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By Patty Ceglio, Web Recruiting & Seasonal HR Specialist for CoolWorks.com Summer is almost here and while most dude ranches are currently staffed, there a good number still filling last minute vacancies or increasing staff to meet business demands. Cool Works, a national board for jobs in great places, has experienced a 30 percent increase in summer job listings this year and currently has 152 posts for employers pushing to fill positions in the next few weeks. While urban summer jobs may be in decline, there are more opportunities in 2014 than in recent years for last minute job seekers to land a position at a guest ranch. Cool Works offers these five tips to job seekers hoping to land at a ranch this summer:
- Check Your Bucket List – For job seekers who don’t know where to start, identify locations of interest or activities you’ve always wanted to try. Interested in seeing Glacier National Park or the Grand Canyon in your time off? Love the water and want to be near it? Use these interests to help narrow down focus to a few locations and start looking for ranches in those areas.
- Think Adventurously – Don’t be afraid to explore outside your comfort zone. Sure, a dude ranch job may be across the country but it offers perks that many summer jobs won’t such as on-site housing and meals. Many employers even throw this in as part of the package.
- Be Flexible – Consider a variety of positions and locations. Those who approach the job hunt with an open mind and a willingness to do anything are likely to score a job in a great place.
- Exude Professionalism – Just because this is a summer job doesn’t mean you can take the application process casually. Slang and short form won’t go far with ranch employers. Fill out applications using proper grammar, spelling and punctuation and be willing to download and fill out PDFs if necessary to submit an application. Additionally, provide reputable references on each application – workers with limited experience can turn to a teacher, former employer or coach who can speak to work ethic and aptitudes – avoid using friends or peers.
- Leverage Your Connections – Your social networks, both on and offline can be a great resource for finding the perfect summer job. Check your social media sites for friends and relatives who may be working at dude ranch and find out if their employer is still hiring. Consider touching base with ranch where you spent your childhood years on vacation and find out if they are looking for summer counselors or to fill other positions
To check out the ranch jobs in great places available through Cool Works, visit http://www.coolworks.com/ranch-jobs. Patty Ceglio is the Web Recruiting & Seasonal HR Specialist for CoolWorks.com. CoolWorks.com has been central to the summer job and seasonal job market niche since 1995. True to the company’s mantra, the Cool Works® “home office” is located on the Yellowstone River, just outside the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, MT.
