Guest Blog: 4 Tips to help you prepare for the Summer Camp Job Fair

–Writen by Career Services Consultant, Kaletra Dispennett–

The Summer Camp Job Fair is coming quickly.  As you prepare to attend this event, here are a few things to keep in mind.

For additional tips, visit Summer Camp Job Fair 2012.

1. Pick your passion
   There will be camps from a variety of programs and backgrounds.  The camps that will be attending the fair focus on developmental issues for children, science, encouraging positive attitude, represent different religious affiliations, all male, all female, sports, arts, and more.  You name it, there’s a camp for it!  Take a look at the list of camps attending the fair, along with their descriptions.  See which ones match your interests and personality!
2. Dress the part
   No suit. No problem.  Attire for this job fair is casual.  Khakis and a shirt are perfectly fine.  A nice pair of jeans works as well.  Although casual attire is acceptable, please remember that you are striving to give a positive first impression.  Casual does not mean jeans with holes, jammies, or t-shirts with inappropriate logos or advertising.
3. Get ready to chat
   The camps are very interested in speaking with you and will even conduct interviews at the fair so come ready to talk.  What are the camps looking for?  Well, we asked them and here’s what they said:“…a sense of adventure,  who value their integrity above most else,  who are enthusiastic about joining a summer adventure,  and have lived with others before.”
   -A. Gair-Michael, Girl Scouts of Connecticut
   
   “An outgoing personality and sincere desire to work with children.  We also encourage our staff to be “out of their comfort zone”; participate in many of camp’s special programs.”
   -K. Einhorn, Camp Saginaw
4. No Rèsumè, don’t sweat it!
   If you have a rèsumè, bring it with you to the fair. If you don’t have a rèsumè, don’t let that keep you from attending the fair to speak to the camp representatives.   The representatives just want to talk to you candidly about your interest in working for their programs.  The best thing you can bring with you is a positive attitude and a sincere interest in working.

About the Author: Kaletra Dispennett is a Career Services Consultant and Coordinator of the Summer Camp Job Fair at the Center for Career Opportunities (CCO).  Kaletra has been a part of the CCO since 2005.  She enjoys working with students to help them identify their interests, abilities, and values in an effort to make life decisions.  If you have questions concerning the Summer Camp Job Fair, please contact Kaletra via e-mail at kaletra@purdue.edu.