One of the awesome features of Kennolyn Camps is our diverse group of international staff. So how do we find all of these great people? First, a little bit of background.
Summer Camps use a special visa, part of the J-1 visa program, to welcome counselors from around the world. Our helpful behind the scenes support staff, also arrive on special temporary work visas. These visas are the same as used by resorts, hotels, ski areas, etc. There are numerous agencies that help us by recruiting and interviewing potential candidates. Then it’s up to us to find the best among them.
Over the past few weeks, we traveled to Poland, Czech Republic, and Scotland to interview some of these candidates face-to-face. Although technology does allow us to conduct interviews easily from our office, we much prefer the opportunity to meet candidates in person. We do this by attending job fairs that are organized by the recruitment agencies.
The fairs can be long and quite grueling but totally worth it. We met some amazing people who are all now waiting eagerly to go the US Embassy in their home country to get their visa approval. Soon it will be time for them to head to California for a summer working with our campers.
While we are there, the agencies try and give us an overview of the local culture. The whole point of the visa program is cultural exchange and it starts on these trips. When the staff are with us they will all have a chance to make a fun, interactive cultural presentation to our campers.
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