Escapees March/April 2016

each application to take an hour, pos- sibly more. The amount of time it takes for any place to get back to you varies from a few days to two weeks. Some sites open up applications a month or more before they start sorting through candidates, and you might wait a long time to hear back if you apply early. Other times I have been contacted the same day I submitted the application. The interview process, on the other hand, has been almost eerily similar. These companies know you’re not local, and interviews are always over the phone. Expect to answer questions such as: “Give an example of a time you responded well under pressure.,” “What would your previous manager say about you?,” “What would you do if you saw a coworker do something unsafe?,” and “Why do you think you’d be a good fit for this job?” The shortest question section for an inter- view that I’ve done for a national park lasted 10 minutes. The longest was a half-hour. After that, you’ll want to have some questions prepared to ask the interviewer. If you haven’t figured these out from the job listing, you will want to know: Wage

While you wil l not get rich working at a national park, it is a wonderful way to earn a living while having a great back yard to explore during your time off.

Hours (some places do split shifts, so ask about that and the number of hours per week) Days of the week (Can you get your days off in a row, if you pre- fer it that way?) Job duties and expectations Is there a meal plan? What is the cost? Cost of the RV site and distance from site to the job Start/end dates Distance and cost of amenities (laundry, stores, showers, etc.) Connectivity (WiFi, phone signal, mailing address) What is the uniform like, and do they provide it?

farther away, it’ll cost more in fuel to get there. For instance, during my first sum- mer work-camping, I was accepted for a retail position in three differ- ent national parks/recreation areas. Delaware North in Yellowstone was going to pay me $8 an hour, Aramark in Lake Powell was going to pay me $8.60 an hour and Forever Resorts in Badlands was going to pay me $7.25 an hour. Lake Powell sounded like the obvious choice from a financial standpoint, but with Badlands’ cheap meal plan, free laundry, site cost of only $35 a week, cheap cost of living and no income tax, it ended up being the most lucrative option. I was able

to cover my living expenses entirely and save up a few hundred dollars. Application and Interview Applying to multiple locations is a good decision. It gives you more op- tions to choose from since, most of the time, you won’t know all the details about pay, location and amenities until you’ve filled out the application and spoken to someone. Instead of requiring a resume, these employers generally have an extensive online application. I recommend typ- ing out your school and work history on a word-processing program so you can copy/paste your answers into appropriate boxes. Even then, expect

30 . ESCAPEES | March/April 2016 | www.escapees.com