.

"If you drove the boat at camp, define how you learned to drive the boat, how you carried out the responsibility, how you managed conflict in the situation and how you sought further training,' Barkley notes. Armed with these stories, Barkley suggests sitting down with a few friends and identifying those tasks which represent skills.

Barkley also recommends a research and proposal method for job searching. In this procedure, the job hunter researches a particular firm and outlines the areas where an added link could potentially strengthen the organization.

"Employers are overwhelmed by resumes and have such tight criteria of what they can accept," says Barkley. "If you research a company and say |I'd like to come in and tell you what I can do for you," you make a compelling job candidate. date."

Such a proposal can be made in the cover letter accompanying the resume. Allen of Career Agenda notes that the purpose of the cover letter is to express a worker's potential worth to an employer. "In the cover letter, you must communicate your value to the of organization and express the benefits they will receive by hiring you," Allen states.

Tailoring the cover letter to emphasize special skills which fit the desired position helps to further explain a potential employee's abilities. Allen suggests researching organizations at the library to gain knowledge on their specific programs and beliefs. Studying recent newsletters and magazines of a particular company may suggest current trends that could be tied into the cover letter. This approach demonstrates a genuine interest in the organization.

In an interview situation, camp anecdotes can provide a colorful description of predicaments that have been handled successfully by the counselor. Counselor Cameron Smith uses her cabin situation as an example: "There were constant conflicts among children in my cabin who were raised differently, and I had to be ready to deal with them at any time."

The counselor handling these conflicts is not just a referee, but also a people manager and problem solver. A job candidate relaying these actual stories gives the employer a sampling of techniques exercised in times of distress.

Recognizing Lifetime Values

Many professionals in the camp industry attest that camp is most valuable for the "life experience" it provides. Yet college students worried about the current job market may question this "life experience" when it competes with the rising trend of "professional experience." They fad to realize that life values strengthened at camp, such as flexibility, loyalty and team work, are valued by every successful organization.

Ferguson agrees that life skills translate well into the professional market. "Camp counselors are able to feel the pulse of their cabin the same way an employee feels the pulse of an office and adjusts to that," says Ferguson. Feeling the pulse of a situation at camp dictates the role which the counselor win play in a particular situation, whether it be disciplinarian, mentor or simply a friend.

Summer camp is said to nurture and uplift the human spirit and be the best preparation for life. While fife is complex, it seems that a basic tenet of human kindness always emerges. There is no greater good than to have invested a summer helping a child make a clay pot, hit an overhead smash or to simply give a child a friend who will listen. Those who have experienced camp attest to the renewal and rejuvenation felt after spending a summer as a counselor. The display of compassion and willingness to help others confirms the camp counselor's dedication to improving society and future generations.

While you're at camp, wielding the water-ski rope or brandishing your paint-brush in arts and crafts, stop to think of the tremendous impact you're having on children. Think also of the responsibilities and rewards you have been given through the camp experience. Dedication, loyalty, compassion and consistency comprise die actions of a camp counselor day after day in the camp setting. Any employer oblivious to such attributes would certainly be passing up a very good thing.