Friday, July 04, 2008

"Seek out that particular mental attitude which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, "This is the real me," and when you have found that attitude, follow it." ~ W James. CoolWorks has gathered some of our favorite real people. They have agreed to share their dreams, tales, triumphs, disasters, adventures and every day existences with you here. "Let them know a real man, who lives as he was meant to live." ~ M Aurelius. Enjoy.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Searching for the Dream    

posted by Bill @ 2:47 PM
I attempted to represent your views at a conference in Ketchikan last week and was asked to hone in on 2 items:

  1. What do seasonal employees want
  2. What does it take to keep a seasonal employee through the season

With that in mind we ran a survey on Cool Works ? to go straight to the source. We threw in an extra question about whether and why it might be that these types of jobs might be less appealing than they used to be, offered up some essay opportunities and were psyched to receive 229 responses.

Some highlights -

LOCATION - ADVENTURE - EMPLOYER REPUTATION - MANAGEMENT

These factors figured prominently in the responses we saw. A little further down were Money, Room and Board, Making a Difference and Making Friends. Here's a quick chart showing responses to the multiple choice questions.



Then for grins we took all of the essay responses to this question and filtered them through the tool at TagCrowd to see what bubbled up that we missed in the multiple choice and in reading the essay responses. The biggest oversight was MANAGEMENT. Here's the Tag Cloud of these essay answers:




created at TagCrowd.com

Some of the responses to "What do you look for in a seasonal job"...

  • an adventure and ability to see new places and faces.
  • A resort that is busy. 30 min. to a town. No snow. Great housing, prefer my own room & bath.
  • I will work my butt off when i am at work, but on my time off i will be on the trail and at night i will be chilaxing with the great people that come along with seasonal jobs.
  • It?s not about the money ? it?s respect, employers who love the place too, and decent meals and housing.
  • I am an older and bolder type -- location comes first. my second consideration: easy computer access. in the relatively remote locations I seek, I want to remain connected to family and friends by email.
  • I always look for small family operated places. I am mid- 20's and really over bunkbeds and roomies.
  • once or twice a season allow staff a 3 day weekend to explore where they are
  • I would be willing to go about anywhere if I just had a bit of privacy in housing.
  • to improve my english skills, and to study more about american culture
  • I double check anywhere I want to work with people who have worked there in the past. ..once you have entered the seasonal world it is very easy to tap into the network.
  • I want to leave a seasonal job with more skills than I arrived with. Its give-and-take.
  • This is a lifestyle, not a job.


Question Number Two:
Turnover is a significant problem for seasonal employers. High turnover can make it very hard for managers and for the seasonal staff that remain. What factors make it more likely that you will work through your agreed upon dates?

The multiple choice responses:



Tag Cloud of Essay Responses...


created at TagCrowd.com

Some essay excerpts about what will keep you on the job:

  • I wouldn't let down a boss or employer unless they have let me down.
  • When I'm working for people I like, I'll be more apt to stay for the duration and come back next year. Implement an end of season bonus. Offer better benefits to returning employees. i.e. discounted/free room and board for returners, significant pay raise, better housing option, if available.
  • I am not sure how companies can expect loyalty to the company when they make it clear that this is an at-will position.
  • Don't penalize the good employees by making us put up with the bad ones.
  • change the jobs around so we don't get bored and don't let a few people make all the tips
  • If the three things happen all at once - low team morale, boredom, and low pay - I move on.
  • Most servers don't want to move up to management because it means a significant pay cut. If the managers were paid better, companies would have better candidates to fill those positions.
  • No Challenge or incentive. Most of us want to feel that we are doing something important and not just 'spinning our wheels' for the summer.
  • #1 Mean employers lose people. #2 Fire bad managers and employees; #3 Pay well... #4 Offer decent food and housing.
  • Manage for return staff just like you manage for return guests.
  • People don't leave jobs, they leave managers.

Finally, "What's Happening Out there". Employers are struggling to fill these jobs. Are outdoorsy jobs no longer cool? Are we too attached to our gadgets? Some essay responses:
  • people don't explore anymore/too many video games
  • increasing travel costs. It is costing me almost 100 dollars more to fly to alaska this year than last.
  • Work dries up in the middle of the season! The living costs continue, and the profit margin is threatened, if not eliminated. Work in a town with welfare options competes, and wins!
  • Very few people are aware that they are out there.
  • the people i know around here prefer to live off of someone else.
  • Our society continues to experience a nature disconnect.
  • Most people I talk to just don't have the guts to go for it.
  • You have to be wealthy to afford this lifestyle!!!! The resorts must pay more or rely on foreigners!!!!
  • Seasonal work is hit or miss. Not everyone is cut-out for it.
  • Seasonal needs to be a stepping stone - not the place you go when nobody else will hire you.
  • I've been doing it for about 3 years now, and my big problem is the in-between time. It kills me financially!
  • We need a good recession. There are too many well paying jobs elsewhere
  • I think that younger people feel that if they take seasonal work, it will blow their chances at "real" jobs later
  • For older employees, housing is usually a zoo!
  • Housing, single housing and you would have 10 applicants for every job.
Talking to employers in Alaska and as we do this Cool Works things, this gives us much needed perspective. Thanks so much for sharing your insights.

I summed up my talk by stating the obvious but difficult goal to

BE AN OUTFIT THAT OTHERS WANT TO BE A PART OF

There are some great opportunities out there and we've always been psyched to help match people up with them. Please continue to help spread the word and continue to weigh in so we can do a better job for you.

Bill Berg

President/Founder
www.CoolWorks.com ~ Jobs in Great Places (tm)



 
 
 

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