‘Tis the season to recruit for summer staff . . . and gee, are we facing challenges! COVID-19 remains a real threat to operations and knowing what is to come this summer. Nonetheless, finding quality summer staff is a must — even if those staffing plans are contingent on what happens with vaccines, state orders, and CDC guidelines.

Camps will be able to establish their brand and to create virtual booths similar to those used at in-person job/internship fairs. They can be highly visual to have an immediate impact on the attention of job/internship seekers. Camp pictures, logos, and links to camp social media sites are often on the ‘front end’ of the virtual booth. Typically, multiple recruiters will be allowed to staff a virtual booth allowing for several contacts at one time. Some virtual fair platforms also allow for camp ambassadors to be present — a great way to make use of previous staff as recruiters.

Camps will be able to upload videos, engage in real-time chats, and put potential candidates into separate breakout rooms for individual conversations or to respond to common questions. Interview rooms may be established and scheduled for on-site conversations. Many platforms allow for employers to reach out to registered student attendees in advance, establishing early relationships. Further, camps can search for potential staff by filtering student attendees by major, area of interest, and keywords that students might include on their resumes.