How to work in a ski resort?
Every year lots of seasonal workers are needed in the alps of Austria, Switzerland, France, USA, Japan and other famous ski resorts around the world. Here I share about life in a resort and some strategies on how to get a job there. I lived 3 months in the ski-resort Axamer Lizum in Austria, working as waiter & bartender, earning 1800 euros per month. If you want to learn how do I afford to travel the world, check here.
How is life in a ski resort?
A ski-resort is normally like a little town with hotels, restaurants, bars, ski-shop and facilities. If you like winter-sports living in a ski resort will be a dream come true for you. First of all, you are very near the mountain lifts, as a employee you might get benefits such as discounts in ski-passes and gear. Many of those resorts are located on top of the mountain limiting your activities to winter-sports and drinking in the closest bar. In general you have one day off a week allowing you to go in the nearest city to have access to supermarket, banks and other conveniences.
What type of jobs you can apply for?
Variety of jobs are offered according to the size of the resort including hospitality positions (waiter, bartender, housekeeping, cookers, reception), operations, ski instructors and many others. If you work in the hotels most likely you will get free accommodation and food (as I did). If not, you might be offered a good discount to get those benefits.
What documents I need to work in a ski resort?
To work in a ski resort you must either have a work visa, or a passport that will allow you to be employed in the country you are applying for. It is very unlikely the resort will provide you documentation. In Austria, since is European Union, most of workers come from European countries with lower income such as Croatia, Czech, Bosnia, Serbia, Romania, and so on. Few from other parts of the globe.
How much people earn in a ski resort?
The winter season in Europe starts in December and ends in April. Salaries range from 1500 to 3000 euros per month after taxes according to the location. I have heard of bartenders earning up to 5000 euros a month in Switzerland with tips. I was earning 1800 euros after taxes plus food and accommodation. It's an amazing way to save money, the best I found so far. And is more human than working on a cruise-ship where you do not have days off. Here I teach you how to work on a cruise-ship.
What are employees looking for?
First of all you got to understand what employees are looking for. If you are going to be in direct contact to customers, talking many languages will skyrocket your chances to be approved. Meanwhile most of workers only spoke English, I spoke English, German, Spanish and Portuguese. That caught the employees attention. The same happened to me when I got the job in the cruise-ship. Previous experience in the industry, specially in luxury hotels make a candidate very attractive.
How to apply for the jobs?
First get your CV ready! Highlight the experiences related to the position you are applying for. A good smiling picture might help on creating the bond with the hiring professional. Don't forget to mention languages, courses, and any licenses that might be relevant for the job. Gather recommendation letters from previous employees, that will reassure the employer decision. Apply directly using specialized job websites such as Season workers, Ski-Jobs, Ski resort jobs, Cool works and many others. Those websites provide a full range of job openings updated daily.
When to apply for the jobs?
Keep in mind that hiring teams start to prepare their season team at least 3 to 6 months ahead. That means if you want to work by the end of the year, you might start applications around May to September for example. Many of them try to keep their employees long term since is not so easy to get seasonal workers. That means, if you got the job once, show your abilities and they will keep you for the next season. The seasons vary according to the country and region. In Europe, the winter season starts around October/November and ends in February/March. You can also gather e-mails from hotels and send direct messages. It's up to how much effort you are willing to make to get your dream position.
If you want to get more detailed information on how to travel around the world for cheap, check out my book JUST GO [EN] [PT] [ES] [DE] [FR].
Check out my Instagram page where I update weekly with travel tips.
Check out my Youtube page where I update weekly with travel videos.