Behind the Scenes: Hiring Our Staff

One question we get a lot around here is “what do you do all year?!” It’s a great question (after all, when you’re a summer camp, don’t you just operate in the summer?), and it always makes us laugh because you would be surprised how much goes on behind the curtain to make camp happen. It keeps us busy all year long!

Enter our “Behind the Scenes” series, where we are giving you the inside look at all those aspects of Greystone you’ve wondered about. First up, we told you how we add a new class, and today we’re telling you all about one of our favorite parts of camp: our staff!

If you have ever driven through the gates on Opening Day, received a counselor postcard in the mail, or even just called our office, you know that our Greystone staff are the best of the best! We’re biased of course, but we think our staff hung the moon, and nothing at camp would happen without them. But how does this team come together? What do we look for, and how do we make sure they are the perfect fit? Settle in, and we’ll take you step by step!

• We start early! As you’ll see, we take our time with the hiring process, and prayerfully consider each step, so the key is starting our staff search early… pretty much as soon as the last summer ends. (In fact, we’ve already started taking applications for 2021!) Our staff is one of the most important aspects of any summer, so we put a big priority on them in the fall - once the team comes together, everything else can start falling into place!
• Our application is extensive. Choosing just the right staff to take care of our campers is crucial, so every part of our application is purposeful. Before they move forward, all staff will fill out two parts of our application, answering all kinds of questions about themselves, their faith, and why they’re passionate about working at Greystone. We feel like we know them before we even hop on the interview!
• The interview is all about finding that perfect fit. When it comes time for the interview, we don’t rush it (do you see a theme here?). We sit down with the applicant (usually over Facetime or Zoom!), and just get to know each other better. We’re always thinking about how will they add to our community? What is their relationship with Jesus? And most importantly, are they ready to pour themselves out and serve this summer? We want them to completely understand the job (and of of its highs and lows!) so that they sign their contract with confidence. At the end of the interview, we want to be excited about them, and have a clear vision for how they will fit in to our team - and we hope they will feel the same!
• Every step is done with lots and lots of prayer! Putting our staff together is a job too big for us, and we trust it completely in the hands of the Lord. We have confidence that He will guide us in every decision, and then use the people He gathers for His good work in this place! We’re slow, and intentional, and pray a LOT in hiring. We know Jesus cares and is already preparing our counselors’ hearts for the coming summer!
• From there the puzzle starts to come together. That’s when it gets fun! With every hire, the summer starts to become clearer, and we get SO excited for how incredible each person is going to be. We map it all out and put counselors in their activity areas, and (let’s be honest) start dreaming about how much they are going to love each other too! We also set aside time to pray for our staff by name as they come on board, and do everything we can to support them in the rest of their school year before they come to camp. From the moment they sign their contract they are a part of the team!

Once they are hired, the preparation begins! Though nothing can completely prepare you for the joy and hard work of your first summer on staff, we want to make sure our counselors are coming into Orientation excited and confident that they made the best decision ever. We work hard to connect them to each other, answer their questions, and get them learning about life on staff before they even get to Tuxedo.

Thinking about our 2021 staff already gets us SO excited. We can’t wait to cheer them on and watch them shine as they love our campers. Can you tell we love our counselors a whole lot?!

Now we want you to be a part of our team as the group starts to come together! Will you join us in starting to pray for our 2021 staff? Pray that the Lord would guide the right people to Greystone, and that He would prepare their hearts for the summer. Pray for wisdom as we’re hiring, and that we would have clear eyes to see where each person will fit. Also pray for all of our 2020 staff as they navigate this crazy, unpredictable school year!

Lastly, (you knew this was coming, right?) if you know someone that would be the perfect addition to our 2021 team, encourage them to apply today! Don’t just take our word for it - working at Greystone really is the best job ever. And definitely better than any internship! Have questions about the application process or want to chat more? Just reach out. We would love to talk to you!