Cool Works FAQ

We realized recently, in our ongoing quest to serve our job seekers better, that we need to add a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page to our website. We certainly provide all kinds of resources for finding a summer job, seasonal job, ski resort job, or for those non-skiers out there, other winter jobs in warm places, but people want and need more.

Here is a quick summary of some of the cool things Cool Works provides to job seekers free of charge.

* "Get Started" - a page for those new to CoolWorks.com to help them find their way.
* Our own social network, My CoolWorks, where those seeking to do or learn about seasonal work can go to network with other like-minded folks already out there living the dream.
* Blogging the Dream - a blog dedicated to cool people doing cool stuff all over the world. If you're not inspired, you're not reading them all.
* Tips, Tales & Trails - a blog dedicated to whatever catches the CoolWorks team's fancy and other tips for finding a seasonal job.
* The Seasonal Worker's Guide - a page covering topics like resume tips, our ride board, travel websites, etc.
* International Job Seekers - a resource page for those people who live abroad and want to learn how to get a seasonal job in the U.S. and what visas are required.
* Work & Study Abroad - a page for U.S. citizens to go and learn ways that they can work and study around the word.
* Cool Works RSS feeds - a way for those who don't want to come back everyday to see what's new, we offer feeds for most of our pages to make your life easier.

However, even with all of this in place, we still know that it is human nature to simply ask a question rather than read what already exists. To that end, Cool Works has two emails dedicated to general questions and feedback from our users, affectionately known as the tribe. And, within in the last two weeks, we added Feedback buttons to most of our pages. Look to the right on most of our pages and it will be there at the edge.

So, as we develop our FAQ page, we would appreciate your assistance in coming up with the questions that keep you up at night or at least those you want answers to regarding summer, winter, and seasonal jobs. Help us, help you (a la Jerry Maguire).



Feel free to leave your comments here or send us an email at greatjobs@coolworks.com with your ideas, thoughts and questions. We'll do our best to answer them or throw them to the My CoolWorks tribe for their, pardon the pun, seasoned answers.

Thanks for reading!

Need Help Getting That Summer Job? Send a Thank You Note

When someone grants you an interview for a summer job and even if you do not believe it was your best interview, if you send a thank you note, that will score you big points.

Check out this article from HR.BLR.com.

http://hr.blr.com/news.aspx?id=76772&source=RSA&effort=4

If you're still looking for a summer job, take a gander at these late summer season opportunities from CoolWorks.com.

• Michigan is calling. The Island House, Horn's Bar and Yankee Rebel Tavern, and Mission Point Resort are all looking for folks to finish their seasons.
• Check out these great summer job opportunities in the great state of Alaska. You could work on a boat, cook in near the Arctic National Park, or be a raft guide. Don't let these opportunities pass you by.
• For more summer jobs, check out CoolWorks.com.
  

The Sounds and Smells of Home

Someone once challenged me as part of a larger audience to tell them or at least think about what my home town smelled like (of all things) and what sounds came to mind. It is a really interesting question and as time went on the question never faded from my mind but instead only cemented the images and scents that I think of about Everett and/or Seattle, Washington. I think of seagulls and seaweed and the smell of the water in the air. Living in the Pacific Northwest is something I love and I do not think I will ever leave. Do not get me wrong, I love to travel and see new places, but for me, I just cannot beat the smell and sounds of home. The shriek of a seagull calling its buddy and informing him of their next meal means I am in the right place. I get it and maybe it gets me.

And I must mention that this previous weekend the sound that told me I am home is the Blue Angels. It is Seafair in Seattle and I just love the sound of the roaring engines. Maybe it is because I was a teenager in the 80s when Tom Cruise starred in Top Gun, but really can there be anything better than the Blue Angels roar...except for maybe the Hydros?

Do you have any places like that? Places that you call home?

And...

Have you ever had a Cool Works summer job that was so great that you called your summer job home, your home?

Summer in Seattle?

Last time when I wrote about summer in Seattle, it was just after the 4th and life (i.e. summer) had just begun. It seems now that we're in a bit of a funk where it looks and acts like early spring or late fall. We've had lots of rain and few blue skies. And if we have them at all, it is fleeting and wait ten minutes before it changes back to clouds.

Cool Works' headquarters in Gardiner, Montana, on the other hand, is having the opposite weather right now. If you believe in rain dancing, do it for Yellowstone. If so inclined there will be a meeting tonight in Gardiner regarding the Owl Fire. Get details here.

Personally, I'm having a mellow summer by not really taking any trips and staying at home trying to get organized. So, when I ask the members of our social network, My CoolWorks, to share their stories and photos, I mean it. I love to know that there are people out there doing their thing and seeing the world. Let me live vicariously through you. Share, share, share. In fact, a woman who recently joined our social network just won a camera by being the 100th person to add a photo to their profile. Come and see what it's all about.

So, for those of you still looking for some working fun or fun working, check out our list of Stretch Your Summer opportunities. Many employers' seasons run into late fall so you have not missed the summer job boat yet.

Lastly, I've had an incredible time posting jobs recently. It seems that this is the summer for adventures beyond my wildest dreams. First, I posted a series of jobs for the Nature Conservancy on the Palmyra Atoll, 1000 miles south of Hawaii and then last week, I posted a job for an opportunity like no other to see the world as a personal and research assistant for an Author preparing for his book called Mankind's Destiny.

There are lots of cool opportunities out there this summer. To learn more about these summer jobs, take a peak at CoolWorks.com.

Late Season Summer Jobs Plentiful

There is still an acute need for seasonal workers to work a few weeks – or more – in the most popular destinations in the USA this summer.

Two trends have conspired to create staffing problems for summer employers and opportunities for job hunters:

• More colleges have switched from quarters to semesters, pulling students off the job and back to the books well before Labor Day.

• Retiring Baby Boomers and international travelers add to the number of late season vacationers at a time when the employees to serve them are in short supply.

Online job board CoolWorks.com is highlighting late season summer jobs from Maine to Washington State and from Arizona to Alaska for the rest of the summer and into the fall.

Whether you’re in between jobs, tempted to come out of retirement for a few weeks to live somewhere special, or looking to help pay for a vacation by working in a great place, there are plenty of opportunities to stretch your summer. Consider a few weeks at Cape Cod, Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, the San Juan Islands, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon or Yellowstone Parks, or way up north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Housing and/or trailer sites and meal plans are typically available for employees.

It’s not too late to take your summer to the next level. See what’s available at www.CoolWorks.com or cruise the websites and newspapers of your favorite destinations to see what’s out there.

Want to work in the middle of nowhere?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of adding 5 new jobs to our site and let me tell you, if I had these skills, I think I would jump on the opportunity. Imagine this, 1000 miles south of Hawaii, living and working on the Palmyra Atoll in one of the following positions:

• Field Station Manager
• Chief of Marine Operations
• Food Service/Housekeeping Manager
• Assistant Cook/Housekeeper
• Maintenance Manager

You can learn more about the Nature Conservancy's opportunities on our Seasonal Professionals page. How cool would that be?

We have lots of other summer jobs out there for the taking too. Check out these listings:

• Maybe open water isn't your thing so how about being at the top of the world - Coldfoot Camp at the entrance to the Arctic National Park is hiring cooks.
• We also have some opportunities to work near lakes at Lutsen Resort or Seagull Outfitters in Minnesota or Lake Crescent Lodge in Washington.
• Being surrounded by mountains your thing? There are lots of summer jobs ranging from restoring Buddhist historic monuments in Sonoma County to many different ranches in Colorado.

You can find these summer job opportunities and more on the Help Wanted Now page.

Cool Works (tm) is all about finding you opportunities of a lifetime. So what do you think? Is it Atoll time?

Summer Camp to Summer Jobs

A week ago today, I had the opportunity to be a judge at Business Week, a week-long, business camp for high school students in the State of Washington. I'm definitely aging myself when I say this, but, I was a Business Week student back in the summer of 1989. I remember the feeling of excitement as I moved into my college dorm room for the week with someone I had never met before and then getting to meet other kids from all over the state to create our own business. Think of it as an organized lemonade stand for teens.

As a judge, my job was to rate the kids, (and may I say for the record, that the group of young men and women we met were outstanding), on their business knowledge, creativity, team work and presentation. I was very impressed as were the other 25 or so judges from businesses all over the Puget Sound. These kids are going to go great places. They are our future leaders and my hope is that with this experience and other summer job opportunities, they'll grow into business savvy and responsible adults.



These photos were all taken at the Business Week held at Pacific Lutheran University.

Here in Washington, we also believe that summer doesn't really begin until July 5th. Along with the rest of the country though, we want summer to stretch as long as possible, hence, Cool Works (tm) wants you to remember that there are still summer jobs out there for the taking.

Check out these cool employers who still need fun people like YOU to join them this year from now through September and sometimes October.

• Be a chef at Drowsy Water Ranch (isn't that a great name?) in Colorado.
• Sixty-Three Ranch is looking for a server/housekeeper. They're located near Yellowstone National Park.
• All kinds of jobs are still available in Washington state at Mt. Rainier, Sol Duc Hot Springs and Doe Bay Resort on Orcas Island.

Just recently we added a page on our website called Stretch Your Summer. Check it out to learn more about the jobs I mentioned above and many others.

Happy Summer Everyone! I can say that now...it's July 6th!

Learn about other cool job opportunities at CoolWorks.com.

What's your summer job dream?

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the ones you did do. Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

~ Mark Twain

What are you waiting for? Check out these summer jobs available now.

• Raft Guide for Stehekin Adventure Company. Get on the river with this job and have your housing provided as part of your employment package. This job is based near Lake Chelan in Washington State.

• Got food on your mind? How about a job either making food or serving it to guests between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Or you might try the east coast, by sharpening your culinary skills in West Dover, Vermont or West Dennis on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

• Lots of summer job options at either the Grand Canyon North Rim or the Grand Canyon South Rim. You could be a Switchboard Operator, Auditor Specialist or if you have got safety on the brain, a Safety Manager. If working in the kitchen is your thing, they have also got a job for you. Imagine getting to look at one of the greatest natural wonders in the country from your office, the Grand Canyon.

• If you have HR chops, you might want to take a look at some career opportunities in Shenandoah or Lake Powell.

• A variety of positions near the Rocky Mountains in Colorado from teaching preschoolers and cooks to chalet hosts and climbing coordinators.

Get out there and live your dream.

Find these jobs, and more, at www.CoolWorks.com.