Hiring camp counsellors in winter for summer

The best counsellors say yes to the first offer, usually by March. Where to find them, an interview that shows you who they are, checks, pay, and keeping them until June.

Feb 17, 2026 · 5 min read

The counsellor you want for July is the university student who worked for you last summer, or the sixteen-year-old in your advanced class who already knows every camper's name. In February, they're still deciding. By the end of March, someone else has asked them, and they've said yes.

Camp hiring is done in winter. If you start in May, you're choosing from whoever's left, and you'll spend the summer covering for them.

How many you need

Work it out from your busiest week, not your average one.

Say you expect 40 campers a week, ages 6 to 10, and you work to one counsellor for every eight campers. That's five counsellors in the room. Add one more as a float, for breaks, washroom trips, the camper who needs one adult to themselves for twenty minutes, and the morning someone calls in sick. Six a week.

Then look across the summer. Over eight weeks, not everyone can work all eight: there's a family cottage, a summer course, a cousin's wedding. Ask each candidate which weeks they can do, and hire enough to cover every week with one to spare. For six a week over eight weeks, that's often eight people.

Your province or state may set ratios for day camps or childcare, and your insurer may set their own. Check both before you count.

Where to find them

The best places are the ones closest to you:

• Last summer's team. Ask them first, in January, before anyone else does. A returning counsellor needs half the training and none of the guesswork.
• Your own older students. Teens who've grown up in your classes know the room, the rules and the families. Check the youth employment rules where you are: minimum ages and hours for teen workers differ between provinces and states.
• Former campers who've aged out. Many of them have been waiting for this.
• College and university students in education, early childhood, recreation, kinesiology and the arts. Their program offices and job boards are glad to post a summer job.
• Teachers on summer break, for a lead role. One experienced adult per group changes the whole week.

A post that gets replies is specific about the job: the weeks, the hours, the pay and what a day looks like. "Summer camp counsellor, July 6 to August 28, 8:30 to 4:00, $18 an hour, ages 6 to 10, art and outdoor games" beats "Fun summer job working with kids!"

An interview that shows you who they are

Twenty minutes is enough. Skip "tell me about yourself" and ask what they'd do:

1. "It's 2:30, it's raining, and the outdoor game is off. You have twelve eight-year-olds for 45 minutes. What do you do?"
2. "At pick-up, a camper says they don't want to go home with the adult who's come for them. What do you do?"
3. "A parent stops you at drop-off and wants to talk about why their child wasn't chosen for a part in Friday's show. What do you say?"

There's no single right answer. You're listening for a plan, calm, and knowing when to get you. The best answer to the second question always includes "I'd keep the camper with me and get the director."

Then ask them to lead your interview panel, or two of your staff, in a five-minute game. You'll learn more in those five minutes than in the rest of the interview: whether they project their voice, explain rules simply, and notice who isn't playing.

References and background checks

Call two references, and ask one question you really want answered: "Would you hire them again to work with children?" A pause tells you something.

Background checks take longer than people expect, so start them as soon as someone accepts.

• In Canada, a vulnerable sector check is done through the local police or RCMP where the person lives. It can take a few weeks, longer in busy months, and the process differs from one place to another.
• In the United States, what's required depends on your state and whether your camp is licensed. Some states require fingerprint checks for anyone working with children.

Ask your licensing body and your insurer what they need, in writing, and keep a copy of every completed check. For teen counsellors, rules about who can be checked, and how, can differ again.

Pay

Pay at least minimum wage where you are, for every hour worked, including the training day and setup time. Some places have exemptions for camp staff, but don't assume yours does; ask, or check your province's or state's labour standards.

A worked week, for a camp running 9:00 to 3:30:

That's $4,012.50 a week before employer costs (payroll taxes, and in Canada CPP and EI). Ask your accountant what to add. Put this number into your camp price before you set it, not after.

Keeping them until June

The hardest part of hiring in February is the four months before anyone starts. Someone says yes in March, gets a better offer in May, and tells you by text the week before camp.

A few things keep them:

• An offer letter with dates. The weeks, the hours, the pay, the training day, and a date by which they confirm. Signed, it feels like a job, not a maybe.
• A completion bonus. $150 paid after the last week they're scheduled for. It's a small cost against the price of replacing someone in July.
• Contact in spring. A team evening in May, paid. A message in April with the themes and the group they'll have. A few hours assisting in spring classes for the ones who want them.
• A hiring list, not a hiring pool. Keep two or three good candidates you didn't hire on a waiting list, and tell them so. When someone drops out in June, you make one call.

Where Caletan fits

In Caletan, each counsellor has their own sign-in with a role that says what they can do, and Reads medical notes decides who sees the allergies and conditions families share. Tick counsellors on each camp, and they're held for every camp day, so nobody is booked into a class or a private lesson at the same time. The inviting staff guide shows how.