Well there has never been a year like this and we certainly hope that we do not see another again ..ever!

But where are we right now in terms of getting jobs / starting seasons and spending a winter in the Alps?

Lets tackle Brexit first as it’s been around longer and unfortunately this is something that has been brought on by ourselves (probably not actually us, but you know what I mean).

In terms of employment, the pretty much accepted way to employ UK staff was to second them from a UK company to work on a short term contract in the EU. With Brexit looming in just a couple of weeks things are changing and from 1st January 2021 UK companies cannot send staff to work in the EU like they used to. The caveat for this is that if an employee is already on contract and in situ by 31st December 2020 then that member of staff will be able to continue working as per their contract until its end date.

Now that all sounded like it could be a way to squeeze one more season as per normal before the whole working visa system needed to even be tried, but along came Covid-19 and buggered the whole thing up for the world (and seasonairres looking for work in winter 2020/21).

So of course the dreaded pandemic means that some EU countries are not opening the ski resorts as yet, although some would correctly say that a government cannot “close” a resort as these are communities that live in the resort not a theme park!

With the start of the season delayed this now of course means that the vast amount of resort based business’s are not in a position to open, let alone employ staff ! So unfortunately the whole “contract in place before 31st December ’20” is not likely to be applicable to many people this winter!

So where does this all leave us ?

Well the snow is falling (in fact Courchevel had too much to allow the World Cup Ladies GS to run on day 2 this weekend), we are sitting tight and waiting to see what Boris and the EU can work out with working visas.

But which resorts are open/opening now ?

Well Finland and Sweden are opening up, The Spanish Pyrenees have stated resorts opening but with some curbs on travel. Switzerland has opened up but with cases rising that could change, or pop over to Slovakia / Slovenia as they are opening up too.

Of course the other curveball the EU just threw is that from 1st January 2021 we may not be allowed to travel to any EU country due to the UK being a “Third Country” now and we have too high covid-19 rates!

Time will tell, all we can say is keep the faith ?

Please note the above is all my understanding of the current situation, things change and we all need to be ready to adapt so keep an eye on the real news not all the fake stuff.

Top 5 tips

Top Tip number 1

Prepare your CV

The writing of CVs has changed dramatically over the years, no longer do you need to list page after page of work/life experiences. For a typical ski season job you also don’t need to heavily focus on your educational qualifications either.

In fact the real skill is to get your CV noticed in the first 15 seconds that a prospective employer spends looking at it!

So, think about what job you are applying for with this CV and tailor your wording to what the employee is looking for.

Then get the CV proof read by someone, because even if you have spell checked it there could well be some grammatical errors. If you are reusing last year’s version then ensure the dates are all correct.

Top Tip number 2

Think about the job you are applying for

Have you really got the skills to take you to the hills? If the job says Chalet Chef then don’t apply unless you can prove you can cook for up to 14 guests, we are talking a three course meal from scratch with canapes here .. not knocking out sandwiches at the cricket pavillion.

But also think of the skills and experience that you may have but automatically consider would be an advantage in the mountains. For example if you have retail experience and have a solid skiing background then potentially working in a ski hire shop could work.

Nothing will annoy a potential employer if you haven’t read the job requirements properly and that includes minimum ages plus if a company requires UK national insurance / bank etc .

Top Tip number 3

Consider your online presence !

Trust me, a potential employer will spend 10 minutes googling you if they think you have potential. If you put on your CV that you are a non-smoker and your facebook profile is you toking away then expect your CV to go straight in the rubbish bin. This may seem really harsh but there is a TON of competition out there and when someone is looking for their next employee it can be the smallest thing that makes you lose the opportunity.

Also lets think about your email address , you may have thought is cool when you got F***[email protected] etc but when that email lands in the inbox what will a prospective boss think ? I would advise setting another one up for your application process.

Top Tip number 4

Prepare for the interview

Nothing says you don’t care more than if you rock up ill prepared for the interview. You should bear in mind that your future employer may have spent time and money flying back from the Alps to hold interviews. Do your research before, it’s pretty simple to look up the company and find out about them for example:

• Which resorts do they operate in
• How big is the company
• Are you meeting the owner , if so research their history too

Arrive with plenty of time to spare, public transport and hold ups can scupper your chance of a job so ensure you get there 30 minutes before .. BUT my advice would be to wait either in a cafe nearby etc until 15 mins before interview time.

Arrive appropriately dressed for the job/company and ensure you bring any relevant documents you may need (sample menus/proof of driving qualifications etc).

Top Tip number 5

Aim high but not necessarily the dream !

Whilst we would all like to get the creme de la creme of jobs in the Alps, you may be best advised to look for a job that you know you can do and do well. This will get you the opportunity to be out in resort for the winter gaining experience and nothing looks better on that CV than EXPERIENCE !

As the seasons go on you will find yourself applying for the positions you dreamed of a few years previous and generally loving life when you get that DREAM JOB !

So good luck and what are you waiting for ? .. Get searching for your next job HERE 

It all started on a ski lift. To be honest when does it not!

We have been Snowsports heads for as long as I can remember, having done seasons and university Snowsports (completely loved it) but the time was nearing when university was coming to an end and we would have to start making some ‘adult decisions’ worryingly soon. However, even more pressing than that was, how the hell were we going to get on the slopes next year?

It was quickly decided that returning to family holidays was simply not an option but in reality nothing else seemed to fit. We wanted something, rowdy and social that let us enjoy the mountains first lifts until last orders. The mountain festivals looked amazing but completely out of budget and the thought of sleeping on seasonaires friends sofas wasn’t exactly scalable.

Thus, Shreds was born. Based on the university model we wanted to create a community of riders that united skiers boarders and bar supporters for ski weeks in the alps and events back here in the UK.

Since that chairlift we have recruited two more into the business the first is Henry (a long-time friend from university) who manages all things Shred Ski Week.  It has been an absolute tornado since then and we won’t even talk about the lack of sleep – but it has been an amazing journey. We can now take you skiing for just £299, for accommodation, lift pass and a basic events wristband which I really think is testament to everyone’s hard work. Sound too good to be true, check out www.shredski.co.uk for more info.

We also managed to bring on board our main man Xander Seddon, who alongside being an incredible DJ in his own right is well versed in the alpine events scene. He is in charge of organising our parties (yes that’s a real job). In fact we would love to see as many friendly faces down at our festival on November 17th. We are building a rail jam, in a brewery HQ, in Zone 1 London – plus inviting a load of our friends down for a full day of good music, cold pints and pop-up shops. Oh and there is an afterparty of course – check it out and buy tickets HERE.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD WE GIVE TO BUDDING SEASONAIRES

Before we started Shreds we were out in the mountains and have over 10 years seasons experience, ranging from Austria – New Zealand, Canada – Greece.  So in partnership with Cool ski jobs, we sat down scratched our heads and came up with our 3 most important bits of advice for surviving your first season as a chalet host!

1. Get your hands dirty

As seasonaires you will find yourself doing almost everything regardless of your job title. If you are precious, find another job. You will soon be scrubbing toilets, clearing up sick, building tennis courts and painting rooms all on a healthy hangover. Muck in and pull your weight, people quickly loose respect for you if you’re not a team player but on the flip side if you can help another department you will get so much more in return. Oh and one tip, buy a multi-tool: anything you can fix yourself will put you in maintenance’s good books (and that’s the best place to be) at the end of the day they aren’t paid to change lightbulbs or replace hoover bags.

2. Be resourceful

If you are in it for the money, stay at home. Less than £300pcm is what I got for my first season job – and while it does vary between companies and roles you are never going to become a millionaire. With that in mind, never pay full price for anything. Ever.  It goes back to, help others and they will help you – it’s a motto we still live by today on the other side of the fence. Ski service, meals, gear, beer there are seasonaires rates for everything as long as you make friends in the right places. Use the training weeks before the guests arrive to go out and meet other workers to make sure they know your face and who to serve when the bar is rammed.

In addition use what is at hand. Yes you may have to lower your standards; but shower gels, deodorants (please god not roll on) and toilet rolls, think about what guests are leaving behind that you can still make use of and save money. It’s great, you smell different every week and it saves you a shit ton of money.  

3.At the end of the day remember where you are

Even if you master the routine there will still be days when you want to curl up in a ball and die. Ill, poor, malnourished and fucking grumpy you will hate everyone and everything – especially guests. When this happens just take a moment to step back and realise where you are. You are paid to play in one of the most stunning locations in the world. I have lived in 5* hotels and by the most stunning mountains/ beaches with everything on your doorstep. Oh and you are living there for free. That feeling of appreciation never dies away and sometimes it pays to remember that  “My job is better than your holiday”.

But most of all, just enjoy it. Even having this conversation we are incredibly jealous of you all! In the meantime, come down and see us on the 17th to stock up on last min winter essentials. We would love to grab a beer and answer any questions you may have about seasons – Shred Ski is always willing to help.  

Who knows maybe one day we will see you on one of our ski weeks!

Ben (on behalf of the whole Shred Ski team)

Well it’s about that time of the year again ?!

With a good dusting of snow last week across the Alps all our thoughts are firmly turning to winter. The season is less than 2 months away and to be honest job applications are reaching fever pitch ! It seems like everyone wants to do a season this year and no wonder after last season’s epic snowfall .

Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Show

So if it’s October and snow has started to fall then we must just be around the corner from the ski show. This year there are even more things going on over the 3 day snow extravigansa ❄️❄️

The Festival will bring together world resorts, winter sports retailers, alpine food, pro-athletes, experts, après and entertainment for all the family.

This year we see a dedicated apres ski bar , mount Battersea and a climbing wall along with ski show classics such as meeting the British Olympians / avalanche talks and a host of (in)famous mountain gurus.

If you haven’t got a ticket yet then grab one here .

Plus we will be around on Thursday to Saturday , so msg on Instagram/Snapchat or Twitter to grab us and sort out next season’s job!

If you are still looking for work … There’s too many jobs to mention here .. just head to COOLSKIJOBS and apply there