Camp Counselor Resume: Examples and Tips

Camp counselors ensure a safe, enjoyable and satisfying experience for campers, and are tasked with creating and carrying out activities. For this role, you should have strong leadership qualities, be able to collaborate with other counselors and managers, and create an educational and recreational environment.

Take charge of your camp counselor resume with these tips and resume examples:

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Camp Counselor Resume Example

Top 4 Characteristics of a Best-in-Class Camp Counselor Resume

  1. Summary In a few short, crisp sentences, describe who you are through a mix of skills and work experiences. Mention important details that convey your strengths as a camp counselor, such as “childhood education background and diverse sports knowledge,” “Supervised community-based children’s sporting activities,” or “Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.”
  2. Skills As this position focuses on practical work, list vital skills such as First Aid and CPR certification, tutoring, and activity management, but don’t forget to add critical soft skills such as strong communication abilities, leadership and time management.
  3. Work history Concentrate on duties and achievements that apply to camp counseling, such as maintaining facilities and equipment, success in educational environments, examples of projects where you mentored students or came up with effective educational or physical fitness activities, and collaborating on others on special events.
  4. Education List your highest education credential (e.g., high school diploma or college degree), as well as any extra training you’ve undertaken in areas such as education, recreation or management. Use this section to list any relevant certifications that you may have, such as First Aid and CPR certification.

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Find the Right Template for your Resume

Present a resume that projects your enthusiasm and effectiveness by using one of these expertly-designed templates.

Emphasized

This layout is divided into two columns, with a splash of color at the top. Section headings are presented in color resume fonts, making the document easy for readers to navigate.

Blueprint

This template uses capitalized headings along with sleek lines to divide sections to create a streamlined, efficient presentation.

Centered

This layout spotlights the job seeker’s contact information and summary statement at the top. With strong color accents, the design is an attention-grabber.

For even more templates you can use, visit our free resume templates .

Do’s and Don’ts for Your Resume

  • DO quantify your achievements.When recounting your work accomplishments, use numbers and metrics to better define your effectiveness and successes. Quantified statements such as “Oversaw groups of 15-20 students at school and off-site locations,” are much more informative than “Oversaw students at school and off-site locations.”
  • DO forget to list intangible skills in your resume.While practical skills and knowledge of camp counselor duties and tasks are essential, this job also requires people skills. Show you have the ability to connect with peers and campers by including soft skills, such as empathy, problem-solving skills and leadership. Present these abilities in your skills section and through your job experiences (e.g., “Mentored campers in outdoor survival tips,” “Collaborated with other camp counselors on activity scheduling”).
  • DO make sure your resume is to the point. Recruiters tend to take less than 10 seconds to screen resumes, so it’s crucial to keep your document concise. Only emphasize your skills, accomplishments, and experiences that are most relevant to the job you’re applying to. Use brief phrases and bullet points rather than over-verbose sentences. Limit your work history to the last ten years of your career at most. Aim to keep your resume one-page long, or two pages at the maximum.
  • DON’T submit your resume without reviewing it.A resume with simple typos or factual errors can be enough to get it sent to the recycle bin without a close read. Reread your resume a few times, checking that all your content is spic and span, and making sure that details such as past or current employer information are correct. Our Resume Builder contains tools that can help you proof your document.
  • DON’T eliminate the use of personal pronouns.One common mistake that resume writers make is using personal pronouns such as “I” and “my.” To avoid this, use punchy phrases instead of complete sentences. For instance, “High-energy Recreational Leader adept at developing exciting events” gets the same point across more energetically than “I am a Recreational Leader and I am adept at developing exciting calendar events.”
  • DON’T use the same resume for different jobs.Every camp counseling job will have different demands and requirements, which makes it vital to create different versions of your resume for each job opportunity. For instance, one job might emphasize keeping learning areas clean, neat and properly sanitized, while another puts more emphasis on outdoor activities. Gear your skills and work accomplishments to fit what the specific job needs. Our article How to Create a Targeted Resume has more tips on how to best customize your resume.