Staff FAQs
A Prospective Staff’s Interview with Dave Schiff
Prospective Staffer: Dave, thanks for taking a few minutes to talk.
Dave Schiff: Sure thing! It’s very important to choose your summer work carefully. On the one hand, you need an opportunity to recharge your batteries before you go back to school and on the other, you want to build your resume and gain valuable life experience.
Prospect: First of all, where is Camp Manitou?
Dave: Manitou is five miles from Waterville, Maine, a college town with lots of recreational and social opportunities. Manitou is a three-hour drive from Boston, an hour’s drive from Bangor Intl. Airport, and an hour’s drive from Portland Intl. Airport.
Prospect: How do I get to camp?
Dave: When we send your contract it will include reimbursement for travel expenses to and from camp. Manitou provides travel to and from the Waterville Bus Station, the Portland Jetport, and Boston’s Logan Airport on a designated day. You may drive your own car to camp if you want.
Prospect: What about the people I’ll be working with? Where do your staff members come from?
Dave: About 75% of our staff come from the United States and 25% from overseas. International counselors typically come from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Spain, and France.
Prospect: What kind of athletic facilities does Manitou have?
Dave: Manitou has a brand new weight and fitness room plus several lighted basketball and recreation courts. We also have an oval track and roller hockey arena.
Many of our staff need to stay in shape over the summer for school sports and you will have the opportunity to do so during off-duty periods.
Prospect: What about room and board. Is that provided?
Dave: Room and board is included in all live-in staff contracts. We serve three hot meals a day plus periodic snacks.
Prospect: What are the living arrangements?
Dave: You will be living in a cabin with about 10 campers and 3 other counselors. Our cabins are well-sized and typically include a large main room, screened porch, coat room and a well-appointed bathroom. We spend considerable effort matching our staff with the right group of campers. Most of our staff cite their cabin experiences as something that far exceeded their expectations.
If living and working with kids is not your cup of tea, let me tell you now, you should be looking for a different summer job.
Prospect: What kind of medical care is provided?
Dave: We have an on-camp health center with four nurses and a doctor. There are two hospitals five miles away. All staff are required to present a current medical form signed by your physician as well as a copy of your health insurance coverage.
Prospect: Speaking of recharging the batteries, will I have any time off?
Dave: Absolutely! You’ll get 6 days off during the summer plus 4 or 5 nights off per week. You’ll also have 2 to 3 one-hour periods off during the day.
When you’re off duty you have access to most of the facilities at camp as well as the staff lounge. On a typical night, there will be over 75 off-duty staff, so it’s not hard to find other people looking for fun.
Waterville, home of Colby College, is fifteen minutes away and it offers plenty of “collegiate” diversions. You’ll have access to camp transportation for trips into town.
Our staff enjoys good relations with the staff at our sister camp across the lake. They’re a lot of fun and you’ll have ample opportunity to get to know them.
You know, at Manitou we treat our counselors like adults. We impose limited restrictions on how you spend your off-duty time, as long as your actions don’t affect the camp and your ability to effectively do your job.
Prospect: How can I keep in touch with friends and family while I’m at camp?
Dave: Most staffers keep in touch at TouBucks, our staff-only lounge with high-speed internet, email, and phones. There’s cable TV in there as well.
Prospect: Wow, working at Manitou sounds like a lot of fun! How do I sign up?
Dave: Fill out our online application and we’ll take it from there.
Typically you’ll get a confirmation email immediately after you apply, then we’ll look over your app and get back in touch within a week to set-up an interview.
