I try out for ski instructor job, success does not follow

beer.

beer.

Active member
last year me and one of my best friends tried out for jobs as ski instructors at this hill (literally, hill) near where we go to college.

the tryouts lasted 2 days, 8 hours each day of learning about teaching and doing some intense clinics to improve advanced aspects of skiing.

we got split into groups and, just my luck. 2 people in my group were guaranteed to make the cut. brother and sister racers who had been on the resort team their whole fuckin lives. oh, and a hot 20-something who was nice and outgoing. that left me, and this socially retarded girl.

things went pretty decently, i thought. I was the best skier in the group, besides maybe the girl racer. it was incredibly strenuous working on perfect carves all day, but i started to enjoy it cause my form has never been all that great. we had to make a speech at the end, mine was completely impromptu on global warming and kicked ass, it was way better than anyone else's.

so 2 days of this and I am exhausted. at the end they post who made it and the people that do stay for an extra hour of instruction. my buddy informs me that, as I knew would happen, he made it and I didn't. I departed to the parking lot, where I chain-smoked joints and glared at anyone who passed.

so why didnt I make it? probably 2 main reasons were my fuckin boots and pants. my lange frs are great boots but hurt like holy hell when you just stand there for 20 minutes out of your skis. so I kept having to sit down, which i knew made me look bad, but my feet were gonna die. also I changed out of my liners in my pants because IT WAS 70 DEGREES THE WHOLE TIME. I thought it was winter, wtf. but i guess they didnt like me changing behind a shed on the slopes.

just to paint a picture of my frustration, 25 people applied, 23 were hired. i was 24 on the ranking, I presume right above socially retarded girl. my friend was 23. he told me my professionalism score was ultra low.

but the real reason? twin tips. all the guys there are old-school skiers and I'm pretty sure they dislike twin tips. they are all a little weird.

so the moral of the story is, if in the same situation, bust out some carving skis if you have em, or better yet, try out to be a snowboard instructor. thats the better bet, because you actually would get better at snowboarding if you completely suck like me just by teaching lessons, and all the snowboard instructors seemed way cooler.

just writing about this still makes me pissed I wasted 16 hours of my life doing that shit.

on a side note, my friend said the job kinda sucked. so whatever.
 
well professionalism doesn't seem to be your strong point now, does it?

you applied to get a job that deals largely with customers and essentially you are the ambassador for not only your resort but also skiing. your boots hurt, do you expect to teach with sore feet? you changed your pants behind a shed, hmm... pretty much self explanatory there.

then you went and smoked joints in the parking lot when you didn't get it? fuck man you'd make a great instructor.

welcome to the ski industry. as an instructor you need to be able to be outside whether on skis for not for the duration of your lesson whether it be a 1 hour beginner group lesson or a 4 hour advance private lesson. no, those with carving skis did have an advantage because of their skis, they had the advantage because the resort realized that these people were ones that would keep their clients coming back for more and giving them great experiances on snow.

no one lost you this job but you so stop your fucking crying!

 
Perfectly put. Being a ski instructor is more about being able to interact with clients than being an insanely good skiier.

The representing your hill/resort is like #1 to those places as well. When you are in uniform you can't fall, you have to act civilized and respectable.
 
i'm about to make a mad claim here, but i've been todl a several times by a few CSIA-3s and 4s that i could easily get a csia 1, possibly even two. shame im not old enough yet.

but i dont know if ive got the patience to work wth beginners... especially kids
 
Believe it or not, ski instructing is a demanding job. You kinda have to put your skier's needs before yours, and you have to have a lot of patience. I dunno... maybe try it again? Or talk to some other ski instructors that you may know from your local mountain.
 
youre a dick. of course I know you have to be able to stand in ski boots for hours. I had never done that with my current boots.

anyways, you have never met me, so dont claim things like you have. you have no idea how professionally I carry myself. I regret defending the guy that bashed you for being arrogant, seems that he was right.

thats the entire issue I have with this incident. I acted more professional than other people there. I was more outgoing, more confident. I've worked quite a few jobs, including at a shop (so I'm familiar with the ski industry, kthx) and I know what qualities are necessary for any job. and I have them. its just 2 stupid things fucked me over. the reason I have an issue with this is that I interview extremely well. its one of my best strengths.

thanks for trying to educate me, because I'm so fucking retarded I never realized a customer service job would require you to have good customer service skills. who knew? anyways, I don't think what I did was enough to put me below people who had no social skills and on top of that, couldnt ski.
 
Sorry if this comes off as dick or anything, because I don't mean it that way. But, how old are you dude? And, also do you look like a stoner? It almost sounds to me like you might have been discriminated against, which is really gay, but 'tis life.
 
During courses, or in your case a free clinic im guessing, you really have to just suck it up and walk the walk for your evaluators. Professionalism is pretty much number one. Depending on your employer afterwards you might be able to get away with a little bit more, but you really are representing your snow school and your resort.

 
fuck thats gay. I wouldnt want to be an instructor anyways, especially at a shitty mtn. Also sounds like the people who hire are stuck up idiots. Standing up for a long ass time sucks and I would have wanted to sit down too, its just more comfortable and gives your body rest. People can be really weird and judgmental over the stupidest things
 
I'm 20, was 19 when applying for the job.

I've been told I look like a stoner (check my profile to see what i look like, ignore the joint in my mouth LOL), which is probably the real reason i didnt get it. everyone else is wearing solid color jackets and looking normal and shit, and I'm there with a pair of invaders and semi-long hair, wearing a hoodie with hundred dollar bill graphics all over it. but truthfully I didnt think a ski resort would care if I gave off a sort of stonerish vibe, I thought it kinda came with the territory.

oh and one more nail in the coffin was when the head instructor saw me smoking a cigarette during a break. he said something along the lines of "we dont encourage our staff to smoke." I know pipemunky will probably make some bitchy comment about that, but I find it extremely unfair that smokers are discriminated against. also, I'm addicted to cigarettes, what can i say? I kinda had to smoke one.
 
when i used to teach i was a smoker. you're discriminated against because you're supposed to give off the vibe of an athlete. if you're going to have a smoke, go do it somewhere that the general public can't see you. basically where i used to work told us that if they caught us smoking in our uniforms we could be fired and some people were.

and what you said about how you looked, would you go to a job interview looking like you usually do walking down the street? i don't care how professionally you carry yourself, if you look like a stoner then you probably are. an employer knows this. parents don't want their kids being taught be some kid that looks like he's baked, it's only common sense.

it's not because of your skis or because you smoke. you haven't been wronged in any way here, the manager basically went with who he thought would work best in his ski school. you obviously didn't fit the bill

 
thats the thing, I was smoking away from the general public. the guy just happened upon me, it was bad luck i guess.

the head snowboard instructor definitely looked like a stoner, as did some of the snowboarders trying out. the thing I didnt realize was that after 8 AM the first day, we never saw those guys again, and the skiers running the show were all old guys.
 
There is the issue. You dressed down for an interview. You dressed like a punk-ass stoner kid. The resort was looking for a clean-cut professional looking person.

You weren't applying for a position as a liftie or parking lot attendent. You were trying to get a position where you are face to face dealing directly with a large amount of people, many of whom are new to the resort/sport.

The resort likely wanted people who dressed, and acted professionally for the position. Your description, despite how you may act in yur eyes, doesn't convey the connotation of professionalism.
 
A good friend would have writen your name on the list and gone to the head honcho and plea your case, TJ Burke style.
 
...i did my CSIA level 1 and 2 on twins and with saggy pants. and i was one of 4 in a class of about 60 who completed both. just man up and do it again
 
Sitting down, smoking, and wearing the clothes you said you had worn were the reasons you didn't get the job.

You made a bad first impression, basically with just your style. It sucks to hear it, but 'old skier guys' run the mountain, they've been there longer than you, you have to respect them and do what they want.

Also, sitting down and smoking are two things that your future BOSS will not be happy about. As a ski instructor you deal with little kids (which brings along their parents), all the way to grandparents. You have to look professional and respectible for any type of person.

A little kid may not mind how you look or if you sit down with them because your feet hurt too, but a parent of that child will be absolutely ripshit if they saw that.

Sorry man, it sucks. I'm a ski/board instructor and I've got to wear this ridiculous uniform and no goggles (no matter what the conditions). You have to be able to accomidate any person, and thats basically what its all about.
 
Ohhhh boy...

Actually I drank with my boss, but that's a different story haha.

True you made a bad first impression with the way you presented yourself, but how many of the other skiers had twin-tips? Cause your friend made it (With twin-tips?), so perhaps there was more to it.

Back when I still taught I almost didn't make the cut, because I wasn't motivated. Perhaps when you were in the clinics, they thought you were playing around too much or not taking it seriously enough. That's why I almost didn't make it. Also, seriously, you don't want to be a ski instructor. That shit is the WORST job if you have any intentions with the ski industry other than teaching it. (Unless you wanna work on your butters haha).

They pay shit unless you work there for years and take all the testing stuff, and you work 4+ hours of your ski day, with lunch in between so the only real skiing you get in, is in the early morning and at the end of the day. (Supposing you don't work at a large resort with night skiing and night lessons, etc. etc.).

So don't feel too bad about it, I quit after one season, and if you are anything like me, you'd hate it too.
 
Dear thread creator,

You sound like a bitch. I bet it wasn't the twin tips that fucked you over. It was your attitude most likely.
 
totally disagree, after one season of teaching noobs how to snowplow i now get to hang out with a bunch of groms in the park and pretty much ski how i want.
 
haha, I was in line with a snowboard instructer and he had 4 kids in front of him, made them go together when he found out there was someone he could ride with (me), we talked on the lift for a while, then he went inside his jacket and smoked a bowl...it was awsome.
 
Haha and I asked for that position as one of the freestyle instructors, because I was easily one of the best instructors at park, but they didn't end up giving it to me.

Course I work at Baker, which has some of the most chill people in the industry. Haha like when some bitch accused me of smoking the ganja in this lodge thing (which I did, but it wasn't just me and I was taking all the blame), I just told me boss it wasn't me and that was the end of it.

But that's a good thing about instructing. The work itself sucks, when you are actually teaching people to ski.
 
that's the worst claim in the world!!

that's like claiming "i can use the toilet!" a csia level 1 is a joke of a certification. in my last year of teaching when i put on a set of carving skis i would embarass the head ski instructor several times a day. the difference between the two of us? i didn't want to spend the thousands of dollars on courses it would take to get to that certification

 
i was teachin a beginner on the baby slope right at the end of season. way too hot and a lot of mud on the slope. the kids like; do somethin cool. so in my bright yellow instructor suit and k2 fuji's, go to do a switch butter 5 thing off the t-bar trail (which was empty), over a patch of mud and back onto the piste. caught an edge, ate shit in the mud. bright suit = brown. the boss wasnt happy, the kid laughed so hard he started crying!!!
 
thanks, coming from a complete tool such as yourself, if you hate me I know i'm doing something right.

my friend made it with twins, but he was the last person on the list, right above the cut (like I said he was 23 and I was 24)

and also like I said, I wasn't the only person who "dressed down" for the interview. there were snowboarders rocking plamo suits and shit. but I guess thats acceptable because they are snowboarders and I'm a skier.

basically I wore what I wore because for some reason, dressing how I do has good effects in the right situation. at my ski shop job I would rock long hair over the eyes and basically most parents who came in liked me even more.

its hard to explain, but think of it this way. you're the type of person who yells at skaters and shit, and then some kid who looks like one of the types of kids who normally has no respect for you turns out to be extremely personable and good at communicating. suddenly you like talking to them even more. your own son who dresses the same way is always a dick to you, and here is a kid who breaks the stereotype older folks have and acts like an adult.
 
yea its not the twin tips, the ski industry seems to be amazed with those things. every gondola ride seems to be about my skis and the whole deal with them
 
you do have to take it seriously though. first run during the try-outs, the boss told us to ski the piste how we would normally. i skiid for a bit in a straight line, popped a 180 off a little bump and skiid the rest of it switch, thinkin i was funny/cool. i saw the big fat 0 he gave me, and after that i sorted my shit out, paid attention and got the job which i badly needed. after those 2 weeks, i am stoked cos i am now a much better skier than i was before.
 
He was asking for that saying ski it how you would normally.

And even after all the perfecting of my form BS I'm still not a better skier. Maybe my PSIA form is better, but that doesn't make me a better skier. I still do wayy crazier and harder skiing than some racer with perfect form going 60mph down an icey slalom, with just as much fun.

We should be teaching kids to develop their own styles and forms, giving them the tools neccesary (the basics).
 
For CSIA 1 they make you NOT carve. You have to retardify your skiing and slide EVERYTHING. No edgemarks, nothing. I found it hard to not edge at all, coming from a race background. If you can ski you can get your CSIA 1. Some people in my class had only been skiing for a year or two. CSIA 2 is also relatively easy. It doesn't get difficult til 3. I found coaching 1 and 2 easier than instructing.
 
Surely your arrogant and bitter attitude didn't have anything to do

with you not getting the job. You say your form isn't that good and you

don't own proper boots, yet you claim to be a better skier than a guy

who's raced all his life...?

stop thinking you're the shit and stop hating on skiierman!
 
Haha, yes FUCK SKATERS! I DON'T FILM THEM OR FRIENDS WITH THEM OR WATCH THEIR MOVIES! FUCK THEM AND THEIR SKATER CLOOOTHES AND SKATER SHOOOESSSS!

Blaming your skis for why you didn't get a job is extremely childish. Look at it this way, maybe they didn't want someone to teach kids how to ski and inbetween classes have him chain smoking joints in the parking lot glaring at people?
 
Excuse me? Smoking joints in the parking lot because you're pissed is not being professional. Quite immature if you ask me. Pipe_Munky was right on the money with his post. I have been teaching snowboading professionally for 7 years now. It might not have even been the fact that you sat down, or that you changed behind a shed that you didn't get the job. Maybe you did poorly in showing that you know what you're talking about when it comes to teaching someone the sport. Just because you are a good skier, does not make you a good instructor. So, quit complaining. Get educated on how to teach, and try again next year.
 
LOL I only did that cause I DIDNT get the job. Anyways, like I said before. You don't know me. You don't know how I act.

I am not crying. I honestly don't even care. If a job such as ski instructing, which is supposed to be fun, is going to be that uptight, fuck it. I can work at the outlet mall for the same wage. The only controversy I have is that there is no way I deserved a score that low. And please don't comment about this, you didn't see me try out, so you have no idea. Also, I know how to teach skiing, its not fucking rocket science.

The funny thing is they desperately needed more people. Apparently they didnt take into account that some new hires would quit

Also another thing to take into consideration...a lot of ski industry people are really weird. I noticed it a while ago when working with some ski patrol guys at this big used gear sale the shop I used to work at puts on every year. I noticed it even more trying out for the job. I thought, maybe its just me? My friend who got the job totally agreed with me. There is something different about the sense of humor these guys have. I felt on a different wavelength or something. Some of their responses to my very normal conversation were just too weird to describe. maybe its just the people I've met.

I take my "revenge" by skiing there for free. It's pretty tight, you go there at night and its deserted, no one checking passes.
 
well of course with the twin tips, but if your going to make it your job buy some fuckin cheep ass carve skis.
 
when applying for a 100% customer oriented job, sitting down all the time is just what we're looking for.

stop whining that no one knows you. You presented your case in the first post. People on here, that are much higher in the industry than your industry experience seems to be, have given you their thoughts on why you didn't make it. quitcherbitchen.

and smoking in the parking lot as everyone goes away, would just cement their thoughts on why you weren't hired. like everyone else that "doesn't know you" said, you lost it for yourself whether you have the ability or not.

next time, don't get caught changing and smoking. they are there to test you for the length of their session. not just while you are skiing.
 
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