Ask A Recruiter - Camp EDMO

Rachel Shensa: My name is Rachel Shensa, I am the recruiting manager for Camp EDMO. EDMO is a non-profit enrichment organization dedicated to cultivating curious, courageous and kind human beings. EDMO features a 100% sustainable equity design that provides access to online and in-person learning programs for ALL kids. EDMO Live! is an interactive, small group, camp-like learning experience led by our team of EDMO Instructors. We are hiring for Maker Instructors, Technology Instructors, and Counselors right now. If you're interested in learning more about any of these roles please reach out to Rachel at rachel@campedmo.org. Camp runs from June 8-Aug 14th (Monday-Friday). We have full time positions available as well as part-time positions available.

Career Services Center: Can you tell us about what makes Camp EDMO a great place to work?

Rachel Shensa: There are so many things about EDMO that make it a great place to work. I think my favorite thing about it is that we teach kids skills that they can really use in the world. All of our activities are STEAM based but we also have a strong focus on social and emotional learning. It's our own curriculum that we teach kids, so we're teaching them how to be good humans from the ground up. And right now I feel like that's really important. I also think it's a great place to work, because we give kids from all backgrounds and all places an opportunity to get the same learning, which I think is missing in some of our school systems today.

Career Services Center: Can you please tell us a little bit about that company culture?

Rachel Shensa: We are a camp mostly as well as after school programs, but our bread and butter have been our camps. So people are very campy. We're very goofy and silly. We like to have a good time. We're all very close. There aren’t many of us that work full-time, about 15 to 18 people give or take, but our huge amount of stuff happens in the summer, and we have 300 plus people that we usually hire during that time. We have 31 sites around the Bay Area, and every one of those sites kind of has its own vibe or culture and it's mostly based on whoever the camp director is there and who they are as a person. They usually end up hiring people that are similar to their personality, but I would say it's a really fun place to work. Right now, we are solely focused on our online learning camps and classes through Zoom.

Career Services Center: What skills can counselors expect to build up during a summer with Camp EDMO?

Rachel Shensa: That is such a great question. We also hire instructors as well that are in college, but for our counselors we're looking for people that are self-starters, who have a team orientation and aren’t afraid of being silly and they're open to learning and open-minded. They get leadership skills. They get classroom management, so if they're looking to go into the educational field that's very helpful. They get to learn about the growth mindset and how to lead others. For our instructors, sometimes people have a passion for science or technology, but they're not quite sure if they want to teach. I feel like a lot of folks that have come in for a summer have had that opportunity to teach in a setting that's less pressure than if you were going for an internship or Assistant teaching in a classroom. The experience with EDMO, helps them discover if teaching is the right path for them in a fun, low pressure setting.

Career Services Center: Awesome. Yeah, I know we frequently tell our students that one of the best things about an internship or a summer employment opportunity is that you learn not only what you like, but also what might not be a right fit for you so I think that's a great thing for people to discern. Can you please tell me what the first thing you notice is when you're reviewing resumes and how can applicants generally make their resumes better?

Rachel Shensa: That is such a good question too. And I think the length of resumes is surprising. It's one of the things that I've been surprised about because back in the day when I was looking for work and I was a young person it was a one page resume. That's it. I see a lot of resumes come through that are more than one page. I feel like people sometimes use bullets for their jobs that they could use as talking points in an interview. So I would say less is more. Depending on your experience one page is something, we'd like to see just be able to quickly look at it. And think about how you explain the roles you've had and how they're relevant to the job you're actually applying to. Because a lot of times people have just one resume they send out to several different jobs and you can tell when it isn’t really catered to this job in particular. So I would say keep it short. Keep your bullet points to the fact of what you're doing. And use all your great volunteer experiences as talking points in your interview. Also if the job asks for a cover letter, write one. Be sure to read the instructions in the job description, simple things like uploading your resume as a PDF, then do what you’re told.

Career Services Center: Speaking of interviews, a lot of those are happening over the phone or over video conferencing like Zoom these days. Do you have any tips for how applicants can really shine in a virtual interview setting? Rachel Shensa: That is something we're all learning. I feel like right now, I'm just doing everything virtually but I would say try to be yourself as much as possible, which is kind of hard when you're looking at yourself. Sometimes I feel it too - you get nervous, you're on video. I think phone is easier for people just because they don't have to look at someone else and they could look at their notes more and you wouldn't know they were doing that, but I would just say to try to take a deep breath and be yourself as much as possible and focus on who you're talking to, and not what you look like, if that makes sense.

Career Services Center: Yeah, absolutely. In hindsight, what advice do you wish that you had been given or what advice would you give yourself as you were launching your own career?

Rachel Shensa: The biggest piece of advice I could give to young people looking for work is to be open to trying things that you may not think are your passion. I never thought I would end up working in camps at this point in my life. I did it when I was in high school and I was a counselor back then and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed working with kids, but it's not where I saw my path going. And I think sometimes when you're in school, you're studying a certain thing and you're so focused on, I have to be this. But out there in the workforce, there's a lot of opportunity, and it may not be the one that you think you're gonna end up in but be open to trying new things.