 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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What job are you capable of doing?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Millie10, Looked at Natives?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I'm on there now lol  - is it too early to get excited? haha
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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too early to be excited - - Nah 
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Do you have any language skills? It is always my lack of french that has stopped me up to now.
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Millie10, am I getting confused or did you say on another thread that you are a physiotherapist? I wonder if that might be something you could build on.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
when do employers start advertising / looking for staff for next season?
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Advertising in April, interviews in May
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Pam W, I am a physiotherapist but don't really want my career break to involve physio! I'd like to do something different!!!
I had my heart set on being a rep as it would suit me perfectly but I suppose I will have to consider other options 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Only ski guides have to be good skiers. You could work as a resort rep, chalet host which just requires people skills and working hard
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Mr White, I'd disagree as above the reps provide guided days-they're not guides rather taking interested groups on what with their inresort experienced are good runs etc. Seeing the standard of some of them I wouldn't say they hold any quals to do this, more of a tour guide really.
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You know it makes sense.
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Millie10, I think Snowheads Queen Boadicea and Pedantica both did spells as a rep, and might have some good advice to offer you.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Millie10, have you checked with all the TOs? My seasons were a long time back, but I worked with at least one rep who couldn't ski (she didn't have to guide though, obviously!). What ski experience do you have? You've still got time to improve a fair bit if you can afford some lessons.
I think I started applying around June, but I'm sure you'll get more current advice from Natives.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I was indeed a resort rep a very long time ago. It didn't involve ski guiding - the reason I took the job was to learn how to ski, so I wouldn't have been much use as a guide! - and I would have thought that there were still some rep jobs around like that. Basically I did the airport run every week, oversaw the running of all the chalets (and physically helped out in them quite a bit) and looked after the hotel guests, as well as being on hand generally for guest queries (office hour every day etc). The more efficient you are, the less hard work it is!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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pam w is right, I did a season a long time back as a resort manager. My role was a bit different to that of a rep as I was ultimately in charge of the whole resort function. So lots more paperwork and less customer interaction. But I did a fair bit of ski guiding too. I did the basic BASI qualification for ski guides (not instructing and not off-piste). I also had good French language skills which is probably what bagged me the resort manager's job (I was all set to be a rep but they lost a resort manager just before the start of the season and I was 'promoted'). I probably had a bit less free time than the reps, but a bit more free time than the chalet staff. It's definitely not a job with set hours though. Be prepared for pretty much anything. Transfer day is always hard work and you probably won't get any skiing done that day. It's all about being approachable, helpful, friendly and patient. Some customers want minimal interaction and are happy to get on with their holidays and some want the moon on a stick.
From my experience, not all the reps were good skiers. The ones that did any ski guiding had to be pretty good but not everyone does that. It's perfectly possible to get a job as a rep and learn to ski in your free time. The TOs are looking for a broad range of skills, not just skiing skills.
Good luck!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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queen bodecia, yes, I'd echo pretty much everything you say. I suppose I was 'in charge of the whole resort function' too, but then the company I worked for only had six chalets in Verbier, so the management aspect was scarcely onerous, nor was the paperwork. (But I was 27 or so when I did my season, and had a busy and responsible job - with LOTS of paperwork - in the UK, which probably made the rep job seem very easy by comparison.) I too got the job on the basis of my fluent French, not that I had to use it much in Verbier: the only people I ever had extended French conversations with were my bus drivers, once a week. Even now there's more English spoken in Verbier than there is round where I live in London!
I certainly didn't ski on transfer day, since my job involved the airport run. My impression is that, nowadays, resort reps/managers tend not to do that - but that could well depend on the size of company you work for. (Incidentally, I picked Verbier for the very reason that the Geneva transfer is nice and short; even then, though, I was lucky to get my first choice of resort.)
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It's all about being approachable, helpful, friendly and patient. Some customers want minimal interaction and are happy to get on with their holidays and some want the moon on a stick.
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That is absolutely spot on. You've also got to be approachable, helpful etc etc not just with the clients, but with all the other staff in the resort. Making the chalet staff feel appreciated and supported is really, really important: if they're happy, you won't need to be running around picking up too many pieces! Similarly, you've got to be best friends with all your suppliers, the bus company and so on, and then they'll help you out of a hole if necessary. I remember once being laid low by a horrendous bug - one of my more regular bus drivers, who had a bit of English, simply did the transfer on his own and without a single hitch.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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1. You don't need either a second language or any skiing ability at all to get a job as a rep.
2. Look at www.natives.co.uk for both job ads and rather more informed and up to date advice.
3. Ignore anything Whitegold says.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Read war and piste (Alex Thomas)
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Whitegold, I agree. Working as a seasonairre is a romantically attractive idea its also also long, badly paid hours. I'd organise my self so I didn't need to work ideally. More ski time on the best powder days and that's why you are going. You'll meet plenty of new friends in resort 
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I wouldn't ignore everything Whitegold says 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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My brother-in-law scrimped and saved for a year and then did 2010/11 in Whistler for about £10k.
That seems to me like the way to do it.
Or you could go and work for Crystal. Their staff don't appear to need any skills at all 
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I'd actually probably agree with Whitegold on this, in principle at least... Although for most of us saving up £10k is a bit of an impossibility.
I started applying around June/July and got offered in August. I worked in a kitchen and night portered on rota which was incredible for ski time but washing dishes gets extremely dull and night portering ruins your social life. Night portering you can ski all day if you want to, although I tended to nap till about 11 then ski till lift close then go back to bed. Kitchen portering I got 4.5+ hours off between about 10.30/11am-4.30/5pm which gives quite a bit of ski time.
Repping looks like a hell of a lot of work from what I saw, they seemed to be on the go all day every day. But they did ski quite a lot. As Lizzard said you probably don't need to be a great skier - ours were apparently asked if they could ski reds at interview, but one of them had only spent 4 days on skis (normally boarded) so it was a bit of a stretch...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Read war and piste (Alex Thomas)
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But don't expect it to be typical, and really don't mention it in interview. 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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The chalet ski guides I remember skiing with were all pretty good skiers - one lad gave a ski to a guest with a broken binding and skied back on one, carrying the injured ski. he was a thoroughly nice guy, too.
I have to say that if I had a problem in resort - e.g. with an injury, or something being stolen, or somebody being lost out on the piste in a white out, and asked for help from a rep who couldn't speak French/German/Italian (whatever was needed) I'd be extremely unimpressed. Wouldn't have to be fluent, just serviceable. The only time we needed this kind of assistance, in Les Gets (can't remember the company) the rep spoke to several people, on the phone from her office, in my presence. Her French was up to the job (and at the time certainly better than mine, though mine has improved since).
It would no doubt be nice to have £10K and not have to work, but some of the stuff people do in ski seasons is valuable in terms of their future career, especially if they are thoughtful about it and can talk sensibly about their own self-development. And vice versa - some people whose claims about their ski season look impressive on their application form turn out to be a complete waste of space.
If I were selecting people for reps jobs I might not be able to find people with top language skills plus the other qualities needed but I would take a dim view of someone who had supposedly been dead keen for months who had made no effort to learn/brush up at least one of the relevant languages.
I hope Millie can get the job she wants - her attitude, to judge from past posts, is spot on - positive, enthusiastic and not making mountains out of molehills.
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Not sure how true this is, but a Crystal rep in L2A we had last year said that they need 2 of 3 things to be considered as a rep as a starting point. 1. a driving licence. 2. competent language skiils (of a country served by Crystal - not just English ) and 3. Be a confident/competent red run skier.
How they test for that I have no idea - apart from the driving licence.
However, travelling with Inghams this year many of the chalet staff didn't ski or speak Italian. Our reps were Finnish and Italian - but both could speak excellent Italian and English. From another guest I understand that the Italian rep took the guiding days, and although she grew up in the town wasn't a great skier.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
Our reps were Finnish and Italian - but both could speak excellent Italian and English.
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I suspect that more and more of those sort of jobs will be done by non-UK nationals, because of their language skills. I visited the big Decathlon store in London some months ago. All the shop staff seemed to be foreign. They all spoke excellent English, were helpful and efficient and all (both genders) seemed rather attractive! Between them they probably spoke a good number of the languages likely to be needed by customers. Then a few weeks later I ordered a fitted carpet in Brighton. The girl who served me was Slav of some sort (to judge by the name on her badge). Excellent English and very skilled at all the calculations and estimates needed. She worked at the speed of light from my very scruffy sketch.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Many years ago I was a Crystal rep. They test skills by doing a training week, including how to do all the admin, dealing with customers, insurance, doing airport transfer runs (you feel an idiot on a mic the first time, if you can do it to a coach load of reps, you can do it to a coach load of unknown guests), practise ski "guiding", apres-ski quizzes etc... its fun in places, but full on and immensely tiring - they're getting you prepared for 20 weeks of the same, and you're watched the whole time - basically, a week long assessment centre. There were always a few more people than jobs, and during the week the management would assess your skills to not only work out whether you could do the job but also which resort / size of team you would fit into. Some people are suited to being sole reps, others need to be in a bigger team. Some people suit Couchevel 1850, others are most definitely Les Gets...
If I did a season now and wanted to ski, I would not be a resort manager, as I was back then, nor a rep. A LOT of hard work. often 24 hour transfer days. little skiing. even if you're guiding, it's not where adn when you want at the pace you'd like. little time of your own, earn pittance (although I did also spend little, so saved). it's all under company rules. If you've been working to date, save and just not work.
What i would say is working for a tour operator for ski seasons taught me a huge amount about customer service, confidence, people management skills, being hugely practical, logistical skills, organisational skills, and (after havng done a french degree) improved fluency to the point of French not knowing I was english. It was an experience which was the foundation of my (12 year to date) career since and I am extremely glad i did that in my life and would absolutely encourage anyone else to take an opportunity to do so too. It can only be a learning experience - even if to understand how flipping hard ski holidays are behins the scenes!
Chalet reps get most time for skiing in my experience - if you're organised, you can be on the slopes 11-4 ish 5 days a week or so (not transfer day and shopping day).
Or get an evening bar job. Although maybe neither of those options your employer might call "personal development".
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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hammerite, but what they really want is the ability to sell you stuff - http://www.jobsinwinter.co.uk/crystal/reps.asp
The majority of reps I've worked with have had virtually zero foreign language skills, and I've met plenty who can't ski or board. These being mainly summer season reps for big TOs (First Choice, TUI etc) who have made big sales targets in beach resorts and are expected to do the same for ski. I've also worked with numerous hotel/resort/other managers who speak barely a word of the local language.
Bottom line is you can land a rep/management job in a resort with no language and minimal ski experience as long as you can feed the interviewers the right corporate line about meeting targets, customer service, team player, people person, hard work, blah etc. You're not going to get far as a ski guide if you can't ski/board at all (though I do know of one such case), but the majority of reps don't guide, so it hardmly matters.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Scampi Dellahanti, Just out of intrest why would a lack of French stop anyone being a rep?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I'm with vicklou. Having only ever been the other side of the green baize door, I wouldn't be a rep - spending maybe 2 days on a coach/hanging around an airport on those weekends when there's so much snow you cannot get back into the resort. Resort Manager seems like a rotten job as you end up doing the rubbish nobody else wants to/has to do. Ski guide may be a lot of slope hours, but it's not skiing the way you want to do it, surely.
I'd be a chalet host. And I'd be looking for the tips too (the other jobs probably don't get tipped). And it would be with a smaller operator so that you don't have to spend a day waiting in for deliveries, and an afternoon "in meetings". You should be on the slopes 10-5 six days a week.
And I'd have polished up my language skills first too so I could help the guests and really earn those tips. It's not unreasonable to hope for €200 per week in tips in even the "mid-market" TO's chalets.
Or do it as a holiday and then you don't have to share a bedroom with three over-sexed teenagers... Or go and work for Nixmap where you'll only work 2 days a week and there's no pay. But he prefers couples.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Wed 8-02-12 13:49; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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James the Last, you wouldn't share your tips ?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Start saving now - you've got plenty of time.Then pick a resort, sort your accomodation and go and enjoy yourself. A career break spent working 6 days a week isn't really much of a break.
We saved up last year and work part time in resort, we've met loads of friends and can go out pretty much whenever we like. Certainly every day (even if it's only for a few hours).
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| holidayloverxx wrote: |
| James the Last, you wouldn't share your tips ? |
With the reps?
You mean when I've tipped excellent chalet hosts they've given some of their cash to the ghastly reps whose only contribution to my holiday has been to turn up at drinks time and be irritating trying to sell me rubbish?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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vicklou has it spot on I reckon. Chalet hosting *is* hard work (split shifts were hard for me, I wouldn't take that on again if I had a choice) but nevertheless I probably would prefer that over a rep's job, because when you finish cleaning your chalet in the morning, that's it, you're off up the hill and your responsibility ends for the next 6 or 7 hours until you have to start cooking dinner. Unless of course it's shopping / delivery day or transfer day.
It's not my idea of fun to be permanently responsible and contactable, even when up the hill. I did do a week's repping job in Morzine once, and while that was fun and challenging (had to dig out my GCSE French, got to join in with the advanced lesson group) the worst thing was definitely always being on the end of a phone. There's just loads to worry about and I never got more than a couple of runs in a row done before either being interrupted or having to turn back because I knew I had to meet the party leaders at a particular time and couldn't risk being late. I'm not moaning, I'm just saying I wouldn't choose to do that for a whole season!
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Each to their own. I really didn't want a chalet host job. I hate cooking and housework. I actually preferred my job as a resort manager as I had most evenings free (whereas the reps did not). I had to deal with lots of external suppliers in addition to staff and sometimes customers and I had the most opportunities to make use of my language skills. I normally skied one or two full days (with customers as a ski guide) and 3 half days each week. I was in charge of 3 reps, 11 chalet hosts, 1 driver/handyperson and up to 300 guests per week. I didn't generally do airport transfers but I was always on hand to make alternative arrangements if any flights were delayed or diverted, and I did airport transfers if there were too many for the reps to cope with (there were 'my' 3 reps and another 7 reps for other 3 valleys resorts, plus 2 other resort managers.
On the whole, I loved the experience. Being in the mountains for a season is fantastic. I made loads of friends, I skied loads, even dealing with problems was a challenge I enjoyed. It was very satisfying to see people enjoying their holiday. I would have gladly done it again if I could have afforded it but sadly I had to knuckle down, get a 'proper' job and start paying off my student debts. There's no way I'd have been able to do that on a TO wage.
In fact, I keep dreaming about doing it again some day. But it's really not possible with a mortgage and two jobs. If you are in a financial position to do it, then go for it!
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FAQ
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Go for it.............Carpe Diem 