CampHire Stories: Founders (Aaron & Esther)
At CampHire, we believe camp is the best a summer job has to offer. Not only does it establish you firmly within a vast network of camp alumni, but it also helps you develop highly marketable soft skills like leadership, creativity, empathy, and resourcefulness.
And we’re here to prove it. In our series “CampHire Stories,” we’ll profile former camp staffers and the highly sought after careers that camp made possible for them.
First up: Aaron and Esther, the brother and sister founders of CampHire.
“In our adult lives, we look for opportunities to recreate camp magic for our friends and family.”
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Our CampHire story begins in Northwood, NH at Camp Yavneh. Being siblings, our experience follows a similar path. We come from a powerhouse camp family with 42 (!) summers at camp between us. Our mom got a job looking after the day care center and swapped her salary for reduced tuition for her three kids. We were “Staff Brats”, and we took full advantage of the privilege. We’d send fake mail to our parents on letter-writing day and our dad would pop-up on weekends and swim around the lake in a Speedo (embarrassing!). Looking back, it was so much fun. Our parents are amazing and they really let us do our thing at camp.
Camp continues to be a big part of our identity as a family unit. We met our spouses at camp (jackpot!), set the dress code at our weddings to “camp chic” (try to figure that one out), and maintain a tight knit group of camp friends. In our adult lives, we look for opportunities to recreate camp magic for our friends and family. Weekends at our summer home on Long Island are appropriately called “Camp Lyon”, where traditions of campfires, singing, communal meals, and talent shows are alive and well.
“I hosted singing competitions throughout the U.S., Europe, and India, inspired by lip-syncing contests from my camp days.”
THE POWER OF CAMP IN OUR PROFESSIONAL LIVES
Prior to launching CampHire we’d been out of the camp world for a handful of years, working on our careers, pursuing jobs in the corporate world and in education.
AARON - I distinctly remember when it clicked for me that my camp experience was going to set me apart at work. Early in my career I was responsible for creating a sales training for 2,000 employees. Training classes are usually boring so I challenged myself to spice things up. Every 30 minutes I had participants play a goofy game based on activities from camp. One of the prompts was to split into teams and rewrite lyrics to a song. I hosted singing competitions throughout the U.S., Europe, and India, inspired by lip-syncing contests from my camp days.
People. Freakin. Loved. It.
We had teams come out of the woodwork with choreographed dances, vocal arrangements, costumes, and skits. We filmed the whole thing and premiered it at a company-wide meeting. The program won an internal award. My boss was in awe of how natural it all came to me. Her jaw dropped when I explained that half the activities I ran for my bunk of 12-year olds a decade back.
To this day people tell me that was the best training they ever attended.
“I have never had a situation in my career that required that level of in-the-moment creativity and adaptation.”
CAMP VALUES ARE LIFE VALUES
We built CampHire because we wanted to reconnect with camp, and help both camps and candidates create meaningful experiences for campers. People are at the heart of camp, so that’s been our focus. It’s a way for us to give back to the camp community, while keeping camp relevant in our lives.
We are really proud of how the skills and lessons we picked up from camp are woven into the DNA of our business. Two core principles ring loud and clear:
We adapt fast, and are constantly making changes on the fly
We are serious about people, culture, and inclusivity
ESTHER - My first true test in adapting on the fly came as a Unit Leader. I was the sole person responsible for 60 campers and 10 staff on an overnight in the mountains of Maine. At 2:00 am I woke up to pouring rain and the collective screams of 10 year-olds as tents, sleeping bags, and clothes were soaked with cold rain. I remember the way my mind reacted at that moment. Panic, disbelief, laughter, action. Within seconds I had gathered my staff and together we got to work in formulating Plan B. Hotels? Tarps over tents? Drive back to camp? I woke up the bus driver who was staying at a nearby hotel and scrambled to find shelter for the campers while the bus rolled into the campground. We rallied the campers and encouraged them to embrace the madness! This would be an experience they would always remember. An hour later, 60 kids drifted off to sleep in the seats of a bus parked in the mud. By the time we started hiking the next morning, it had become a war story for the group to bond over.
To this day, I have never had a situation in my career that required that level of in-the-moment creativity and adaptation.
Applying this lesson to CampHire, we made a decision last month to completely overhaul our brand, including changing our name and launching a new website. While this may seem drastic, we recognized an opportunity to better connect with candidates and Camp Directors, and we didn’t want to miss our shot. Like the overnight rain experience, when faced with the challenge, we went through a similar mental progression - panic, disbelief, laughter, action - and two days later we launched our new brand.
As a recruitment company, people, culture, and inclusivity are the backbone of our business.
“When building our team, we only hire people that possess the camp values that matter to us - be nice, bring the energy, make it happen, cheer on your team.”
With candidates, we take pride in looking beyond the resume. We care more about how you spend your free time than about your degree. We value how you treat your friends and family more than we do your job title.
In building our internal team, more than anything, it’s about finding people that bring energy and enthusiasm. While camp experience is not required, when building our team we only hire people that possess the camp values that matter to us - be nice, bring the energy, make it happen, cheer on your team.
When working with Camp Partners, we are an advocate for diversity and inclusion. We are in a unique position of influence, and we don’t take it for granted. On a practical level, our first conversation with Camp Directors is around inclusive hiring practices. More than that, we push our partners to think beyond what the typical make-up of their staff has been, and hold them accountable to eliminating bias from the recruitment process. We believe that by putting a more well rounded and diverse set of candidates up for camp jobs, we can shift the paradigm and help camp directors reach their D&I goals.
“My dream job hired me because of the values I stand for, and those values I got from camp.”
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
AARON- I am a strong advocate of celebrating your camp experience in job interviews, and at work. No matter how removed you think you are from camp, the impact it had on you is likely everlasting. Talk about it. Shout it from the rooftops. Share with the world how camp has shaped you.
One of the key lessons I learned from camp is it’s cool to be nice. Mean people don’t survive at camp. Bullies don’t last. They either conform to the positive culture, or they don’t come back the next summer.
That’s a core principle I’ve carried through in my career. I am nice to everyone, always. It’s the biggest career tip there is. When I interview for jobs, I make it a point to speak specifically to how I treat my colleagues, and how being caring and compassionate leads to better results.
I received an offer for my dream job a few years back. When the hiring leader informed me I got the job she was complimentary of my skills and experience. But more than that, she was impressed by how I carry myself as a person. She could feel that I truly live and breathe my ethics and life principles. She told me that my positive mindset made me stand out from the other finalists.
My dream job hired me because of the values I stand for, and those values I got from camp.
Want to hear more? Check out the full audio of the interview (and some excellent brother-sister ribbing) with Aaron and Esther here.